Rating: 
Summary: Naomi Klein - Writer for the people
Review: A book of speeches and short essays, this book closely follows the changing global condition before and after Sept. 11. It also chronicles Naomi's growth from Brand fighter to Global activist. Her writing is very easy to read and is filled with relatable examples and life stories. Just as No Logo, this book is a must have for those with any concern for the future of the Global Community. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: The Where and Why of Activism
Review: A wonderful little book about globalization, privatization and the loss of democracy around the world, FENCES AND WINDOWS does exactly what it sets out to do - it provides a global analysis of "anti-globalization" activism and profiles the activists that are doing it. Despite the monotony that is portrayed on television (black-block anarchists trashing Starbucks), this loose-fitting network of activists encompasses people from all sectors of society who share one thing in common: They are fed up - fed up with the World Bank and IMF, with closed-door trade meetings, and with surreptitious laws, like the ones that slipped genetically modified foods into our mouths. In a word, all across the globe people are sick and tired of "being acted on" by a group of international trade brokers and government leaders with fat pockets seeking to privatize away all the social services fought for and won throughout history. Although Klein by no means gives the last word on the issue here, these letters and dissent are informative and well worth the read. For a more comprehensive view of the economic issues that underpin the current global heist, check out WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE THE WORLD by David Korten, a good compliment.
Rating: 
Summary: A depressing read
Review: I thought that No Logo had reached the bottom of the pit as far as the literature on anti-globalization goes but here we go again.
Naomi Klein does write her dispatches from a perceived front-line. She strikes out against the very things that are making the world more open, such as tearing down regulation, allowing people to move around and opening markets (putting her in the same camp as neo Nazis and other nationalists whom she is against) but most seriously, her arguments ring flat and one is left wondering what the anti-globalization movement stands for. Even the things for which it is against seem inconsistent.
As one of the apostles of the anti-globalization movement, Klein is a poor one. She does not see the irony of Zapatista t-shirts, baseball hats and ski-masks. She does not find strange the fact that Marcos, who leads the Zapatistas and with whom she seems infatuated happens to have his greatest following among middle-aged women.
She fails to convince the reader that the anti-globalization movement is anything but some hazy new-age mixing of anarchists and doped up teenagers that haven't showered in a week. What sense can one make out of her arguments that the movement is waiting for "something entirely unprecedented"? Are we to wait for Godot?
I have had the misfortune to have read her articles in the Guardian in the UK and like a bad dream; I am hoping that she fades away harmlessly. But with the rise of protectionism around the world, which will hurt the poor world the most, the Naomi Kleins of the world are, unfortunately, the ones, who through their ill conceived logic and weirdness, will shape the thinking of the public.
Reading this book gives one an insight into the anti-everything movement but one does not come out the wiser as to what they really want.
Rating:
Summary: As worthwhile as No Logo
Review: I thought this was a pretty good book. Unlike No Logo, which has a central thesis that guides each of the chapters, Fences and Windows is a collection of articles and essays that Naomi Klein wrote for The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Nation, The LA Times, The Guardian. What I liked about Fences and Windows is the diversity of topics, and how Klein makes clear the common link between them. So we have NAFTA linked up to foot-and-mouth disease linked up to homelessness in Ontario linked up to September 11th linked up to why left-wing political parties that want to centralize power are missing the point that anti-globalization activists make. While reading this, various people said to me, "Oh I liked No Logo better," (or more commonly, in fact, "Oh a friend of mine said they liked No Logo better..."). I like them both though. No Logo was written at a time when people like me were beginning to become aware of "the movement" (that vague catch-all term that Klein herself confesses to using). A few years along, and after having had it drilled into our heads that "the world is so different now" due to you-know-what happening on you-know-when, people like me are a little bit more aware of the basic issues and are now seeking to understand more of the details. I think this book did a good job of explaining the notion of pro-democracy rather than anti-globalization, of power that is decentralized and local rather than centralized and distant, and of how exactly these mega trade deals are hurting us. Because truthfully, I think there are a lot of people like me who know enough of the basic facts to know that capitalist fundamentalism is creating greater inequality in our world, but are a little hazy on how all those big economic forces play themselves out. Fences and Windows demystified that a bit.
Rating:
Summary: Another eye-opener
Review: I was not initially sold (no pun intended!) on Klein's earlier No Logo. I found it repetitive and lacking a clear literary style. Obviously I was pretty much alone in that as the book inspired a generation of young anti-Corporate activists. And rightly so. Klein returns with a collection of articles about the time after No Logo. I found these very moving and concise snapshots of the globalization movement and the need to regain a perspective on the role of multi-nationals in our lives. Now a respected voice on the world stage, Klein finally gets down to writing the book I wanted to read first time around. Not as cleverly titled though :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Collection of already published articles
Review: Naomi Klein is not known for her fine analysis of globalization nor of the neo-liberal social transformations of the last 2 decades. She is known for her understanding of what has been called (unjustly?) the anti-globalization movement and by her predominance in the discourse creation/shaping of this movement. If you want to know about the ideas debated by the constellation of activists fighting neo-liberal globalization, this is your book... however, you'll have to accept the usual bias of a political essay.Note: most of these short essays have been already published and some are available on the net.
Rating:
Summary: great "starter's kit" for understanding free trade protests
Review: People who should read this book: fans of Naomi Klein's work, people who are unfamiliar with free trade agreements like NAFTA, and those looking to understand the resistance to those trade agreements. While any collection of articles and speeches can seem to be all over the place, this book is very well organized and edited. Keep in mind that these are relatively short pieces but they still provide valuable information about the topic if you are not already familiar with it. Not knowing much about free trade before I read the book, I feel much more knowledgeable about it and I feel inclined to learn more. If you already have a good grasp on free trade and the resistance to it, you most likely will not find anything new here, but there are helpful thoughts and entertaining anecdotes from the author that makes it a good, quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Quick! Hug Something!
Review: The next time you see a a parade of unkempt "fill in the blanks" protestors marching against "something" they'll probably be waving this "Little Red Book". The original "Little Red Book" was of course written by Chariman Mao and was a 'de rigeur' fashion accessory for protestors of the sixties. That book was misquoted at length and widely misunderstood. Klein's book is sure to be the "Little Red Book" of the current generation of self-centred malcontents because of two qualities that it shares with Mao's - its size and its vague writing. At least Klein is forthright, albeit surreptitiously about the lack of analysis or direction of her overtly political treatise. Early on in the book she concedes that there are no 'concrete answers' to any of the problems she decries nor are there coherent strategies to deal with or resolve them. Klein instead takes the favoured route of most of the professional whiners of the New Left and instead devotes her book to to celebrating mindless protest and "civil action" while endlessly repeating meaningless panaceas like "social justice". In between bouts of self-congratulatory accounts of her activities with young "activists" Klein burdens the objective reader with her sweeping generalizations and superficial analysis of every topical issue from landmines to loans. Scattered hither and yon throughout her accounts of activities on the front line of activist protest are the usual justifications for the short-sighted and often violent activities of those she accompanies: "How can a movement be accountable when communities are fraying?" Klein asks, and thinking readers cringe. By example, Klein's acerbic discussion of the role of private security is laughable in the context of her breathless descriptions of the of mindless mischief and vandalism which her fellow travellers commit. Klein's book is full of such chicken and egg conundrums: The "activists" portrayed are often portrayed fighting situations of their own making. This of course begs the question "Which came first and why?" Quite in line with the thinking of those it champions Klein's book is pointless and reactionary - even against itself. Her bland recitation of the various sine qua non of activism; "globalization" "aparthied" etc. is given without context - either historical or political. The accounts of specific actions are unevitably laudatory and one-sided and show no concern for the outcome. Klein has written the perfect book for todays knee-jerk reactionary activist. Filled with comforting catch phrases and light on substance or consequence Naomi Klein's "Fences and Windows" is appropriately titled: The "Fences" are the misbegotten ideologies that keep her activist sheep marching forward to confrontation, the "windows" their distorted and ephemeral view of selected issues. There is no doubt that Klein is "preaching to the choir" with this book and anyone else is advised to avoid it at all costs.
Rating:
Summary: Quick! Hug Something!
Review: The next time you see a a parade of unkempt "fill in the blanks" protestors marching against "something" they'll probably be waving this "Little Red Book". The original "Little Red Book" was of course written by Chariman Mao and was a 'de rigeur' fashion accessory for protestors of the sixties. That book was misquoted at length and widely misunderstood. Klein's book is sure to be the "Little Red Book" of the current generation of self-centred malcontents because of two qualities that it shares with Mao's - its size and its vague writing. At least Klein is forthright, albeit surreptitiously about the lack of analysis or direction of her overtly political treatise. Early on in the book she concedes that there are no 'concrete answers' to any of the problems she decries nor are there coherent strategies to deal with or resolve them. Klein instead takes the favoured route of most of the professional whiners of the New Left and instead devotes her book to to celebrating mindless protest and "civil action" while endlessly repeating meaningless panaceas like "social justice". In between bouts of self-congratulatory accounts of her activities with young "activists" Klein burdens the objective reader with her sweeping generalizations and superficial analysis of every topical issue from landmines to loans. Scattered hither and yon throughout her accounts of activities on the front line of activist protest are the usual justifications for the short-sighted and often violent activities of those she accompanies: "How can a movement be accountable when communities are fraying?" Klein asks, and thinking readers cringe. By example, Klein's acerbic discussion of the role of private security is laughable in the context of her breathless descriptions of the of mindless mischief and vandalism which her fellow travellers commit. Klein's book is full of such chicken and egg conundrums: The "activists" portrayed are often portrayed fighting situations of their own making. This of course begs the question "Which came first and why?" Quite in line with the thinking of those it champions Klein's book is pointless and reactionary - even against itself. Her bland recitation of the various sine qua non of activism; "globalization" "aparthied" etc. is given without context - either historical or political. The accounts of specific actions are unevitably laudatory and one-sided and show no concern for the outcome. Klein has written the perfect book for todays knee-jerk reactionary activist. Filled with comforting catch phrases and light on substance or consequence Naomi Klein's "Fences and Windows" is appropriately titled: The "Fences" are the misbegotten ideologies that keep her activist sheep marching forward to confrontation, the "windows" their distorted and ephemeral view of selected issues. There is no doubt that Klein is "preaching to the choir" with this book and anyone else is advised to avoid it at all costs.
Rating: 
Summary: Involving if not surprising
Review: The thing about a book by Klein is you are either a real fan or you aren't - there really isn't a middle point. Most people who have encountered Klein before would have read `No Logo' and this book is very much in the same vein, with commentary on, or more specifically against, the perceived rise of a capitalist corporatist culture, driven by a consumerist West which is disadvantaging the rest of the world. This book is a collection of articles and speeches by Klein about issues regarding international regimes, the good and bad sides of globalisation, and the resistance movements that seem to now be a prerequisite for any meeting of economic importance. A good non-scholarly take on one facet of the many-sided debate on globalism and its effects.
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