Reviewed by Suzanne Cole
In 1997, Bill Quinn went on a mission; he wanted more than revenge. He wanted to bring the corporate monster that is Wal*Mart to its knees. To accomplish this ambitious mission, Mr. Quinn wrote a witty little book called “How Wal*Mart is Destroying America...and What You Can Do About It.” At 114 pages (with plenty of blank space for notes) and an easy to scan format, it almost looks like Mr. Quinn wrote this book just for busy activists with short attention spans! That’s one of the best parts of this book, actually; it was written in an easy, quick informational format so the information can be absorbed on a loud bus or during a quick lunch break.
The book starts slow, with a letter from the publisher describing an experience with Sam’s Club that left a bad taste in their mouth (and bank account) and some personal history. As the book progresses, the author makes it more and more apparent that Wal*Mart is all about numbers--numbers which anti-Wal*Mart activists must become familiar with in order to be effective. Chapter 6 illustrates this point perfectly: “2 Ways Wal*Mart is a Menace to America and 2 Ways it Will Take Over the World” is full of dates, cases, and sources that can be cited to lend credibility to any anti-Wal*Mart street preacher or activist writer. One of the strongest points about this book is the “guidebook” feel it offers; It is packed with numbers, facts, and sources aplenty along with frank discussion of the evils of the monolith that is Wal*Mart.
The downside to this otherwise authoritative source of information is Mr. Quinn’s tone; he finishes the book with this sentence: “I’ll never set foot in another of those emporiums of crap as long as I live, and I’ll fight them until the day I die.” With an obvious anti-Wal*Mart bias, sometimes the facts get hard to swallow and even harder to sell. Any wing-nut can spout off about the evils of this or that.
The most compelling argument for buying this book (besides supporting a small business and a neat guy) is that it tackles a wide range of important issues, divided into their own sections. Topics addressed include the unfair treatment of women and minorities within the company, “Made In America!” products, sweatshop labor, and the violations of EPA and local environmental regulation (which is, incidentally, one of the first things Quinn covers). In When Mr. Quinn wrote this book in 1998, he had clearly done some serious digging. In 2004, all of those things have hit the headlines several times over, most recently with a scandal about female employees. The information presented here is sound, well researched, and straight from employees, former and current.
Incidentally, a new version of “How Wal*Mart Is Destroying America...And What You Can Do About It!” has been published, chock full of new theories about how Wal*Mart is actually attempting to take over the world. Check for Mr. Quinn’s new tome on the Ten Speed Press web site, www.tenspeed.com.
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