From Powells.com
Our favorite books of 2020-2021.
Staff Pick
From cloud computing services and security systems to movie production and book publishing, the everything store is inescapable. Whether you think the Big Tech oligopoly is terrifying or benevolent, we all need to understand the power and pitfalls of the everything store’s inescapable reach. Even if How to Resist Amazon and Why doesn't convince you to give up your Prime subscription, reading Caine's urgent polemic will give you crucial insight into the perils of this age of nascent technocracy and remind you of the importance of supporting small businesses. Make sure to buy your copy from your local independent bookstore. Recommended By Emily B., Powells.com
If you've ever received a gift so generous you couldn't find the right words for a Thank You card, then you know both the gratitude indie booksellers felt when Danny Caine's How to Resist Amazon and Why landed in stores, and the quandary I'm in trying to write a review that captures how much this little book means to me. This is the hours-long conversation I wish I could have with every customer about what Amazon's business model means for small businesses, and what small businesses mean for the communities they serve; about the hidden implications of those low, low prices and hyperfast shipping times; about the trajectory we're on as a society and what we can do — as consumers, as workers, as community members — to right our course. Caine has captured it all here, more succinctly and charmingly than I ever could, and I'm so grateful. This is essential reading for a better world. Recommended By Tove H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
When a company's workers are literally dying on the job, when their business model relies on preying on local businesses and even their own vendors, when their CEO is the richest person in the world while their workers make low wages with impossible quotas... wouldn't you want to resist? Danny Caine, owner of Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas has been an outspoken critic of the seemingly unstoppable Goliath of the bookselling world: Amazon. In this book, he lays out the case for shifting our personal money and civic investment away from global corporate behemoths and to small, local, independent businesses. Well-researched and lively, his tale covers the history of big box stores, the big political drama of delivery, and the perils of warehouse work. He shows how Amazon's ruthless discount strategies mean authors, publishers, and even Amazon themselves can lose money on every book sold. And he spells out a clear path to resistance, in a world where consumers are struggling to get by. In-depth research is interspersed with charming personal anecdotes from bookstore life, making this a readable, fascinating, essential book for the 2020s.
About the Author
Danny Caine is owner of Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas. He is the author of the poetry collections Continental Breakfast, El Dorado Freddy's, and Flavortown, as well as the viral zine How to Resist Amazon and Why. He was named the 2019 Midwest Bookseller of the year and is a passionate advocate, online and off, for independent, brick-and-mortar bookstores. More at dannycaine.com.