Tag: consumers

consumer health cover

Old Timey Health Info

Society Explained, Uncategorized 16 comments

Consumer Health
Byer
1971

I snagged this little book from a public library and it is still in circulation as of this writing. It covers basics of medical services, treatment costs, and some basic consumer information about hospitals and insurance. It doesn’t look like a textbook, but it sure reads like one. Also the cover is less than interesting, which adds to the textbook feel. There are many passages about costs and treatments that no longer apply.

This book was probably one of the projects out of the consumer activism of the 1960s and 1970s. Ralph Nader was one of the big players during this time with his book Unsafe at any speed which targeted auto safety.

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Make it Yourself cover

Make It Yourself – 1970s Style

Craptastic Crafts and Hobbies, Home and Garden, Show me the money 2 comments

Make it Yourself
Riccio and Bingham
1978

For the most part, the information in this book is still good. Unfortunately, this book looks very 1978. (Fun fact: Holly and I have gotten pretty good at guessing the publication year based on the fonts used.) You can also see that this book is really showing its age.

The book is really just a listing of things you can make yourself, ranging from cleaning products to condiments. Some of the tips aren’t particularly practical. Am I supposed to save my egg shells indefinitely in case I run out steel wool? There is also no discussion of how this saves money. It also doesn’t address the value of time. I am not going stand around and save every egg shell, just in case. Where would it be stored? How would it be stored? Also, I still have steel wool that I probably got sometime in the early 1990s. I doubt I am going to run out of steel wool any time soon.

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