This week, two books about the ups and downs, mostly the downs of the business world.

First, our cheap clothes ruining the planet, Dana Thomas will join us to talk about her

new book, Fashion Opelus, the price of fast fashion and the future of clothes.

Then, just how bad if things got in for American workers, Steven Greenhouse will be here to

talk about his book, Beaton Down, Worked Up, the past, present, and future of American

labor. Plus, we'll talk about what we and the wider world are reading.

This is the Book Review Podcast from the New York Times. I'm Pamela Paul.

Dana Thomas joins us now from London. She is the author of Gods and Kings and Deluxe,

and her new book is called Fashion Opelus, the price of fast fashion and the future of

clothes. Dana, thanks so much for being here. My pleasure. It's wonderful to be on.

Let's start with the term fast fashion. What do we mean by that phrase? When did that

phrase come about? Well, fast fashion, if you think about it, it's a bit like fast food.

It's, you know, cheap product turned out really fast with mediocre or poor ingredients,

and it's a bit like a whole enlightening speed in thousands of chain stores around the

world. And it's pushed on us in a way that we've become addicted to it. And it's not good

for us. It's not good for the planet. It's not good for humanity. There's not a lot of

winning qualities to it. But there it is. And it's been around for about 30 years. It came

up with globalization because globalization allowed these companies to be able to manufacture

offshore for so cheap and drop their prices. Prices for clothes have never been cheaper

than they are today. And when I was working on the book, I kept hearing this and I didn't

understand what it meant. And then I found an article in the New Yorker from 1940 that

was talking about middle market consumers and clothing line at haddy carnage, called

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