Consuming Cultures, Global Perspectives: Historical Trajectories, Transnational Exchanges Book

While the class discussion exposed some weaknesses in this work (especially in regards to his fairly obvious bias, and his underlying idea of white man's burden. Some mentioned that they saw him as positioning himself as a potential savior of the real Latin American way of life; this is not something I saw), I found this to be a perfectly satisfying book. Based around a theme of why people consume the goods they do, Bauer explores how culture has tried to shape the consumption of the Latin American people, from pre-Columbian days to modern. Knowing that Bauer is a product of the sixties Latin American studies helps to understand the basis and central focus of his bias; he is staunchly anti-imperialist and virulently Marxist. He makes it clear that he is not anti-consumerist, but it is important to remember that unless the work implied otherwise it would be unnecessary to mention it. It's important to understand what guides and motivates an author, but with that said, I highly recommend this book.