The Day the World Stops Shopping

Lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom – Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of ProgressA delight. MacKinnon has given us a powerful exploration of a riddle central to our days and lives * Andrew Blum, author of Tubes *Stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it – Frank Trentmann, author of Empire of ThingsAn exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn’t put it down – Joel Bakan, author of The CorporationA delight. MacKinnon shows us afresh the world we thought we knew through a kaleidoscopic lens of startling facts, illuminating insight and flatout-wonderful writing. (Praise for The Once and Future World) – John Vaillant, author of The TigerIn a large pool of often simplistic manuals for simple living, this book stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it – Frank Trentmann, author of Empire of ThingsDissecting the dilemma at civilization’s heart - the burden that reckless growth heaps upon the faltering Earth - J.B. MacKinnon lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in a gripping, page-turning read. With wit, precision, and startling insights from around the world, he looks deeply into what we have done, and might do so much better. A model of clarity and grace, The Day the World Stops Shopping is one of the most important and well-written books I have read – Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of ProgressA welcome and rare mix: a strong environmental argument and a jaunty picaresque. For the former, MacKinnon makes a convincing case that we need to shop less now. Green consumerism, in MacKinnon’s telling, isn’t just about buying ecologically-sound stuff or recycling our rubbish. It’s about buying many fewer things, leaving us so much less to recycle in the first place. You will want to buy this book and after you read it, little else – Alissa Quart, author of Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America and Branded: The Buying and Selling of TeenagersA provocative thought experiment that asks us to imagine what currently seems unthinkable, this is a beautifully written and rigorously researched revelation, an extraordinary creative journey to a place we urgently need to go. Full of hope and deep thought, unassuming and devoid of preaching, it is an exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn’t put it down – Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power and The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations are Bad for DemocracyA delight. MacKinnon has given us a powerful exploration of a riddle central to our days and lives: how we are what we buy, and how buying less might make us so much more – Andrew Blum, author of Tubes and The Weather Machine

J.B. MacKinnon is the author or co-author of four books including The Once and Future World, which won the U.S. Green Prize for Sustainable Literature and The 100-Mile Diet, a bestseller widely recognized as a catalyst of the local foods movement. His award-winning writing appears in publications including the New Yorker, National Geographic and Reader’s Digest. MacKinnon is an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and also works in the field of interactive documentaries. He lives with his partner in Vancouver, Canada.