We are living in the age of packaging, where books really are judged by their covers. Corporations now have branded identities and maintain narratives about who they are and what they sell. Every aspect of a product is designed to appeal. This award-winning book is the first sociological study of industrial design, showing the success or failure of goods based on their actual 'career' over time. It is a meditation into the meaning of the stuff in our lives and what that stuff in turn says about us. Moltoch takes a sweeping look at the role of design in contemporary life, covering everything from toasters to cars and garlic presses. He shows how the look, the touch, and the mechanics of any product reflect the way our culture and economy combine -- how we interact, do business, exploit technology, and use art. On this fascinating exploration of the worlds of technology, design, corporate and popular culture, we see how corporations, designers, retailers, advertisers, and other middle-men influence what a thing can be and how it is made. We see the way goods link into ordinary life as well as vast systems of consumption, economic and political operation. In Moltoch's hands, the toaster is not just a toaster; it becomes a map to the world.

哈維·莫洛奇 Harvey Molotch，紐約大學社會學系教授。芝加哥大學社會學博士。研究領域包括都市發展與政治經濟、設計與消費的社會學研究。1987年與羅根 (John Logan) 合著出版《都市財富》(Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place) 是莫洛奇的知名著作之一，提出「都市是一部成長機器」(city as a growth machine) 此一深具影響力的觀點，說明進入工業生產獲利持續下降的時代，地主、地方政客、房地產業者、資本家、媒體與金融人士形成「成長聯盟」，如何將都市轉變為獲利的根源。近年莫洛奇開創「東西」的研究，聚焦在由各種行動者合作產出的人工製品，探討產品設計師在技術、規範、大眾品味與公司利益交織的框架之中如何設計產品，由此解釋何謂「生產」的社會意義，更透過各式各樣的東西說明社會的結構與文化的力量是如何影響著我們的日常生活。

譯者 李屹 elek，1986年生，高雄人。社會學出身。《秘密讀者》編輯委員。