From the time of its origin in 1888, the Sears, Roebuck catalog was more than just a listing of store merchandise. Called the "Big Book" or the "Wish Book" by the millions of people who eagerly awaited its arrival each year, the catalog brought the wider world into the isolated homes of rural America. From it, working-class Americans who lived far from cities or even shops, could order anything from shoes, clothes, furniture, and appliances to wagons and machinery. More than this, they could keep up to date on advances in equipment, technology, and fashion and even take a peek at a drawing of a member of the opposite sex in underwear. By bringing honesty and dependability to mail-order shopping, Sears, Roebuck and Company was able to reach out to the seventy percent of Americans who lived in the rural United States at the end...