Joseph A. Amato offers an account of the evolution of our daily existence. Ranging across social, economic and cultural history, as well as anthropology, folklore, rural history, and the history of technology to construct his story, the author explores how and why the pattern of our lives has changed and developed over time. Amato argues that what seems to be ordinary is in fact extraordinary, and shows how life, even in the very recent past, differed from life in our present-day societies of abundance and of remorseless change. The result is a challenging and thought-provoking introduction to change and continuity in daily life.