Branded Nation

How is it that a Big Mac is merely lunch in America and a symbol of cultural imperialism in France? Why did the September 11 terrorists choose United and American over any other airlines? Because they are branded, looming as larger-than-life symbols of America. Branding, to hear James Twitchell tell it, is nothing more than commercial storytelling - and it`s become so ubiquitous that even institutions we thought were above branding have succumbed. And according to Twitchell, that`s probably just fine. BRANDED NATION lays bare an American society where megachurches resemble shopping malls, where a university lives or dies on the talents of its image-makers, and where museums have turned to motorcycle exhibits and fashion shows to bolster revenue. Full of provocative anecdotes and penetrating analyses, Twitchell`s parsing of the age of `McCulture` is a triumph of great verve, sharp wit and, most striking of all, infectious optimism.