Now in Paperback!
Friday, November 5, 2010 at 10:15AM 
It's hard not to sound like a Wal-Mart advertisement, but here it is: better, cheaper, and possibly more absorbent, it's the paperback edition of my 2009 book, The Price of a Bargain.
I've overhauled and updated the introduction, plus a few other things. In some ways, the book's arguments actually seem more current now than a year ago, particularly when it comes to America's decline, the not-unrelated rise of China, and the complex interactions of a world that still defines itself through affordable consumerism.
The book is a work of reporting and analysis, not a polemic against big box stores; Wal-Mart and globalization are just pieces of the puzzle. As I write in the book's introduction, the recession that began in 2008 was no mere financial collapse "but the beginning of a major shift in society, economy and environment. ...Our whole system of cheap is leveraged in ways we are only just beginning to understand – and broken in ways that may not be easily fixed."
You can read excerpts here and here to get the gist. Or you can read the reviews, which were generally quite positive.
It was originally published in the midst of a year-long family health crisis, so I didn't really get much of a chance to promote it. So if you bought the hardcover edition, or helped spread the word, then thanks!
Get it here in Canada, or in the United States, or as an e-book.
Download FREE chapter, revised and improved: "Introduction 2010 - Black Friday"
UPDATE December 2010: Chinese language rights have just been sold to Shanghai Xiron, adding mainland China to the list of international editions in Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong that will be published in 2011 and 2012. Thanks to all!