Trading Places

Silverstein’s nonfiction work, which bears the subtitle “The New American Luxury,” is more Wharton School than Wharton, Edith. The book, which he co-wrote with Neil Fiske, a former colleague, is an upbeat survey of a range of consumer brands—Whirlpool, Belvedere, Williams-Sonoma—which, the authors argue, are successful because they appeal not just to the material needs of consumers but to their emotional desires. In Silverstein’s lexicon, “trading up” is what consumers do when they choose Nutro pet food over the cheaper Alpo, or Bath & Body Works lotion over Vaseline Intensive Care. . .

Should a reader pick up the nonfictional “Trading Up” in error, he or she will not be disappointed: the book, which draws on interviews with covetous consumers, provides an even juicier read than its fictional counterpart.