Comment from kgcarter@midcitypictures.com
Time April 18, 2010 at 10:52 am

Manning’s opinion of the individual is the height of cynicism. His view of the individual/consumer is so low he thinks him or her incapable of resisting the temptation of excessive acquisitiveness, let alone being even remotely capable of exercising rational, critical thought that might guide them in the direction of some much-needed self-restraint. No, to Manning, the individual is little more than a lamb-like innocent being led to credit card slaughter.

Sadly, in this book, personal autonomy surrenders to abdication of personal responsibility. Apparently, Manning (like the people he purports to advocate for), prefers the low road of Victimhood to the high road of responsibility and action.
Rating: 1 / 5

Comment from Michael D. Meyer
Time April 18, 2010 at 1:50 pm

First off, I didn’t buy or read this book. However, all the reviews motivated me to wonder what all these folks were thinking BEFORE they read the book. Apparently, the contents merely explains what happens when people buy things they can’t afford by borrowing money at horrendous rates of interest. What I don’t understand is why the credit card companies are getting the bum rap. The culprit in all this seems to be the ignorance of sheeplike consumers.

I think anyone who is wealthy enough and educated enough to be going to college ought to be able to understand that borrowing money at inflated interest rates to buy things you really can’t afford is dumb. Or is it just me?

Anyway, I don’t think I need a book from a sociologist to tell me that.
Rating: 3 / 5

Comment from Snail
Time April 18, 2010 at 3:23 pm

I think I’m getting sick of reading books from Humanities folks, they are also far too verbose. This book is not an exception. This book could have been much shorter if the author stopped repeating himself and wrote in a less verbose style.

There are a few interesting tidbits of information in the book, but overall its not worth reading.
Rating: 2 / 5

Comment from Caraculiambro
Time April 18, 2010 at 4:45 pm

The basic thesis of this book, in case you need to be told, is that evil credit card companies are fleecing America and getting away with it, and that those “revolvers” who carry interest from month to month on their credit cards are, well, idiots.

Alas, after having waded through the whole of the book, I would not recommend it to others, even those who are passionate about the issue. While the material is well-written and well-researched, the author seems incapable of making his subject matter come alive, or writing efficiently or effectively. The whole performance is more or less forgettable.

Sure, it’s an important issue, but after the first twenty pages or so, you pretty much “get it,” and all the anecdotes and graphs after that are essentially superfluous.

Manning, furthermore, certainly has a bone to pick. And while agree with pretty much his entire position, I couldn’t help feeling this makes him less than trustworthy.

To wit: subscribing, as he obviously does, to the Puritan notions of saving, paying-as-you-go, the shame of bankruptcy, etc., he reveals nothing but disdain for the outrageous way the world seems to work these days. In the end I felt this book was much more effective as a lament for the lost virtue of prudence rather than a sober analysis of “the consequences of America’s addiction to credit.”

Nearly all of his “case histories,” for example, are negative. So-and-so was ruined by his improvident use of plastic. So-and-so recklessly lived for the moment.

But what Manning de-emphasizes — or even ignores — are the many cases in which credit cards frequently allow members of the underclass to travel, complete their education, change jobs, extricate themselves from some unforeseen difficulty, etc., and then pay dearly for it later, or perhaps even Chapter 10 it away. No, all of that stuff is shunted aside in favor of focusing on how disgraceful everybody’s behavior is.

In summation: not as jam-packed with insights and interesting facts as I thought it would be. Further, what “facts” the book does have to offer, unfortunately, are so unremarkable and tendentious that they could probably be sketched out, at least in their general thrust, by one who has simply been apprised of the author’s stance, without actually having read the book himself.
Rating: 2 / 5

Comment from Edward Crawford
Time April 18, 2010 at 6:31 pm

Well, the chicken and egg question: Are we victims of credit cards infiltrating every aspect of our lives, or merely not taking responsibility? I’ll admit, having been in debt until recently, I felt both at times. Of course people make their own choices. I feel you can not totally blame credit card companies for everything. However, this is a fascinating book on credit and how it has multiplied into every fabric of what we call the American Dream. Growing by leaps and bounds from the late 19th century until the present day. I saw Dr. Manning on C-SPAN 2 book world and seeing him speak made me want to buy this book. While we can’t always blame others for our mistakes, isn’t it time we took a look at credit card comapnies marketing techniques on college campuses? This was where I fell into my own trap. Mr.Manning explores this phenomena, which is vastly unexplored in many books, very well. He does give some dry statistics, but overall presents the history of the credit card. Let’s face it, the companies would rather we be in debt. They also give so little of their funds toward charity, when doing events for charity. It is even possible very little of their money now is going towards relief efforts stemming from recent tragedy. There are those who look down at books like this (one reviwer I saw in particular), but the numbers don’t lie. Credit debt keeps growing. It seems, unfortunately, that many people will still need this book. They may need it and others like it. As far as I can see, Mr. Manning has done justice towards how and why credit card comapnies market the way they do. Let the stories resonate with you. Take away something from them. They could be you, or someone you love. For having that intention, we need more writers like Mr. Manning.
Rating: 5 / 5