Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix Introducing the Starbucks Moment 1 1. Real Coffee 21 2. Predictability the Individual Way 58 3. It Looks like a Third Place 82 4. Self-Gifting and Retail Therapy 122 5. Hear Music for Everyday Discoverers 149 6. Not-So-Green Cups 173 7. Sleeping Soundly in the Age of Globalization 201 Afterword 239 A Note on the Research 247 Notes 253 Selected Bibliography 279 Index 289

About the Author

Bryant Simon is Professor of History and the Director of American Studies at Temple University and the author, most recently, of Boardwalk Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America.

Reviews

"Those who frequent Starbucks will enjoy Simon's range of topics, from business matters to the music played to the (very American) concept of 'self-gifting.'"--Publishers Weekly "Simon's book is a fascinating, sometimes dispiriting look at how Starbucks is emblematic of some deeper socioeconomic phenomena at work in this country over the past decade and a half."--Boston Phoenix "A thoughtful, in-depth study."--World Wide Work