Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & technology book reviews, plus social, political, & economic commentary
#bookreview The Cost of Free Shipping: Amazon in the Global Economy Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Ellen Reese London, UK: Pluto Press, 2020 ISBN-13: 978-0-7453-4148-4 In an unironic collection of essays spanning globalization, labor movements, gender studies, and economics, Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Ellen Reese have delivered a masterpiece of sociological text on the truth behind the curtain … Continue reading Paying Your Way to ‘Free’ Shipping
Yes, Americans need to work, and businesses of all sizes now claim they are desperate to hire. So why are we quitting jobs, refusing employment offers we supposedly “can’t refuse,” resisting orders to return to previous workplaces, and generally just mad as hell at those who employ us or beg to hire us? A few … Continue reading The Great Resignation. Why Is Anyone Surprised?
Variations of LaborStories & PoemsAlex Gallo-BrownChin Music Press On Twitter, Seattle poet Alex Gallo-Brown (@AlextheGB) modestly calls himself simply a “writer and labor organizer.” But he’s more than that. He has been hailed as “the poet of the service economy” by Valerie Trueblood, a contributing editor to The American Poetry Review. And Washington State Poet … Continue reading Wise words from ‘the poet of the service economy’
Staying Sane & Entertained While Forced to Hide from the Coronavirus Charles Dickens likely did not have a deadly global pandemic in mind when he wrote the “best of times, worst of times” opening for his novel, A Tale of Two Cities. He was contrasting life in profitable, peaceful London with grim life in revolution-torn … Continue reading Worst of Times, Best of Times
The Mob and the City The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York C. Alexander Hortis (Prometheus Books, Kindle, hardcover) Forget The Godfather, its sequels and numerous other, famous “Mafia” movies. This excellent book cuts straight through the hype, fictions, and glamorizations to tell “the hidden history of how the street … Continue reading The Mob and the City: The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York – #bookreview
The Connected Company Dave Gray, with Thomas Vander Wal (O’Reilly, hardback – Kindle) If you buy only one business management book this year, make it this one. It’s that good, and definitely timely. Whether your organization chart stretches across continents or consists of just you, your smart phone and your computer, you can learn important … Continue reading The Connected Company – Restructure now or die in today’s hyperconnected economy – #bookreview
The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation, 2nd Edition Jono Bacon (O’Reilly, paperback, list price $39.99; Kindle edition, list price $34.99) Whether you work for a large firm or operate a one-person shop built around an online presence, you should check out this newly updated guidebook on now to build, maintain and … Continue reading The Art of Community, 2nd Edition – Creating online success in the social economy – #bookreview
End This Depression Now! Paul Krugman (Norton, hardback, list price $24.95; Kindle edition, list price $24.95) If you’d like to watch some ultra-right conservatives break out in hives, do a St. Vitus Dance or just spontaneously combust, ask them to read End This Depression Now! by Paul Krugman. Most of them won’t read it, of course. They … Continue reading Mitt Romney, Secret Keynesian? Read Paul Krugman’s ‘End This Depression Now!’ – #bookreview #in #economics #politics
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