"In these deeply researched essays, a Paris Review contributor blends science, history, and memoir to explore human obsession with gorgeous things, exposing the fraught histories of makeup, silk, jewels, perfume, and other objects, helping readers to ethically partake in the beauty of the world around them."--

What do Howard Hughes and 50 Cent have in common, and what do they tell us about Americans and our desires? Why did Sean Connery stop wearing a toupee, and what does this tell us about American customers for any product? What one thing did the Beatles, Malcolm Gladwell and Nike all notice about Americans that helped them win us over? Which uniquely American traits may explain the plights of Krispy Kreme, Ford, and GM, and the risks faced by Starbuck's?...

"The best customer for any business is a happy customer. He returns again and again, brings his friends and relatives, and his loyalty becomes a marketing platform of its own. But growing a loyal base is challenging, and what works brilliantly for one company might backfire on another. Over the last ten years, however, researchers and psychologists have begun to seriously measure what triggers happiness for the first time, and in this revealing look...

"For many of us, our possessions and the lifestyle that goes along with them are causing more stress than happiness--otherwise known as 'keeping up with the Joneses' or what Alain de Botton calls 'status anxiety.' But James Wallman argues that we are approaching a tipping point with regard to materialism. People are turning away from the endless drive to consume in favor of a simpler, more streamlined way of living ... He interviews anthropologists...