ABSTRACT
Although his other books were not as successful as The Hidden Persuaders, each was well received, and several did become bestsellers in their own right. Each concerned some aspect of American life, from Packard’s views on social stratification and American behavior (The Status Seekers) to planned obsolescence (The Waste Makers) to early “Big Brother” concerns (The Naked Society) and on to sexuality, the rootlessness of the American people, and the impact of our changing society on children’s lives (The Sexual Wilderness, A Nation of Strangers, and Our Endangered Children). Packard died at the age of 82, having popularized through his writing his social ideas based on America’s postwar prosperity and the rise of consumerism.
