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This digital document is an article from Library Bookwatch, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 491 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: The Truth (with Jokes).(Audiobook review)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Library Bookwatch (Newsletter)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Article Type: Audiobook review

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This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on January 19, 2004. The length of the article is 7394 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Left side of the dial.(Editorials)(Effort seeks to launch liberal radio network)(Editorial)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: January 19, 2004
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: A14

Article Type: Editorial

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This digital document is an article from The Antioch Review, published by Antioch Review, Inc. on June 22, 2004. The length of the article is 1035 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them): A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.(Book Review)
Author: Carol Armbrust
Publication: The Antioch Review (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2004
Publisher: Antioch Review, Inc.
Volume: 62Issue: 3Page: 580(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from Reviewer's Bookwatch, published by Midwest Book Review on August 1, 2004. The length of the article is 399 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, a Fair and Balance Look at the Right.(Book Review)
Author: S.A. Gorden
Publication: Reviewer's Bookwatch (Newsletter)
Date: August 1, 2004
Publisher: Midwest Book Review
Page: NA

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from National Defense, published by National Defense Industrial Association on October 1, 2010. The length of the article is 820 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: New amendment to change employee litigation rules.(ETHICSCORNER)
Author: Dorn C. McGrath
Publication: National Defense (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2010
Publisher: National Defense Industrial Association
Volume: 95Issue: 683Page: 51(1)

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America’s most irascible and hilarious curmudgeon turns a kind and benevolent eye toward brave, hardy, and hardworking souls around the country who have found ways to break free from corporate tentacles; redefine success in business, politics, and life in general; and blaze new pathways toward a richer and happier way of life, from the farmers’ cooperative that said “NO!” to Wal-Mart and thrived to the economists who got into the coffee business by accident and turned the entire industry on its ear. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (89)

A Great Message from a True Populist
I've always admired Jim Hightower and his home-spun, old-fashioned populism. Unlike his fellow Texan Ross Perot, his rage against the machine rhetoric seems grounded in a sincere desire to make things better rather than promoting himself. He's a type of liberal we used to see before the right wing demonized the label -- someone who puts the common good before everything else, including the interests of the corporations who have poisoned the political arena with their soft money contributions.

Mr. Hightower's book is anti-corporate, not anti-business -- a distinction that so many in the U.S. can't make. The corporations have swallowed America whole, grinding small farmers, mom and pop businesses, and independent manufacturers under their boot heel in the process. The tales of coffee farmers, cab drivers, money lenders, and even strippers who banded together to buck the stranglehold of corporations was inspiring.

Equally inspiring were Hightower's tales of groups of people that band together to effect political change. My favorite were the Raging Grannies who use song to protest the Iraq War. Politics are so monolithic and so money-driven these days that it's easy to feel that the individual has no say in the process (unless a party uses an individual to promote their own agenda a la Joe the Plumber). However, Hightower's book shows that Bobby Kennedy's belief that even the common man, working with others, can make a difference.

Hightower was even able to enlighten me to my own biases. I have a hearty distrust of evangelicals who seem more interested in regulating behavior and homogenizing American than doing good works and bringing people together. However, the story of Rev. Cizik, who works with environmentalists to raise awareness of the threat of environmental armageddon made me question my own beliefs and preconceived notions about evangelicals.

It's a knee-jerk response to today's society to be pessimistic and cynical about the future. The examples Mr. Hightower details in his book are certainly a small portion of that society, but it's refreshing to read about those who are "swimming against the current" even if that current is strong.

Should be Required Reading in All High Schools
I climbed into a steamy bath last night, opened this book and zing I was hooked right from the first page. I didn't leave the tub till I was all pruney. Mr. Hightower and his cohort in populist wisdom Susan DeMarco have turned out a little tome that will have you questioning everything you've ever believed about business in America. Liberal though I am, I never really thought about big corporations as being bad for America, I suppose that's because I'm liberal, but not a lefty.

Hightower and DeMarco have really got the little grey matter in my brain working overtime. This should be recommend reading for all high school seniors. It's important, in my humble opinion, to examine more than one point of view and Jim and Susan give you theirs with a style and panache that will both anger and amuse you.

A tribute to the best of America
Well, we can't all be an oil CEO making $28,000 and hour (p. 158).That is just as well.The world already has a plethora of Visigoths.This is practically an inspiring book about individuals and businesses that attempt to make a positive difference as they are pitted against long odds confronting the ever wealthy baddies.
"Ordinary folks who've chosen to buck the system, defy the rigid corporate order, and live progressive values," says a back cover blurb.
Hightower and DeMarco feature true heroes worthy of your respect and support.Includes Hightower's final thoughts, contact information of many who choose to behave honorably, and index.In addition, the author wears a really cool hat. Hightower's column can be read in "The Progressive Populist," and elsewhere.
"Now, it's your turn to make be the alternative" (p.195).

That's presuming there is a flow...,
Considering the dysfunction in Washington these days and the pollution of our waterways it's not clear that there is a current that a dead fish could go with. But, yes, Jim Hightower and Susan DeMarco have got it right: we need to swim hard against the tide of stupidity and BS awash over this once great land.

The book is in three sections, business, politics and life. In business Hightower laments at how big corporations manage to break the law and get away with it. He notes, in characteristic style: "Most laws governing corporate behavior are weaker than Canadian hot sauce and rarely enforced." He goes on to point out that many of the fines that corporations pay for wrongdoing "are merrily deducted from the corporation's income tax!"

Yes, God is in his heaven watching over the corporate person made in His image. Not.

In Part II Politics, we can see that Hightower is a redneck, red-state progressive--in other words, what might be thought of as an oxymoron, without the oxy. But actually if we all knew where our bread was buttered there might be a bit of a blue shift since any dang fool knows that Bush type Republicans are as elitist as royalty. Anyway, Hightower knows whereof he speaks when it comes to politics having been elected, not once, as he reminds us, but twice to statewide office in Texas. And I would say, if a progressive can win in Texas there's definitely hope for the rest of the country. But maybe not, since here is how Hightower characterizes Texas politics:

"...Texas is rich in the politically ridiculous (it's a point of pride for us, actually). We elected a guy named Jesse James nine times--as our state treasurer! Ma Ferguson, elected governor here in 1924, opposed a bill to provide bilingual education, declaring, 'If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me.'"

In "Section Three: Life," here's the "basic question": "Will we let greedheaded profiteers determine the boundaries of our lives? Or will we take charge, blazing new paths for ourselves and our country?"

OMG! This is rallying cry. And the first order of business is agribusiness and how "They TORTURE food! They apply massive doses of pesticides and artificial fertilizers to these living organisms. They inject animals with antibiotics and sex hormones.... They force grass-eating cows to become carnivores and even cannibals. They blast fruits and veggies with ripening gas and zap them with radiation. They dose the finished foodstuffs with assorted sugars, artificial flavorings, transfats, and chemical preservatives...."

The next order of business is to stop the pollution and the--putting it bluntly--global warming. At this point Hightower and DeMarco throw in a telling quote: "Those who deface a Hummer in words or deed, deface the American flag and what it stands for." --Rick Schmidt, founder International Hummer Owners Group."

Near the end of the book, Jim and Susan give us Rev. Rich Cizik, an evangelic Christian who drives a Prius. Naturally this came to the attention of people like James Dobson and Pat Robertson, "Christians" of a different stripe, and they had at the good reverend. Dobson called Cizik "divisive" because he was pressing an agenda that is "anti-capitalist," reflecting "an underlying hatred for America." Robertson declared the Cizik was letting himself be "used by the radical left to further their agenda."

Bottom line here: sharp, witty, funny and to the point: wake up America.

Swim Against the Current
Love the book. Informative and easy to read. References and foot notes are provided. Great book for anyone interested in politics, economics. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Reason, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1347 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: An echo chamber of his own: Bernie Goldberg's new niche is a little too comfortable.(100 People Who Are Screwing Up America)(Book Review)
Author: Cathy Young
Publication: Reason (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 37Issue: 6Page: 20(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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