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| Dematerializing: Taming the Power of Possessions | 
 enlarge | Author: Jane Hammerslough
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $2.00
You Save: $14.00 (88%)
Buy New/Used from $0.84
Avg. Customer Rating:  (9 reviews)
Sales Rank: 157081
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 0738207721
Dewey Decimal Number: 150
EAN: 9780738207728
ASIN: 0738207721
Publication Date: September 18, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
"Getting what you want" today is increasingly linked to buying something. But is the purchase always enough? Picking up where "simplifying" may not satisfy, Dematerializing acknowledges the pleasures, along with the pitfalls, of living in a material world. With a sharp reporter's eye and a wry sensibility, Jane Hammerslough encourages readers to explore how a consumption-crazed culture affects their own relationships with objects. By considering what possessions can and can't do, and by exploring where belief in the magic of the material encroaches on belief in ourselves and other people, Dematerializing offers insight into the pressures of living in a possession-obsessed environment--and ways to tame materialism in our own lives. Grounded by real-world examples, research, and the author's own experience, this inspiring book is for those who appreciate having "nice things" but are also disturbed by the control "nice things" sometimes have on their lives.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Well thought-out, honest, comprehensive and sometimes even inspiring October 27, 2005
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Wonderful book. I don't know how she did it, but she seems to have organized and thoroughly analyzed the very large topic of posessions and materialism, and all in a very readable and fluid style.
I found myself often wondering how she so easily transitioned one chapter or idea to another, but it always worked somehow. Filled with helpful suggestions on how to keep one's perspective, but never preachy. She speaks with understanding and awareness, and has insights only one who could have gone, perhaps, a bit too far, could ever have. Her anecdotes are particularly interesting, as she takes elements from her own personal life and integrates them into a larger philosophical discussion.
I think one of the strongest points of the book is that it carefully and thoughtfully disects the reasons why we want things and gets to the root of the problem, while not wasting a lot of time explaining or giving advice on how we stop ourselves from wanting (come on people, the first question answers the second). And she speaks from the heart. Far from a distanced sociological paper on materialism, this book is one woman's attempt at trying to throttle back and re-evaluate what is truly important in life... and with such thorough research and a comprehensive understanding, she shares her wisdom with us. Thank you, Jane.
 'Dematerialize' by avoiding this book! December 16, 2004
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
The title holds promise--advice on how to break the buying habit. The contents proved to be everything but--pages of poorly-and annoyingly--written filler on why we're so consumed by consuming. After slogging through this wasteland of non-information, I gave up and turned with hope to the last chapter, the one that's supposed to offer advice. It does, but it's pathetically shallow and self-evident. Readers, the first step in dematerializing is to not waste money on this book. The next step is to gather your thoughts and come up with your own way to dematerialize. I guarantee you'll do a much better job than Hammerslough. And it won't cost you a penny.
one of the top 10 books I've ever read, and I read a lot September 27, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Original thinking. Very thorough analysis of why people buy things, or want to buy them. Looks at it from many different angles. If you spend too much, or find that spending money or having things doesn't solve your problem of wanting things (that is, do you just end up wanting more?), then this book can help you do some soul-searching to arrive at a solution. Sees possessions as symptoms, not goals. Examines why you want things, and how you can solve the problem of spending too much or putting too much emphasis on possessions by changing your thinking. Expertly written. A pleasure to read.
Thoughtful advise May 30, 2002
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Because we practice a voluntary simplicity, your money or your life way of living I am always interested in books on the subject of downsizing or decluttering or dematerializing. So this book caught my eye. I especially liked how she speaks to the issues of fear and feeling one may be deprived if they do with less. How as a society we have evolved and look to things to bring us a feeling of worth or happiness whereas in decades past it was family and friends whom we turned to. Ironically those were also the decades when people had money in savings accounts and weren't in debt. The books premise really is money cant buy you love.I especially liked Chapter 11 where the author talks about the value of having one day (Sunday) where we don't do anything except rest and relax. And she differentiates between recreation and fun and real rest and relaxation. And she discusses developing a will for living. Doing what gives one pleasure as well as an income. And the importance of simply being thankful for what one has. I really agree with her on that. I often stand in the shower and realize that there are people who have no indoor plumbing. No hot water at the turn of a knob, and now clean clothes fresh out of a washing machine and dried and ready for me to wear. Or the fact that I turn a knob and I have hot water to wash dishes, which in turn helps prevent diseases that in so many of the worlds countries are rampant. It is a book I recommend although I believe Your Money or Your Life is number one and the author agrees since she lists it on the books to read section.
Oversimplified and Superficial April 29, 2002
15 out of 25 found this review helpful
Although I had high hopes for this book, I was disappointed by Hammerslough's mediocre analysis of consumerism in America. It may be plumped up by some interesting examples of materialism, but it fails to really identify the cultural roots of why we overspend, why we seek comfort in things.Most dismaying is the final chapter of the book, which provides a superficial overview on how we can overcome our materialist nature. This chapter reads like a simplistic advice column from a whiny monthly magazine. Save your money for something you really need.
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