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Title details for Shopping All the Way to the Woods by Rachel S. Gross - Wait list

Shopping All the Way to the Woods

by Rachel S. Gross
ebook
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A fascinating history of the profitable paradox of the American outdoor experience: visiting nature first requires shopping

No escape to nature is complete without a trip to an outdoor recreational store or a browse through online offerings. This is the irony of the American outdoor experience: visiting wild spaces supposedly untouched by capitalism first requires shopping. With consumers spending billions of dollars on clothing and equipment each year as they seek out nature, the American outdoor sector grew over the past 150 years from a small collection of outfitters to an industry contributing more than 2 percent of the nation's economic output.

Rachel S. Gross argues that this success was predicated not just on creating functional equipment but also on selling an authentic, anticommercial outdoor identity. In other words, shopping for the woods was also about being—or becoming—the right kind of person. Demonstrating that outdoor culture is commercial culture, Gross examines Americans' journey toward outdoor expertise by tracing the development of the nascent outdoor goods industry, the influence of World War II on its growth, and the boom years of outdoor businesses.
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Publisher: Yale University Press

Kindle Book

  • Release date: March 26, 2024

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780300277302
  • Release date: March 26, 2024

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780300277302
  • File size: 15416 KB
  • Release date: March 26, 2024

Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Business History Sports & Recreations Nonfiction

Languages

English

A fascinating history of the profitable paradox of the American outdoor experience: visiting nature first requires shopping

No escape to nature is complete without a trip to an outdoor recreational store or a browse through online offerings. This is the irony of the American outdoor experience: visiting wild spaces supposedly untouched by capitalism first requires shopping. With consumers spending billions of dollars on clothing and equipment each year as they seek out nature, the American outdoor sector grew over the past 150 years from a small collection of outfitters to an industry contributing more than 2 percent of the nation's economic output.

Rachel S. Gross argues that this success was predicated not just on creating functional equipment but also on selling an authentic, anticommercial outdoor identity. In other words, shopping for the woods was also about being—or becoming—the right kind of person. Demonstrating that outdoor culture is commercial culture, Gross examines Americans' journey toward outdoor expertise by tracing the development of the nascent outdoor goods industry, the influence of World War II on its growth, and the boom years of outdoor businesses.
Expand title description text
Business History Sports & Recreations Nonfiction