Today our aspirations run to accumulation: real estate, 401(k)s, college degrees, wealth. Everything else is simply of the moment, purchased with plastic, disposable and almost always made by someone overseas. Products for a Happy Life does not aim to reject commercial society. Rather, the book seeks to "untake" for granted some of its simplest, most elegant and most functional items: a hefty pair of scissors, a hammer with a hickory handle, a cotton T-shirt. These tangible goods, once made in factories not far from the homes they were destined for, promise nothing more than to do their jobs. The simple, but refined two-color illustrations found in Products for a Happy Life will make you appreciate the things stashed in your drawers, closets and cabinets, some of them so prosaic they cannot even be desired. Like this book, these items will always be where you last put them, and they will not disappoint.