Gardening Sale!
 
 

Special Offers see all

Enter to WIN!

Weekly drawing for $100 credit. Subscribe to our Specials newsletter for a chance to win.
Privacy Policy

More at Powell's

Recently Viewed clear list

Original Essays | April 29, 2013

Edward Lee: IMG How to Clarify Butter: A Writer's Tale

2 comments By Edward Lee

Chefs don't have time to write. While I was working on Smoke and Pickles, I was running a restaurant — a daily regimen of testing recipes,... Continue »
  1. $20.97 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    Smoke and Pickles: Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen

    Edward Lee 9781579654924
spacer
Ships free on qualified orders.
$9.95
Used Hardcover
Usually ships in 5 to 7 business days
Add to Wishlist
available for shipping or prepaid pickup only
Qty Store Section
2 Remote Warehouse Politics- General

Swim against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow

by and

Swim against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The New York Times bestselling author and America's funniest activist gives the lowdown on how to put up-not shut up-in the fight for our future.

Hightower, the country's #1 populist, has picked up some useful advice over the years, from never eat at a caf featuring 'bargain kebobs' to never hit a man with glasses; hit him with something much heavier. As he and his longtime co-conspirator Susan DeMarco have rambled through grassroots America, however, they've also come up with more serious words of wisdom to share here, namely: question authority, trust your values, seek alternatives, break away, stand up for your beliefs, and swim against the current.

Their book introduces readers to people across the country who have actually done this — people in business, politics, health care, farming, religion, and other areas who are taking charge, living their values, doing good, and doing well. Hightower and DeMarco show how they are doing precisely what the elites want us to believe can't be done: changing their lives and making a difference. He tells the stories of these people and offers inspiration and information that will help readers tap into their own maverick potential in order to navigate a different, more satisfying course of their own.

Whether they are young and just starting out or older and searching for a different path, the commonsense folks in this book have escaped the corporate tentacles to find their own way toward a richer life and a better American future. They are creating a new, deeply democratic model for the country, edging it back onto the long road toward egalitarianism and the common good.

Hightower and DeMarco are at their contrarian, sharp-witted, and straight-shooting best as they celebrate the triumph of grassroots gumption over the tight-fisted grip of corporate control.

Book News Annotation:

Hightower is most often called a populist, but he just shrugs it off and starts pointing out features of the real world that the rich and powerful would rather people did not notice. Here he and co-conspirator Susan DeMarco present vignettes of how once-ordinary people are fighting corruption and injustice in business, politics, and life, often by providing an alternative to the mainstream. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Synopsis:

America’s most irascible and hilarious curmudgeon turns a kind and benevolent eye toward brave, hardy, and hardworking souls around the country who have found ways to break free from corporate tentacles; redefine success in business, politics, and life in general; and blaze new pathways toward a richer and happier way of life, from the farmers’ cooperative that said “NO!” to Wal-Mart and thrived to the economists who got into the coffee business by accident and turned the entire industry on its ear.

Synopsis:

Pssssst! Bookstore browsers!

Don't look around, but the corporate and political powers that be want you to put this book down, right now. It definitely is NOT on their approved list.

Swim against the Current is one of those books that the power elites don't like seeing in stores, much less in your hands—not merely because it challenges their established order, but especially because our book reveals paths that folks like you can use to escape their rigid, hierarchical structures and discover a bit more satisfaction in life.

They prefer that you pick up one of those escapist novels over there across the store, rather than finding out that the greatest escape of all can be from stultifying conventional wisdom. We Americans are constantly harassed into thinking that we can't break the mold that those in charge have made for us. But as a friend of ours puts it: "Those who say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."

It's the uplifting stories of mavericks that we tell here. They've broken free of the corporate tentacles, free of business-as-usual politics, free of top-down elites. They're figuring out new ways to do commerce, ways to create political channels that empower grassroots Americans, and ways to live their lives.

As these folks show, resistance is not futile . . . it's fertile. Join the fun! Happy reading!

back to top

About the Author

Jim Hightower is a syndicated columnist, national radio commentator, publisher of the Hightower Lowdown newsletter, and the New York Times bestselling author of Thieves in High Places.

Susan DeMarco is a writer, former radio talk-show host, public-interest activist, and longtime Hightower partner-in-crime.

back to top

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

PART ONE Business 5

CHAPTER 1 Business without Greed 7

CHAPTER 2 Fair Trade 14

CHAPTER 3 Cooperation Works 19

CHAPTER 4 Socially Responsible 29

CHAPTER 5 Putting Workers in Charge 42

CHAPTER 6 The Good (Business) Life 51

CHAPTER 7 Banking on Change 58

Connections for Part One 66

PART TWO Politics 73

CHAPTER 8 Shape Up, America! 75

CHAPTER 9 Run for It! 83

CHAPTER 10 Clean Elections 92

CHAPTER 11 Democracy School 105

CHAPTER 12 Build It! 111

CHAPTER 13 Granny Power 122

CHAPTER 14 The Politics of Fun 127

Connections for Part Two 134

PART THREE Life 139

CHAPTER 15 Take Charge! 141

CHAPTER 16 How We Live 151

CHAPTER 17 A Mass Movement Arises 158

CHAPTER 18 Flowers in the Field 164

CHAPTER 19 The Conscience of an Evangelical 176

Connections for Part Three 188

Final Thoughts 193

DeMarco's Reading List 197

Index 201

back to top
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780470121511
Author:
Jim Hightower and Susan DeMarco
Publisher:
Wiley (TP)
With:
DeMarco, Susan
Author:
Hightower, Jim
Author:
DeMarco, Susan
Subject:
American wit and humor
Subject:
Democracy
Subject:
General
Subject:
Essays
Subject:
Government & Business
Subject:
Government - U.S. Government
Subject:
General Political Science
Subject:
General History
Subject:
Progressive
Subject:
Progressive movement
Subject:
progressive politics
Subject:
populist
Subject:
Populism
Subject:
activist
Subject:
activism
Subject:
Liberal
Subject:
Liberalism
Subject:
Grass Roots
Subject:
grassroots activism
Subject:
grassroots politics
Subject:
Politics
Subject:
political activism
Subject:
citizen
Subject:
Social justice
Subject:
social activism
Subject:
Social Responsibility.
Subject:
anti-corporation
Subject:
corporate responsibility
Subject:
Community
Subject:
fair trade
Subject:
Self-determination
Subject:
Values
Subject:
Consumers
Subject:
working families
Subject:
American family
Subject:
American families
Subject:
hard-working American
Subject:
Environmentalism
Subject:
environmentalist
Subject:
Thieves in High Places
Subject:
Lets Stop Beating Around the Bush
Subject:
Theres Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos
Subject:
Hightower Lowdown
Subject:
Susan DeMarco
Subject:
DeMarco
Subject:
Molly Ivins
Subject:
Al Franken
Subject:
Michael Moore
Subject:
Phillip Frazer
Subject:
United States Politics and government.
Subject:
Politics-Political Science
Subject:
General & Introductory History
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Subject:
politics, progressive, progressive movement, progressive politics, populist, populism, activist, activism, liberal, liberalism, grassroots, grass-roots, grass roots, grassroots activism, grass-roots activism, grass roots activism, grassroots politics, gra
Copyright:
2008
Edition Description:
Hardcover
Publication Date:
March 2008
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
224
Dimensions:
9.4 x 6.46 x 1.15 in
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. There's Nothing in the Middle of the... Used Trade Paper $3.95
  2. The End of America: A Letter of...
    Used Trade Paper $3.95
  3. Truth and Consequences: Special... Used Hardcover $3.50
  4. Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest... Used Trade Paper $5.95
  5. Cracking the Code: How to Win...
    Used Hardcover $9.95
  6. Trainwreck: The End of the... Used Hardcover $2.95
back to top

Related Subjects

Arts and Entertainment » Humor » Political
Business » Business Law
Business » General
Business » Investing
Business » Management
Business » Writing
History and Social Science » American Studies » Culture Wars
History and Social Science » Politics » General
History and Social Science » Politics » Political Science
History and Social Science » Politics » United States » Culture

Swim against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go with the Flow Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$9.95 In Stock
Product details 224 pages John Wiley & Sons - English 9780470121511 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , America’s most irascible and hilarious curmudgeon turns a kind and benevolent eye toward brave, hardy, and hardworking souls around the country who have found ways to break free from corporate tentacles; redefine success in business, politics, and life in general; and blaze new pathways toward a richer and happier way of life, from the farmers’ cooperative that said “NO!” to Wal-Mart and thrived to the economists who got into the coffee business by accident and turned the entire industry on its ear.
"Synopsis" by , Pssssst! Bookstore browsers!

Don't look around, but the corporate and political powers that be want you to put this book down, right now. It definitely is NOT on their approved list.

Swim against the Current is one of those books that the power elites don't like seeing in stores, much less in your hands—not merely because it challenges their established order, but especially because our book reveals paths that folks like you can use to escape their rigid, hierarchical structures and discover a bit more satisfaction in life.

They prefer that you pick up one of those escapist novels over there across the store, rather than finding out that the greatest escape of all can be from stultifying conventional wisdom. We Americans are constantly harassed into thinking that we can't break the mold that those in charge have made for us. But as a friend of ours puts it: "Those who say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."

It's the uplifting stories of mavericks that we tell here. They've broken free of the corporate tentacles, free of business-as-usual politics, free of top-down elites. They're figuring out new ways to do commerce, ways to create political channels that empower grassroots Americans, and ways to live their lives.

As these folks show, resistance is not futile . . . it's fertile. Join the fun! Happy reading!
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...




Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.