Question: There is not an `Edit | Preferences` option. How do I get the files to display in a list view with details, and not as icons?

Answer: 
To change the default for **all folders** \*, Open the file manager and when the window is active move the mouse pointer to the top left of the top panel and you will see:

![Nautilus toolbar options](https://i.stack.imgur.com/R7ZaP.png) 

Select `Edit -> Preferences -> Views (tab) -> View new folders using` then select your preferred view type (in your case it would be 'List').

To change the default view for **just that folder**, select `View -> List` from the menu, or use the keyboard shortcut `Ctrl` + `2` 

\*Note that in the first step the default preferences will not be used for any folders you have manually changed view type on in the past. To reset this, see [this question](https://askubuntu.com/q/164551/12864) then apply the new default preference.
In newer versions of Ubuntu you can click the list button on the taskbar:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NQZLS.png)