The United States of Wal-Mart (Paperback)

by John Dicker (Author) "It's hard to say when it became official..." (more)
Key Phrases: Sam Walton, Lee Scott, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Although it's getting too big to be a microcosm, Wal-Mart is a fair representation of many of the most troubling aspects of the American economy, according to this lively and insightful profile of the big-box retail leviathan. Former Colorado Springs Independent staff writer Dicker admirably sums up the conventional complaints against Wal-Mart, detailing poverty-level wages, skimpy benefits, scorched-earth antiunion policies, shuttered smalltown Main Streets, suburban sprawl abetment and rampant outsourcing. Behind the facade of "corn-pone populism" fostered by folksy but steely founder Sam Walton, Dicker asserts, Wal-Mart has become a "global despot." Dicker's analysis is unsparing but balanced. He sympathizes (and sometimes strategizes) with Wal-Mart opponents, but also chides them for ignoring the appeal of the company's cheap, convenient offerings to cash-strapped customers and underserved communities. And Wal-Mart's sins, he argues, are America's; the company merely caters to the national religion of consumer entitlement that assumes shoppers have no interests in common with workers and puts low prices ahead of any social consequences. Aside from some pointless and tiresome lapses into prison-chic posturing ("[w]e're all Wal-Mart's bitches"), Dicker conveys a wealth of information in a lucid and light-handed style. (June)
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Review
[Dicker] offers snappy social criticism with the soul of stand-up comedy. -- The Boston Globe, July 3, 2005

a nuanced and bracing portrait of the largest retailer in the world. -- The New York Times Book Review, July 17, 2005

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Product Details

• Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (June 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585424226
• ISBN-13: 978-1585424221
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #447,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of its Kind, June 26, 2005

By	Kent Ponder (Albuquerque., NM USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Though I'm not easily impressed by books, having been a reviewer for Choice, which is the premier university-libraries' reviewing service, I must say that Dicker's book is simply first class; it "has it all." Dicker describes Wal-Mart's history, blood-from-turnip buying practices, management practices, hiring-and-firing practices, insider personnel issues, supplier nightmares, promotion-and-demotion manipulations, regional and national sales and growth-rate figures, political maneuvering, foreign-intrigue issues, and more. And he does it with exceptionally intelligent and witty humor.

What's especially fascinating is that he accomplishes the above while maintaining balance and sensibility. In other words, this isn't just a crass hatchet job; it is, instead, a highly competent analysis done in an engagingly entertaining way. To achieve that while laying out so many potentially dry facts and figures is a feat that only the most able writers can pull off.

I honestly don't know how this book could have been better written, more credibly written, or more wittily written. To achieve all of that is quite an accomplishment.

I had already written the above review, and then decided to edit it to add this comment: If you know anyone who is thinking of working for the Wal-Mart corporation, at any level from management to doorway greeter, be sure to have them read this eye-opening masterpiece. (In addition to which, it's just one hell of a lot of fun to read. Unexpected laughs pop up everywhere.)

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is Walmart Evil?, June 20, 2005

By	L. Swanson - See all my reviews

If you don't know the answer to this question inform yourself through this painstakingly researched and thoughtful guide to one of the most influential companies in the world. Not only does Dicker recount the birth of Walmart, but also introduces you to the faces of the people behind this behemoth, whether a cashier or CEO. Dicker does a phenomenal job guiding you through the Walmart story. You learn of the technology that allows Walmart to squash their competitors, and how communities pull together in their fight against The Big-box and why. This book is not about bashing Walmart, it is trying to educate the public on who Walmart is, and what their impact is on our nation and the world.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU MUST READ UNITED STATES OF WALMART, June 30, 2005

By	Susan Mitchell (Athens, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The United States of Wal-Mart is a masterfully written saga of the extreme assault of human rights committed by the mega-giant corporation. A paragraph on China and Wal-Mart on page 118 speaks volumes:

"So if an 800-pound gorilla can sit anywhere he wants at a dinner party, how does he behave when he's free of the constraints of polite society? If Wal-Mart is the gorilla, China is the jungle where cheap labor and government funded infrastructure abound in almost limitless supply. No nation is as essential to Wal-Marts global designs. No free press, no independent labor unions, no pesky human rights organizations poking around factories, an almost eerie political stability-it's a retail giant's wet dream."

This incredibly well researched document reveals the history which led us to the horror of Wal-Mart policy on its numerous victims including but not limited to factory workers in the US and China and the million plus associates who work for the mega-chain. John Dicker's writing style somehow eases the reader's pain with sharp wit.

This is a must read for anyone who is ever going to buy anything retail.