Reviews
"There remain some publishers willing to face the book-chain heat; we have Beacon Press to thank for Mitchell's indeed fine and important book." Austin Chronicle "...a galvanizing eye-opener that deserves the widest possible audience. This is one of those urgent, revelatory volumes that could change how many readers conduct their daily lives...Page after page of "Big-Box Swindle" unleashes a shocker or sometimes several about the power, pervasiveness and relentlessness of mega-retailers." Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Her book is a prodigiously researched, lucidly written diatribe against mega-retailers... Category-killers, beware." Business Week, Review By: Jim Hightower, national radio commentator, writer, and public speaker - March 28, 2006 "Through rich, real-life stories, Stacy Mitchell reveals that those 'low prices' so proudly promoted by big-box behemoths come at an intolerably high cost to our communities and culture. Can we beat the behemoths? Yes! And Mitchell shows us the way. Read on, take heart, and take action!"Review By: Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature - July 13, 2006 "This is the ultimate account of the single most important economic trend in our country-the replacement of local businesses, and all they represent, with the big boxes. What Nickel and Dimed did for the Wal-Mart worker, Stacy Mitchell does for the community threatened by mega-retailers."Review By: Reverend Billy, Leader of the Church of Stop Shopping - July 13, 2006 " "A great read! The big-box shadow looms over us mightily, but, as Stacy Mitchell documents, hundreds of communities have already saved themselves. She tells us how they did it and firmly invites us to step forward into the light. Change-a-lujah!"Review By: Ben Bagdikian, author of The New Media Monopoly - July 13, 2006 "Big-Box Swindle is a well-researched and frightening book about an economic pandemic engulfing the United States_The big boxes are draining cities and towns of money and bankrupting neighborhood businesses that have long been the backbone of American communities. Big-Box Swindle is a book every citizen needs to read."Review By: Kennedy Smith, former director, National Trust for Historic Preservation - July 13, 2006 "Stacy Mitchell provides an astonishing exposé of the broad-reaching implications of our shopping habits. Big Box Swindle should be required reading for everyone who cares about America's main streets, as well as a call to arms to small businesses everywhere to organize and take action."Review Publishers Weekly - September 11, 2006 "[Mitchell] has produced a compelling indictment of Wal-Mart and other "big box" stores, based on numerous national examples."Review Booklist, boxed and starred review - October 15, 2006 "Mitchell has uncovered a movement to curb the proliferation of the mega-retailers and create policies that favor local enterprises. Her call to action reveals the hidden cost of those 'low prices' promoted by the big-box bullies and gives hope to local entrepreneurs and concerned citizens alike."Review Deseret Morning News - October 15, 2006 "This is a well-written and informative book."Review Chicago Reader - November 1, 2006 "...she raises issues that Chicago's big-box debate hasn't touched."Review Austin Chronicle - November 24, 2006 "There remain some publishers willing to face the book-chain heat; we have Beacon Press to thank for Mitchell's indeed fine and important book.", Her book is a prodigiously researched, lucidly written diatribe against mega-retailers... Category-killers, beware., Review By: Jim Hightower, - March 28, 2006" "Through rich, real-life stories, Stacy Mitchell reveals that those 'low prices' so proudly promoted by big-box behemoths come at an intolerably high cost to our communities and culture. Can we beat the behemoths? Yes! And Mitchell shows us the way. Read on, take heart, and take action!", "In the muckraking tradition of Fast Food Nation and Nickel and Dimed , this is a searing indictment of the impact of behemoth retailers (Wal-Mart, Costco, Best Buy, et al.) on this country, its landscape and small towns, as well as the global marketplace. An independent business activist from Maine fills this urgent book with eye-openers on every page, including many trenchant examples from the Northwest." John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer "What Nickel and Dimed did for the Wal-Mart worker, Mitchell does for the community threatened by mega-retailers."Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
