Publisher's description -- Adam Sandler movies, HBO's Entourage, and such magazines as Maxim and FHM all trade in and appeal to one character -- the modern boy-man. Addicted to video games, comic books, extreme sports, and dressing down, the boy-man would rather devote an afternoon to Grand Theft Auto than plan his next career move. He would rather prolong the hedonistic pleasures of youth than embrace the self-sacrificing demands of adulthood. When...

"In Packaged Pleasures, Gary S. Cross and Robert N. Proctor delve into an uncharted chapter of American history, shedding new light on the origins of modern consumer culture and how technologies have transformed human sensory experience"--Provided by publisher.

To sort out who's who and what's what in the enchanting, vexing world of Barbies and Ninja Turtles, Tinkertoys and teddy bears, is to begin to see what's become of childhood in America. It is this changing world, and what it unveils about our values, that Gary Cross explores in Kids' Stuff, a revealing look into the meaning of American toys through this century. What does the endless array of action figures and fashion dolls mean? Are children - or...