Synopses & Reviews
The definitive account of how a small Ozarks company upended the world of business and what that change meansWal-Mart, the worlds largest company, roared out of the rural South to change the way business is done. Deploying computer-age technology, Reagan-era politics, and Protestant evangelism, Sam Waltons firm became a byword for cheap goods and low-paid workers, famed for the ruthless efficiency of its global network of stores and factories. But the revolution has gone further: Sams protégés have created a new economic order which puts thousands of manufacturers, indeed whole regions, in thrall to a retail royalty. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad and General Motors in their heyday, Wal-Mart sets the commercial model for a huge swath of the global economy.
In this lively, probing investigation, historian Nelson Lichtenstein deepens and expands our knowledge of the merchandising giant. He shows that Wal-Marts rise was closely linked to the cultural and religious values of Bible Belt America as well as to the imperial politics, deregulatory economics, and laissez-faire globalization of Ronald Reagan and his heirs. He explains how the companys success has transformed American politics, and he anticipates a day of reckoning, when challenges to the Wal-Mart way, at home and abroad, are likely to change the far-flung empire.
Insightful, original, and steeped in the culture of retail life, The Retail Revolution draws on first hand reporting from coastal China to rural Arkansas to give a fresh and necessary understanding of the phenomenon that has transformed international commerce.
Nelson Lichtenstein is one of the countrys leading experts on labor and politics and the editor of a much-cited collection of essays on Wal-Mart. A professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he directs the Center for the Study of Work, Labor, and Democracy, he is also the author of several highly regarded books on American history, including the award-winning Walter Reuther: The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit.
Wal-Mart, the worlds largest company, roared out of the rural South to change the way business is done. Deploying computer-age technology, Reagan-era politics, and Protestant evangelism, Sam Waltons firm became a byword for cheap goods and low-paid workers, famed for the ruthless efficiency of its global network of stores and factories. But the revolution has gone further: Sams protégés have created a new economic order which puts thousands of manufacturersindeed, whole regionsin thrall to a retail royalty. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad and General Motors in their heyday, Wal-Mart sets the commercial model for a huge swath of the global economy.
In this lively, probing investigation, historian Nelson Lichtenstein deepens and expands our knowledge of the merchandising giant. He shows that Wal-Marts rise was closely linked to the cultural and religious values of Bible Belt America as well as to the imperial politics, deregulatory economics, and laissez-faire globalization of Ronald Reagan and his heirs. He explains how the companys success has transformed American politics, and he anticipates a day of reckoning, when challenges to the Wal-Mart way, at home and abroad, are likely to change the far-flung empire.
Insightful, original, and steeped in the culture of retail life, The Retail Revolution draws on firsthand reporting from coastal China to rural Arkansas to give a fresh and necessary understanding of the phenomenon that has reshaped international commerce. "Nelson Lichtenstein has written the book on Wal-Mart. You can read it as a sober indictment of the rogue company that happens also to be the worlds largest corporation. Or you can read it as a brilliantly reported case study in whats gone wrong with the Americanand the globaleconomy. Either way, you will read it, as I did, with complete fascination."Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed "Nelson Lichtenstein has written the book on Wal-Mart. You can read it as a sober indictment of the rogue company that happens also to be the worlds largest corporation. Or you can read it as a brilliantly reported case study in whats gone wrong with the Americanand the globaleconomy. Either way, you will read it, as I did, with complete fascination."Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed "America's wisest historian of business and labor has produced a masterpiece of reportage and analysis about the self-service country store that grew into the biggest merchandiser in the world. The Retail Revolution is far more than the best book ever written about Wal-Mart. It is a landmark work about the history of our time."Michael Kazin, author of A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan "This lively yet incisive account of Wal-Mart, one of our eras most important economic institutions, challenges the claim that the company has been a boon to the U.S. economy, providing a thoughtful and much-needed perspective on inequality and insecurity in modern America."Sanford M. Jacoby, author of The Embedded Corporation "Lichtenstein's calmly critical book sets the rise of Wal-Mart within its broader historical and cultural context, adding a valuable new perspective to the often fraught debate over the role of the world's largest retailer."Jonathan Birchall, U.S. consumer correspondent, The Financial Times "Nelson Lichtenstein is the paramount authority on the world's largest and most influential company, one that affects the lives of nearly all Americans and has transformed traditional business. In The Retail Revolution, original research and a profound understanding of American capitalism combine to produce a vivid account not only of how Wal-Mart has changed society, but how society in turn is now changing Wal-Mart."Ron Galloway, director of Why Wal-Mart Works "Readers wishing to grasp the brave new world of Wal-Mart in all its dimensions cant do better than Nelson Lichtenstein's engrossing and chilling account."Robert Kuttner, co-editor of The American Prospect Kirkus Reviews
Review
“A terrific book... Lichtenstein does a beautiful job of putting Wal-Mart in its historical context... A definitive account not only of Wal-Marts past but also of the forces shaping its future.” —
Los Angeles Times“Nelson Lichtenstein has written the book on Wal-Mart. You can read it as a sober indictment of the rogue company that happens also to be the worlds largest corporation. Or you can read it as a brilliantly reported case study in whats gone wrong with the American—and the global—economy. Either way, you will read it, as I did, with complete fascination.” —Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed
“Offers penetrating insights… Lichtenstein sheds valuable light on the technological reasons for Wal-Marts success… and provides a detailed look at the dark side of the companys employment practices.… As Lichtenstein argues, Wal-Mart may have done more than any other American institution to undermine labor regulations.” —The New York Times Book Review
“The Retail Revolution is usefully comprehensive and offers the best account yet of the myriad problems that Wal-Mart employees endure.” —Slate.com
“Surely the best account we have of Wal-Marts metamorphosis from a backwater chain to the nations dominant corporation... The rise of Wal-Mart, and the national economy it has shaped in its image, is a story that Lichtenstein is eminently suited to tell.” —The American Prospect
“Comprehensive socioeconomic history… Lichtenstein paints a convincing portrait of a multinational conglomerate willing to dehumanize people in the pursuit of profit, even as it tries to convince us that people are its No. 1 concern. A definitive survey of Wal-Mart and the companys worldview.” —Kirkus Reviews “Americas wisest historian of business and labor has produced a masterpiece of reportage and analysis about the self-service country store that grew into the biggest merchandiser in the world. The Retail Revolution is far more than the best book ever written about Wal-Mart. It is a landmark work about the history of our time.” —Michael Kazin, author of A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan “This lively yet incisive account of Wal-Mart, one of our eras most important economic institutions, challenges the claim that the company has been a boon to the U.S. economy, providing a thoughtful and much-needed perspective on inequality and insecurity in modern America.” —Sanford M. Jacoby, author of The Embedded Corporation “Lichtensteins calmly critical book sets the rise of Wal-Mart within its broader historical and cultural context, adding a valuable new perspective to the often fraught debate over the role of the worlds largest retailer.” —Jonathan Birchall, U.S. consumer correspondent, The Financial Times “Nelson Lichtenstein is the paramount authority on the worlds largest and most influential company, one that affects the lives of nearly all Americans and has transformed traditional business. In The Retail Revolution, original research and a profound understanding of American capitalism combine to produce a vivid account not only of how Wal-Mart has changed society, but how society in turn is now changing Wal-Mart.” —Ron Galloway, director of Why Wal-Mart Works “Readers wishing to grasp the brave new world of Wal-Mart in all its dimensions cant do better than Nelson Lichtensteins engrossing and chilling account.” —Robert Kuttner, co-editor of The American Prospect
Review
“A terrific book... Lichtenstein does a beautiful job of putting Wal-Mart in its historical context... A definitive account not only of Wal-Marts past but also of the forces shaping its future.”—
Los Angeles Times “Offers penetrating insights… Lichtenstein sheds valuable light on the technological reasons for Wal-Marts success… and provides a detailed look at the dark side of the companys employment practices.… As Lichtenstein argues, Wal-Mart may have done more than any other American institution to undermine labor regulations.”
—The New York Times Book Review “Surely the best account we have of Wal-Marts metamorphosis from a backwater chain to the nations dominant corporation... The rise of Wal-Mart, and the national economy it has shaped in its image, is a story that Lichtenstein is eminently suited to tell.”—The American Prospect “Usefully comprehensive… The Retail Revolution offers the best account yet of the myriad problems that Wal-Mart employees endure.”
—The Big Money “Comprehensive socioeconomic history… Lichtenstein paints a convincing portrait of a multinational conglomerate willing to dehumanize people in the pursuit of profit, even as it tries to convince us that people are its No. 1 concern. A definitive survey of Wal-Mart and the companys worldview.”
—Kirkus Reviews “Nelson Lichtenstein has written the book on Wal-Mart. You can read it as a sober indictment of the rogue company that happens also to be the worlds largest corporation. Or you can read it as a brilliantly reported case study in whats gone wrong with the American—and the global—economy. Either way, you will read it, as I did, with complete fascination.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed “Americas wisest historian of business and labor has produced a masterpiece of reportage and analysis about the self-service country store that grew into the biggest merchandiser in the world. The Retail Revolution is far more than the best book ever written about Wal-Mart. It is a landmark work about the history of our time.”
—Michael Kazin, author of A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan “This lively yet incisive account of Wal-Mart, one of our eras most important economic institutions, challenges the claim that the company has been a boon to the U.S. economy, providing a thoughtful and much-needed perspective on inequality and insecurity in modern America.”
—Sanford M. Jacoby, author of The Embedded Corporation “Lichtensteins calmly critical book sets the rise of Wal-Mart within its broader historical and cultural context, adding a valuable new perspective to the often fraught debate over the role of the worlds largest retailer.”
—Jonathan Birchall, U.S. consumer correspondent, The Financial Times “Nelson Lichtenstein is the paramount authority on the worlds largest and most influential company, one that affects the lives of nearly all Americans and has transformed traditional business. In The Retail Revolution, original research and a profound understanding of American capitalism combine to produce a vivid account not only of how Wal-Mart has changed society, but how society in turn is now changing Wal-Mart.”
—Ron Galloway, director of Why Wal-Mart Works “Readers wishing to grasp the brave new world of Wal-Mart in all its dimensions cant do better than Nelson Lichtensteins engrossing and chilling account.”
—Robert Kuttner, co-editor of The American Prospect
Review
"In Kunming, near the border with Myanmar, Wal-Mart rents space inside its store to independent vendors, who pay $1.20 per day to hawk Yunnan coffee, tobacco bongs filled with local rice wine and condiments made from eggplant, soybeans and ginger. The atmosphere is 'festival-like, even chaotic,' as vendors shout out their wares, sometimes through loudspeakers or while pounding on drums, and customers crowd a stall to fish pears out of a solution of sugar, salt and licorice root — 'a Wal-Mart store sans Wal-Martism,' according to sociologist Eileen Otis." Jefferson Decker, The Nation (read the entire )
Synopsis
The definitive account of how a small Ozarks company upended the world of business and what that change meansWal-Mart, the worlds largest company, roared out of the rural South to change the way business is done. Deploying computer-age technology, Reagan-era politics, and Protestant evangelism, Sam Waltons firm became a byword for cheap goods and low-paid workers, famed for the ruthless efficiency of its global network of stores and factories. But the revolution has gone further: Sams protégés have created a new economic order which puts thousands of manufacturers, indeed whole regions, in thrall to a retail royalty. Like the Pennsylvania Railroad and General Motors in their heyday, Wal-Mart sets the commercial model for a huge swath of the global economy.
In this lively, probing investigation, historian Nelson Lichtenstein deepens and expands our knowledge of the merchandising giant. He shows that Wal-Marts rise was closely linked to the cultural and religious values of Bible Belt America as well as to the imperial politics, deregulatory economics, and laissez-faire globalization of Ronald Reagan and his heirs. He explains how the companys success has transformed American politics, and he anticipates a day of reckoning, when challenges to the Wal-Mart way, at home and abroad, are likely to change the far-flung empire.
Insightful, original, and steeped in the culture of retail life, The Retail Revolution draws on first hand reporting from coastal China to rural Arkansas to give a fresh and necessary understanding of the phenomenon that has transformed international commerce.
Synopsis
Insightful, original, and steeped in the culture of retail life, "The Retail Revolution" draws on first-hand reporting from coastal China to rural Arkansas to give a fresh and necessary understanding of how Wal-Mart has transformed international commerce.
Synopsis
Wal-Mart is the worlds largest company and it sets the standard--both social and commercial--for a huge swath of the global economy. In this probing investigation, historian Nelson Lichtenstein shows how the company's success has spread evangelical Protestantism into the workplace, made South China an American workshop, and pushed American politics to the right. At the same time, he anticipates a day of reckoning, when challenges to the Wal-Mart way, at home and abroad, are likely to change the far-flung empire. Insightful and original, The Retail Revolution gives a fresh and necessary understanding of the phenomenon that has reshaped international commerce.
About the Author
Nelson Lichtenstein is one of the countrys leading experts on labor and politics and the editor of a much-cited collection of essays on Wal-Mart. A professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he directs the Center for the Study of Work, Labor, and Democracy, he is also the author of several highly regarded books on American history, including the award-winning Walter Reuther: The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit.