Rating: 
Summary: SYNOPSIS
Review: Since Wal-Mart opened two superstores thirteen miles from Grand Saline, Texas, half of the retail businesses in Bill Quinn's once-thriving hometown have closed. In HOW WAL-MART IS DESTROYING AMERICA, Quinn exposed Wal-Mart's infestation and destruction of small American towns, where local shops were forced to close, workers were laid off, and downtowns turned into ghost towns. But dismantling the American dream wasn't enough for this retail Goliath, and now Wal-Mart is aiming for world domination. If you've ever wanted to fight for the little guy, now's the time-and this feisty Texas grandpa will show you how.• First edition sold 20,000 copies. •Features "fight back" strategies for individuals, vendors, and whole communities. •Tells the truth about Wal-Mart's operating practices: how they choose your town, what kinds of jobs they offer, and where that "American-made" merchandise is really coming from.
Rating: 
Summary: A Little More Than Big Business
Review: Some of the practices listed in this book are no more than what big business at the size of Wal-Mart's do. But with that said, many of the practices listed in this book are despicable. The fact that local mom and pop stores go out of business when Wal-Mart moves in would normally be considered a fact of life in American business today were it not for the ruthless way that Wal-Mart specifically targets them to drive them into the ground. The way Wal-Mart employees are treated, the way the vendors are ripped off. And most importantly, the way Wal-Mart uses people and disasters to further promote itself. All the while some of the richest folks in the world are running for tax shelters and dodging charities. What a shame, with practices like this, no wonder the rest of the world hates capitalism. Buy this book and reflect on the store you are supporting.
Rating: 
Summary: A look at what goes on behind the scenes at the retail giant
Review: Some of this book is a little over the top in the sense that it has been used by Bill Quinn as a tool in his epic quest to stop the Wal-Mart machine. While it may be a little on the obsessive side, it points out a lot of elements of the Wal-Mart empire that they would probably like to keep under wraps. Many of the practices exercised by Wal-Mart surprised me in their audacity. There are many accounts by customers, former employees, and others who have dealt with the beast firsthand. The book also lays out ideas to help communities fight off an attempt by Wal-Mart to move into new territory. After reading the first half of this book, I was compelled to avoid shopping at Wal-Mart. Not that I shopped there often to begin with, but now I make it a point to look elsewhere for my goods. I have already talked about the book to some friends of mine, who expressed interest in reading it when I was finished. If you are interested in the underhanded tactics that the largest U.S. retailer uses to insure success, pick up a copy of "How Wal-Mart is destroying America..." and pass it along when your done.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of anecdotes but no smoking guns here.
Review: The author has a bias against wal-mart and he never bothers to conceal it. He even refers to Wal-Mart as "Bentonvillians" and "blankety-blanks". This gives you an idea what to expect throughout. At least you know what you're in for. Unfortunately it appears most of the information comes from disgruntled former employees and other people who have an axe to grind. While the anecdotes are amusing and informative most of them appear to be isolated incidents. He never gives specific insider information that this was all part of some grand plan. It just looks like a bumbling bureacracy with some medium level tyrants. The most insightful information given is the information about the moving around of management level employees so they don't get settled in and the fact that Wal-Mart fights (and appeals) every lawsuit. I hate Wal-Mart as much as the next fella but I'd prefer to have a few less amusing anecdotes and a few more smoking guns of intentional wrongdoing.
Rating:
Summary: Capitalism run amuck
Review: The last time I spent any time in a Wal-Mart, I think, was roughly ten years ago. Even then, something about the place felt fundamentally wrong. Maybe it had something to do with the overfriendly greeter at the front door, a guy who spent way too much time trying to get my attention. Perhaps the downright filthy appearance of the store set off my internal warning bells. After all, it's difficult to gain a decent impression of a place when merchandise spills onto the floor, products teeter precariously on top of shelving units, and the employees look like they just got out of jail. I left without buying a single item, vowing never to return. And I haven't gone back after all these years. Neither has Bill Quinn, the eighty eight year old author of this slim indictment of America's biggest retailer. The writer, a former journalist and magazine editor, presents a startling array of facts against the House that Sam Walton built in "How Wal-Mart is Destroying America." After reading this book, you will think twice about returning to shop at "The Box," one of the terms Quinn and his sympathizers use in referring to Wal-Mart. The list of egregious behaviors occurring under the aegis of Wal-Mart, based out of Bentonville, Arkansas, simply boggles the mind. Quinn's key complaint centers on the retailer's anti-competitive outlook, known as "Stomp the Comp," when the company moves into a small town and proceeds to demolish every mom and pop business in the area. Through cutthroat pricing and luring away employees from smaller stores, Wal-Mart takes business right out from under the noses of modest retail outlets. As all other stores in the area shut down, the Box from Bentonville becomes the only significant force in the region. This allows them to lower wages, raise prices, reduce advertising in local papers, and lets them get away with claiming twenty eight hours a week counts as a full-time job. Even worse, Wal-Mart oftentimes closes smaller stores in order to open a regional "superstore," which forces residents of small towns to drive thirty or forty miles to do their shopping. How does this behemoth get away with such activities? Because politicians in many areas fall for the old "jobs, opportunity, tax revenue" mantra chanted by Wal-Mart's bevy of attorneys, engineers, and other assorted boosters. Once the company gains a foothold in your town, the game is over. The retailer takes advantage of tax loopholes, destroys the environment, and eliminates more jobs than it creates. Quinn outlines many more atrocities. The number of lawsuits lodged against the Bentonville Beast has reached stunning numbers in recent years. According to the book, customers have sued Wal-Mart for injuries sustained from falling merchandise, slipping on objects on the floor, and heinous crimes committed in the stores' parking lots. Employees too have expressed their dismay with the irresponsible employer. One woman filed a claim when the managers at her store dismissed her for dating a black man. Other workers sued over the company's unofficial policy of intimidating employees into working off the clock. Quinn unearthed many vendors whose experiences with the retailer have since led to court actions. Wal-Mart always pushes its wholesalers for deep discounts, and then often returns damaged merchandise in bulk for refunds at full cost. A few smaller companies went out of business after the retailer made a big order and then reneged on the deal a month or so later. It's gotten so bad that many big vendors refuse to sell to Wal-Mart anymore. Quinn goes on and on, listing outrageous behavior after outrageous behavior. Frighteningly, the company is now expanding into other markets overseas using the same shady business models that turned our rural areas into places tumbleweeds wouldn't be caught dead rolling through. "How Wal-Mart is Destroying America" does have a few problems. Quinn's sense of humor, a fiery rhetoric fused with crotchety old guy attitude, gets old rather fast. I started noticing a troubling tendency to describe Wal-Mart in biblical terms of good and evil. Nothing is more indicative of this fact than a couple of drawings depicting a Bentonville goon sporting horns. Yeah, it's funny, but is this how you really want to make a serious argument? Moreover, the writer's obvious disdain for the retailer clouds his judgment. Is Wal-Mart at fault when a customer slipped on a cough drop? Should we take an ambulance chaser seriously when he claims Wal-Mart stonewalls every lawsuit? C'mon! Of course a lawyer is going to say something like that. I'm not defending the retailer's oily policy of spending mountains of money defending itself against legitimate court claims, but I understand why they do it. Big companies become targets for sue happy citizens very quickly. Should we expect Wal-Mart to roll out the red carpet for every lawyer with dollar signs in his or her eyes? I don't think so. Still, Quinn's book is a revelation about a company obviously out of control. I suspect the primary reason Wal-Mart gets away with all this stuff is because it goes on in rural areas. If this sort of behavior occurred in New York City, Chicago, Miami, or a few other huge metropolitan areas you can bet we would all get an earful about it. Well, if this book is accurate city slickers may well discover exactly what Wal-Mart is all about before too long. By racking up billions in sales in Rural America and overseas, the Bentonville retailer will soon possess the ability to strong-arm even the biggest cities into submission. Quinn concludes his book with several tips to either cut down Wal-Mart's power or to keep them out of your area. Personally, not shopping at this store seems to be the most prudent course of action. I know I won't ever return.
Rating: 
Summary: -1* is how I would rate this book
Review: The manager of the Wal-Mart in the store where I shop is the local Chamber of Commerce president. The store uses the local newspaper for their ads This store has given to our local headstart, fire dept. police dept., hospital, schools, humane society, collage scholarships to local high school seniors, etc. I'm just amazed how much this store gives back to the community. I live in a small town and I just went on to a bigger town to do my shopping. Now that Wal-Mart is in town, I keep my business here. This store employees people in the area that had to leave their own town to find work. Thanks Wal-Mart for keeping the business here and allowing the locals to have jobs, good buys and keeping the tax in our county!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but it has problems
Review: This book contains interesting information about Wal-Mart's tactics to eliminate competing small town retailers and many other outcomes that impact a town with a Wal-Mart. It includes information from former employees, competing retailers, newspapers, and television. Much of this information in important to know, especially if a community is interested in allowing a Wal-Mart into their town. However, this book has its problems. It appeared to me that many of these arguments came to the conclusion that Wal-Mart is bad for small towns and we need small towns for the sake of small towns. This argument needed to be developed more to show the benefits of having small town retailers. This book is also written very colloqually and takes many cheap shots at Wal-Mart. Overall, the information in this book is important to know, it just could have been presented better.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: This book has some pretty good info, but it is not the best book of its genre. I'd read Ortega's "In Same We Trust"
Rating:
Summary: kind of a simplistic book
Review: This book points out some of the problems of big corporations, problems I would say are not unique to WMT. The trouble with this book is that it assumes people in small towns are too stupid to make their own choices. If WalMart didn't deliver value, no one would shop there and it would go out of business. If people in small towns valued smaller stores over lower prices, they would not shop at WalMart--who is this author to say they are making the wrong choice? WMT is the largest employer in the country of minorities and has the largest proportion of minority managers of any large company. As for goods made in China, I have no problem with that. Don't the Chinese need jobs too? Shouldn't we be designing computer networks instead of making plastic toys?
Rating: 
Summary: Stay Out of Those Stinking Stores
Review: This book tells you why you should shop elsewhere
| 
