Creating Consumers

“Goldstein offers a rich contribution to the fields of business, political, consumer, and women’s history (especially women and science). In this well-written chronicle, she simultaneously broadens and deepens our understanding of the intersection of home economics and women’s consumerism.” — American Historical Review

“General readers and researchers will appreciate Goldstein’s attention to detail and ability to clearly communicate this complex subject. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers.” — CHOICE

“Goldstein argues that home economics, and the professionals who practiced it, had a profound impact on American culture. . . . Arranged chronologically, and parallel within time periods, the book details the careers of women in this burgeoning field.” — The Annals of Iowa

“In uncovering the pivotal role of home economists in the creation of our consumer economy, [Goldstein] adroitly draws out the philosophies that shaped the field and the goals of the leaders who envisioned a new role for women in the twentieth century.” — Technology and Culture

“A major contribution to women’s studies and the histories of consumer culture, business, and the twentieth-century state.” — Journal of Social History

“This timely book challenges the literature on consumer culture to think in more nuanced terms about the meaning of 'consumer' and 'housewife.' Goldstein combines analyses of the role of the state, corporate product development, the history of food, and gender to create a full history of the shaping of public as well as private market policy.” — Susan Levine, University of Illinois at Chicago

“In her insightful new book, Goldstein has done an excellent job of researching and reinterpreting the roles that home economists played in building the modern American consumer economy. Brought to life through a wealth of interesting sources, Goldstein’s home economists are complex historical actors. Nothing comparable is in print.” — Nancy Tomes, Stony Brook University

“Creating Consumers brings fresh perspectives and insight to the history of American consumer culture. Calling on a wide range of archival sources, Carolyn Goldstein offers an eye-opening analysis of a diverse movement with ambitious goals as reformers in business, government, and education.” — Susan Strasser, author of Never Done: A History of American Housework and Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Making of the American Mass Market.