I borrowed this one from the UHD Library. I liked it, and I also recommended it to my students, crossposting from my blog to the student resource blog I maintain. Wal-Mart and Big-Boxes are a popular freshman composition topic here, thus the recommendation.

Here is a link to the note I wrote about it in my personal blog:

[http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/06/booknote-big-box-swindle.html] ( )

It can be hard to say one enjoys a book as disturbing as this one. But ultimately, it is filled with valuable information that can arm you for any friend of yours who attacks you with the constant refrain of "You have to shop at Wal-Mart because [fill in favorite argument of your friends here]". The tactics of the big-box stores are well researched and the impact of the new form of marketing on the life of a community is explored. Although I am not a big fan of the argument that you can't present a problem without also presenting the solution, I will say that the author does do that here. She discusses various things communities can do to fight back, and gives examples from a number of communities that have successfully restored the vibrancy of their downtown (or protected an already vibrant downtown) and staved of the invasion of the big boxes. For this most part, this is not a cheery story, but the author writes in such an easy to read style, you almost don't notice all the statistics she includes; however, those statistics are a valuable part of the story. This should be read by every city councilman in every city, town, or village large enough to be attractive to big-box stores. ( )

It's a shame that the people who need to read this book will not. ( )

Lots of statistics on how bad they are but not a lot on how to compete against them. Good book for community leaders, chamber of commerce, etc. ( )

A great expose! Too bad you won't get it at most book stores; not all libraries have it either.

It describes how big-box stores destroy local businesses and probes areas where they behave like corporate spoiled brats. ( )