Empire of Things

How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First

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Empire of Things

By: Frank Trentmann

Narrated by: Mark Meadows

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About this listen

What we consume has become the defining feature of our lives: our economies live or die by spending, we are treated more as consumers than workers and even public services are presented to us as products in a supermarket.

In this monumental study, acclaimed historian Frank Trentmann unfolds the extraordinary history that has shaped our material world, from late Ming China, Renaissance Italy and the British Empire to the present. Astonishingly wide ranging and richly detailed, Empire of Things explores how we have come to live with so much more, how this changed the course of history and the global challenges we face as a result.

Frank Trentmann is a professor of history at Birkbeck College, University of London, and directed the £5 million Cultures of Consumption research programme. His last book, Free Trade Nation, won the Whitfield Prize for outstanding historical scholarship and achievement from the Royal Historical Society. He was educated at Hamburg University, the LSE and Harvard, where he received his PhD. In 2014 he was Moore Distinguished Fellow at Caltech.

Frank TrentmannMark MeadowsAudible Studios

World

Imperialism

Socialism

Export

Economic Inequality

Liberalism

China

Capitalism

Africa

Middle Ages

Taxation

Latin American

Social Movement

Colonial Period

British Empire

United Kingdom

Sustainability

Economic disparity

Social justice

Russia

US Economy

Ancient History

Self-Determination

Interwar Period

World Imperialism Socialism Export Economic Inequality Liberalism China Capitalism Africa Middle Ages Taxation Latin American Social Movement Colonial Period British Empire United Kingdom Sustainability Economic disparity Social justice Russia US Economy Ancient History Self-Determination Interwar Period

Critic reviews

" Empire of Things is a masterpiece of historical research... a delight to read...this book consistently entertains while it informs. In contrast to so many historians, Trentmann has the ability to write for the multitude without compromising on intellectual rigour." ( The Times)

" Empire of Things is something to behold; a compelling account of consumerism that revels in its staggering breadth and depth. Frank Trentmann has written a necessary and important book about one of the defining characteristics of our times." (Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana, winner of the Whitbread Prize; and A World on Fire)

" Empire of Things is an extraordinary, Braudelian achievement. It is impossible to imagine that any one person would be able to do a better job than Frank Trentmann." (John Brewer, author of The Pleasures of the Imagination, winner of the Wolfson History Prize)

Most relevant

This is a long book, that's a good thing. Each chapter introduces a series of stories about stuff that I knew little or nothing about. Entertaining in themselves, each chapter had me saying to myself, 'Wow, I never thought of it like that.' Overall they build into a connected whole but you don't have to keep it all in your head to enjoy it. The author doesn't preach or politic.

Mark Meadows' voice is so soothing I often fell asleep listening. He's not boring at all, he just carries me away on the words. Sleep timer means I just skip back ten minutes the next morning and all is well. I find only the best readers have this effect. (Mr Meadows needs to read more novels please, not just crime & thrillers.)