By Gad Saad
Prometheus Books, $25.00, 375 pages
It is interesting just how much mankind has been studied by itself. The Consuming Instinct looks at how our nature is explored through the various studies, and how much marketing plays in that nature. The book argues that almost every decision that we make is based on some form of marketing, and that we make decisions based on how things have been presented to us. The list is pretty inclusive, as it includes not only what we buy and how we vote, but how we look at the world based on the appearance of things in general rather than the core of the thing.
The Consuming Instinct is definitely an authoritative book, and it would be hard to not take away anything from the book. The color pictures definitely provide a nice break from the book. However, it is a denser book than its page count would imply, as it is written more as a college thesis than as a more accessible book. For those that are curious just how much marketing touches us, and how much we depend on it, this is a great book if you don’t mind some slogging through the text.
Reviewed by Jamais Jochim
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