It's [Minter's] vibrant sketches of entrepreneurial characters and his dives into obscure industrial histories that make a persuasive case: discarded goods are becoming a big environmental problem.

Los Angeles Review of Books

With grace, a keen eye for detail, an interesting cast of characters who spend their life reselling used things, and the perennially curious mind of a great journalist, Minter takes readers from the backs of thrift stores all across the United States to small apartments and vintage shops in Tokyo, and from a truck in Mexico to an office in Mumbai, to show the inner workings of one of the world's largest market . . . Secondhand is a gripping narrative. Minter is a superb storyteller who knows empathy is easier to connect with than numbers. In this book, there are plenty of both, but the people he interviews and the stories he tells are what make it an enthralling read . . . It's a book I'd recommend buying now instead of waiting for it to show up at your local thrift store.

NPR.org

An anthem to decluttering, recycling, making better quality goods and living a simpler life with less stuff. The book is a compelling argument for tempering acquisitions, especially now that global warming compels people to rethink how they live.

Associated Press

In an accessible and engaging style, Secondhand unravels the complexities of a vast yet mostly hidden and often secretive enterprise of used clothes and goods . . . The result is an unparalleled look at the lifespan of everyday things and the unexpected ways our society's abundance of discarded items are, refreshingly, being repurposed for a second life.

Shelf Awareness

A sprawling, insightful travelogue through the world of repair, reuse and waste, Secondhand takes readers deep inside the consumer economy's back end. In exploring the vast global tide of used and discarded goods, Adam Minter delivers a book as crammed with oddities and gems as the second-hand shops he loves to haunt.

Nature

This is a fascinating, eye-opening look at a dynamic, largely unseen world that only starts when one drops off something at a thrift store.

Publishers Weekly