In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and Wal-Mart, the World's Most Powerful Retailer [Paperback]

Bob Ortega (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 2000

If bigger is better, Wal-Mart has rightfully won its leading position in the pantheon of international institutions. With more than 100 million customers a week, Wal-Mart is by far the world's largest retailer. It is the biggest private-sector employer in North America, and one of the most dominant and influential corporations anywhere. Sam Walton's company prides itself on being a paragon of service, integrity, and frugality to its customers. But all is not well in the many areas where people have been "Wal-Martized" and have faced Wal-Mart's controversial business practices.

In Sam We Trust is the true, unvarnished story of the Wal-Mart colossus at work, and of how its remarkable success illustrates the glory as well as the underbelly of American capitalism. A flinty workaholic obsessed with his stores at the expense of his personal life, Walton established the ruthlessly efficient strategy that enabled Wal-Mart to surpass Sears, outsmart Kmart, and crush small-town mom-and-pop stores. Bob Ortega, a veteran reporter who covered Wal-Mart extensively for The Wall Street Journal, has written an illuminating and authoritative account of the world's most powerful store, and of how Sam Walton's way of thinking is transforming America's -- and the world's -- business practices, workplaces, and communities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bob Ortega has a storyteller's rich ear for detail. . . . His deft description of Walton's amazing rise to power and wealth is so delicious that it is hard to believe this is a business book. It roars with incisive, powerful writing."
-- Chicago Tribune

"An insightful, judicious, and immensely illuminating book,
one of the best on retailing."
-- Worth

From the Inside Flap

If bigger is better, Wal-Mart has rightfully won its leading position in the pantheon of international institutions. With more than 100 million customers a week, Wal-Mart is by far the world's largest retailer. It is the biggest private-sector employer in North America, and one of the most dominant and influential corporations anywhere. Sam Walton's company prides itself on being a paragon of service, integrity, and frugality to its customers. But all is not well in the many areas where people have been "Wal-Martized" and have faced Wal-Mart's controversial business practices.

In Sam We Trust is the true, unvarnished story of the Wal-Mart colossus at work, and of how its remarkable success illustrates the glory as well as the underbelly of American capitalism. A flinty workaholic obsessed with his stores at the expense of his personal life, Walton established the ruthlessly efficient strategy that enabled Wal-Mart to surpass Sears, outsmart Kmart, and crush small-town mom-and-pop stores. Bob Ortega, a veteran reporter who covered Wal-Mart extensively for The Wall Street Journal, has written an illuminating and authoritative account of the world's most powerful store, and of how Sam Walton's way of thinking is transforming America's -- and the world's -- business practices, workplaces, and communities.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Reprint edition (March 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812932978
• ISBN-13: 978-0812932973
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,330,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Business History, Good Muckraking - bad mix of the two, October 4, 2000

By 

Mark Edward Bachmann (Westport, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and Wal-Mart, the World's Most Powerful Retailer (Paperback)

Anyone with an interest in business history has to be fascinated by the story of Wal-Mart. Starting from a single store in an obscure Southern town, the company expanded relentlessly over the course of thirty-five years to become the most powerful retailer in the world. At the center of this story stands the enigmatic figure of Sam Walton, a folksy and sincerely genial man who ran the single store back in the mid -1950's and still controlled the burgeoning corporate empire at the time of his death in 1992, having by then amassed the largest personal fortune in America. Bob Ortega has done a workman-like job in telling the story of both the company and its founder. However, Ortega is an investigative journalist by trade, not a biographer or business historian. His interest in Wal-Mart began with a series of muckraking reports he did on the company during the 1990's, and he devotes the last half of "In Sam We Trust" to rambling through much of this material, focusing on Wal-Mart's longstanding compliance with abusive and illegal labor practices on the part of its suppliers, and on it ruthless real-estate practices that have for the last three decades steam-rollered over what remains of the cultural ethos of small-town America. Ortega is a good writer and a conscientious journalist, laboring hard to stick to facts and avoid sensationalism. And given his obvious distaste for what Wal-Mart has become, it speaks well of his literary integrity that the historical and biographical portions of this book are objectively told. Sam Walton himself is portrayed with his all positive personal qualities intact - he's rather likeable - and his flaws, while apparent, aren't blown out of proportion either. The fascination with him, which is well-presented, lies in the paradox of such an amiable fellow possessing a ruthless competitive drive rivaling that of the any of the legendary 19th century Robber Barons. The problem with Ortega's book is that the biographical and historical half doesn't fit together very cohesively with the muckraking half, even though both portions are well-enough done in their own terms. Anyone wanting business history here is going to get a little bored with the repetitive accounts of third-world sweatshops and anti-Wal-Mart community action drives. I recommend the book, but many readers should be prepared skim over portions of it.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A look at the other side of Sam & Wal-Mart, April 26, 2000

By 

Ashok A (Hyderabad, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and Wal-Mart, the World's Most Powerful Retailer (Paperback)

This well-researched book tries to tell how ruthless a businessman Sam Walton was and the questionable tactics he has employed to dominate the retail industry. The author is critical about Walton and Wal-Mart. The specific criticisms relate to Buy American program (the author claims that around 90% of goods in Wal-Mart were imported when the company was running the "Buy American" program)and the use of sweatshops to manufacture goods sold in Wal-Mart. Point taken. Other criticisms relate to the devastating socio-economic effect (like homogenizing, uniqueness being eroded, etc.) Wal-mart has when it arrives in townships and improper care of employees. The bottomline is: if you want to be inspired by the example of Sam Walton don't read this book. His autobiography is a better bet. But if you want to see the so-called darkside of the business empire you may read it. Be forewarned: if you read this book the shopping experience at Wal-Mart may not be as warmer any more.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating History of America, November 25, 2001

By 

Alessandro Bruno (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and Wal-Mart, the World's Most Powerful Retailer (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. It's not merely the account of a powerful businessman and how he sahped a company. It's also an account of modern American socio-economic history. Ortega expalins hoe Sam Walton maanged to take advantage of changes that were occurring in demographic distribution, technology and savvy business techniques from those who taught him and his competitors. Ortega provides a history of retailing in the USA from the late 19th century and explains the success of the modern outlet store in terms of its roots in the catalogue stores, department stores and demographic distribution. The history of the WalMart company is told by focusing on its relentless founder Sam Walton. ortega reveals Walton's hiring processes, the reasons that led him to develop the worker profit-sharing programs and how the ideas of the cheer and other details, now familiar to any Wal Mart shopper, came to be. Ortega does not set out to accuse Walton, he lets the story speak for itself and the reader can decide whether or not they wish to continue shopping there. All in all this Business profile is well worth reading.