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Not getting a fair shake; getting the short end of the stick; feeling screwed? Recommended titles
by David Bollier Routledge, 2003.
"In Silent Theft, David Bollier argues that a great untold story of our time is the staggering privatization and abuse of our common wealth. Corporations are engaged in a relentless plunder of dozens of resources that we collectively own-publicly funded medical breakthroughs, software innovation, the airwaves, the public domain of creative works, and even the DNA of plants, animals and humans. Too often, however, our government turns a blind eye-or sometimes helps give away our assets. Amazingly, the silent theft of our shared wealth has gone largely unnoticed because we have lost our ability to see the commons. Spooling out one outrageous story after another, Bollier skillfully weaves together debates about the Internet, the environment, biotechnology, and the communications revolution. His fresh and compelling critique illuminates a rarely explored landscape in our political and cultural life." -- book description 
by Noreena Hertz HarperBusiness, (paperback) September 2003.
"Cambridge University economist Hertz asserts that Reagan's and Thatcher's brand of free market capitalism has had dire social and political repercussions, although it has triumphed as the dominant world ideology and brought prosperity to many. She sensibly argues that with government in retreat from its traditional rule-setter role, multinational corporations have grown so powerful 51 of the hundred biggest economies in the world are corporations that they determine political policies rather than operate subject to them. ... Since corporations are not designed and cannot be expected to serve a general population's social and political needs, she argues that democracies need to move toward a realignment between the state's political power and the corporations' economic power so that all people have a positive stake in world economic progress. Hertz maps out a proposed agenda, and her eloquent call to action deserves the attention of every concerned citizen of our troubled world." -- Publisher's Weekly
by Arianna Huffington Three Rivers Press, (paperback) January 2004. 288pp.
"...So unsavory are the CEO villains, so unfathomable is their greed and monstrously callous is their disregard for the thousands of employees who lost jobs and savings because of them, that even the most worldly activist and most cynical political observers will be shocked by what they read here. And Huffington's indictment of the corporate culture of greed, one that she believes undermines democracy, goes far beyond the high-flying corporate figures featured in congressional investigations. Among her accusations are that U.S. drug companies allowed the African AIDS epidemic to rage in the interests of corporate profits, and that President Bush is a conspirator in the corporate disregard of the interests of the American public. This is a powerful book, brimming with wit and sulphurous satire that connects the dots among politicians, lobbyists and corporations, and demonstrates their destructive effect on the well-being of average Americans ..." -- Publisher's Weekly
by Greg Palast Plume, 2003.
" Palast (a reporter with the BBC and London's Observer) updates the muckraking tradition with some 21st-century targets: the IMF, World Bank and WTO, plus oil treaties, energy concerns and corporate evildoers of all creeds. Some of Palast's reports are downright shocking (if familiar). He shows, for example, how the WTO prevents cheap AIDS drugs from reaching victims in Africa and how World Bank loan policies have crippled the economies of Tanzania and other developing countries. On the home front, he details Exxon's horrific safety record before the Valdez disaster and reveals the price-gouging by Texas power companies during the California energy crisis... readers who want a full-bodied, serious analysis of how globalization is affecting developing countries or how corporate giants pay for political favors should look elsewhere. " --Publisher's Weekly
by Thom Hartmann Rodale Press, 2002
"Unequal taxes, unequal accountability for crime, unequal influence, unequal privacy, and unequal access to natural resources and our commons--these inequalities and more are the effects of corporations winning the rights of persons while simultaneously being given the legal protections to avoid the responsibilities that come with these rights. Hartmann tells the intriguing story of how it got this way--from the colonists' rebellion against the commercial interests of the British elite to the distorted application of the Fourteenth Amendment--and how to get back to a government of, by, and for the people." -- book description
by Eric Schlosser HarperCollins, 2002.
"Everyone frets about the nutritional implications of excessive dining at America's fast-food emporia, but few grasp the significance of how fast-food restaurants have fundamentally changed the way Americans eat. Schlosser documents the effects of fast food on America's economy, its youth culture, and allied industries ... Starting with a young woman who makes minimum wage working at a Colorado fast-food restaurant ... into the little-known world of chemically engineered flavorings, both natural and artificial. The coming together of so many diverse social, scientific, and economic trends in a single industry makes this book a relevant, compelling read and a cautionary tale of the many risks generated by this ubiquitous industry." --Booklist, Mark Knoblauch
by John C. Stauber, Sheldon Rampton Common Courage Press, 1995.
"In a series of short but informative chapters, sprinkled with humor and packed with insider information, the authors illustrate how the PR industry works round-the-clock to manipulate and deceive. ... Now a $10 billion enterprise, PR has evolved far beyond press releases and other standard devices into 'crisis management,' the hiring of spies, the suppression of free speech and even the manufacture of 'grass roots' movements. ... In a world suffused with corporate lies and propaganda, the authors show, one cannot trust the 'Workplace Health and Safety Council'--actually a corporate lobby that opposes health and safety regulations--any more than one can safely join 'Californians for Statewide Smoking Restrictions,' a front for Philip Morris. ... If you are among those convinced that at least the spin managers haven't got you fooled, read this book. You will surely think again." The Nation, Nov 18, 1996
by Sheldon Rampton, John Stauber J. P. Tarcher, 2000.
"Over the past decade, corporations and public-relations firms have seized upon a remarkable new way of influencing opinion called the "third-party technique." The method is simple-just put your words into the mouth of someone who appears impartial, such as a doctor, professor, watchdog group, or an "expert" of some kind. Written with biting humor and penetrating insight, Trust Us, We're Experts! exposes the current and very effective methods of opinion manipulation practiced by the corporate powers that be. " --book description
by Barbara Ehrenreich Owl Books, 2002.
"Ehrenreich spent about three months in three cities throughout the nation, attempting to "get by" on the salary available to low-paid and unskilled workers. ... She discovered that her average salary of $7 per hour couldn't even provide the necessities of life (rent, transportation, and food), let alone the luxury of health coverage. Her account is at once enraging and sobering. In straightforward language, she describes how labor-intensive, demeaning, and controlling such jobs can be ... In a concluding chapter, Ehrenreich takes on issues and questions posed before and during the experiment, including why these wages are so low, why workers are so accepting of them, and what Washington's refusal to increase the minimum wage to a realistic "living wage" says about both our economy and our culture. Mandatory reading for any workforce entrant." School Library Journal 
by Marion Nestle University of California Press, 2003.
"Dr. Nestle is chairwoman of the nutrition and food studies department at New York University. A year ago, in "Food Politics" (University of California Press), she sent the food industry into a lather when she blamed it for the growing obesity problem in the United States. Now she is sure to enrage the industry and others even further: at bottom, Dr. Nestle's view is that food companies choose profits over safety, and that the hamstrung government does little to stop them. ... Dr. Nestle concludes that the failure of food companies, scientists and federal agencies to address values as well as science has led to widespread distrust of the food industry and its regulators. ... Dr. Nestle has repeated the clearheaded thinking that made "Food Politics" an important addition to the debate about food in this country. Her ability to look at issues as both a scientist and a consumer makes her a particularly useful source when food safety is up for discussion. Such sources are few and far between. " --Marian Burros, "Something to Read Before Your Next Meal", New York Times, April 23, 2003
by Marion Nestle University of California Press, 2002.
"...Food Politics is about how the food industry influences what we eat and therefore influences our health. It discusses the history of dietary advice and guidance in the 20th century; governmental and regulatory practices; the effect of marketing on nutritional recommendations, food access, and choice; and the promotion of dietary supplements. The book is hard-hitting, revealing, and bound to provoke controversy ... she has captured issues that deserve debate and is forcing us to consider how others might view them. She challenges us to consider the political environment in which the science of food and nutrition exists. A strength of the book is its style: Nestle tells us a series of engaging and surprising stories and gives us a lively presentation of the politics, as she perceives them, of advice on diet and health during the past century. " --N Engl J Med, June 2002
by Charles Derber, Ralph Nader Griffin Trade Paperback, 2000.
"... In Wilding he also anticipated his current attack on corporate America and its abuse of power, calling for a more virtuous capitalism. Now he debunks the "corporate mystique" and shows how corporations unduly direct public policy and affect private lives. But instead of simply decrying corporate excess, Derber sets an agenda for "how to be against corporate power [but] for business." He advocates a global populism and recommends joining in four movements that he says are leading in the fight to "return basic rights from corporations to the citizens to whom they rightly belong." Booklist, David Rouse
by Michael Moore Regan Books, 2002.
"Michael Moore ... now returns to size up the new century—and that big, ugly special-interest group that's laying waste to the world as we know it: stupid white men. Whether he's calling for United Nations action to overthrow the Bush Family Junta, calling on African-Americans to place whites only signs over the entrances of unfriendly businesses, or praying that Jesse Helms will get kissed by a man, Stupid White Men is Mike's Manifesto on Malfeasance and Mediocrity... So... you're wondering what's going to give out first—the economy, Dick Cheney's pacemaker, or your new VW Beetle—here's the book for you." --book description
by Michael Moore Perennial, 1997.
"Americans today are working harder, working longer and yet for most of us, in this time of ruthless downsizing and political cronyism, job security, a decent standard of living and a comfortable retirement are becoming harder and harder to find. In this brilliantly funny and right-on-target diatribe, irreverent everyman Michael Moore gives his own bold views on who's behind the fading of the American dream. " --book description
by Naomi Klein Picador, 2000.
"Equal parts cultural analysis, political manifesto, mall-rat memoir, and journalistic expose, NO LOGO is the first book that both uncovers the sins of corporations run amok and explores and explains the new resistance that will change consumer culture in the 21st century. " --book description
by Keith Bradsher PublicAffairs, 2002.
"The behemoths among autos, SUVs are dangerous gas-guzzlers exempted from the safety and environmental rules that apply to other autos because they are classified as light trucks. Bradsher, an award-winning journalist who reported on the Ford-Firestone rollover controversy, details how SUVs came to enjoy such protection and such enormous popularity ... The author interviewed the auto executives and engineers behind the SUV and documents the danger to occupants, other motorists, pedestrians, and the environment of a car model that continues to grow in size and heft. This fascinating history and troubling analysis of both the politics and the design of the SUV should appeal to readers on both sides of the debate." --Booklist, Vanessa Bush
by Paul Rosa Main Street Books, 1995.
"Look out, public relations; take cover, customer service -- Paul Rosa's letter is in the mail and his inventively imbecilic queries about consumer products have a way of eliciting equally idiotic and even more unlikely answers from some of America's biggest companies. " --book description
by Don Novello Workman Publishing Company, 1992.
"Nixon and Agnew, McDonalds and Ford, Mr. Bubble and Bebe Rebozo. It's Don Novello's original uproarious collection of actual correspondence with political and corporate officials-and a brilliantly offbeat portrait of its times. Updated with a new cover and seven bonus letters and replies-a classic!" --book description
by Joe Mozian Dumbass Publications, 2002.
"Joe Mozian, a laid-off marketing pro, tried endlessly to land the perfect job, but with corporate downsizing on the rise, his 'serious inquiries' received no replies. Joe's sense of humor prevailed, turning his job-hunting frustrations into a tongue-in-cheek poke at the whole job-hunting process. He began writing and actually mailing these ridiculous cover letters to accompany his professional resume: Dear Pepsi Human Resource Department, I love Coke... Dear Playboy Human Resource Department, Why do I want to work at Playboy? Two words: naked women... Dear Solomon Smith Barney's Human Resources Department, You are no doubt looking for candidates with intelligence, dedication, ambition and drive. That's great, but what about the rest of us... and more" --book description
by Ted L. Nancy, Jerry Seinfeld (Intro) St. Martin's Press, 2000.
"Dear Kmart: I have invented a male underpants liner...This liner fits right in your shorts and can be thrown away after 15 weeks. I have been wearing the same pair of underwear for 105 days now and although they feel a little stretchy they are perfectly clean. Ted's unique way of looking at the world-and how the world responds to Ted's schemes--is captured here in this extra nutty, hugely hilarious collection. " --book description
by Ted L. Nancy, Jerry Seinfeld (Intro) Avon Books, 1999.
"Letters From A Nut is an insanely inspired, truly madcap collection of Nancy correspondence, a laugh-out-loud-in-public-places aggregation of official—and officially certifiable -- requests, complaints, fan mail and questions that could not possibly have been taken seriously...but, amazingly, were! " --book description
by Wilber Winkle, John Homans Bancroft Press, 1997.
"Mild-mannered insurance man John Homans has a secret life. Posing as Wilber Winkle, an idiosyncratic nebbish with a peculiar focus for the odd and unlikely fact, he has written to America's major corporations with his comments and complaints. His operating premise: the rights of consumers--his rights--are under siege, and he must do what he can to defend them. This clever collection of his letters offers cheer to the downtrodden of all ages. " --book description
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