An expert’s in-depth exploration of the enormous impact of mega-retailers—and what communities and independent businesses can do

A Book Sense Pick and Annual Highlight

Large retail chains have become the most powerful corporations in America and are rapidly transforming our economy, communities, and landscape. In this deft and revealing book, Stacy Mitchell illustrates how mega-retailers are fueling many of our most pressing problems, from the shrinking middle class to rising water pollution and diminished civic engagement.

Mitchell’s investigation takes us from the suburbs of Cleveland to a fruit farm in California, the stockroom of an Oregon Wal-Mart, and a Pennsylvania town’s Main Street. She uncovers the shocking role government policy has played in the expansion of mega-retailers and builds a compelling case that communities composed of many small businesses are healthier and more prosperous than those dominated by large chains.

More than a critique, The Big-Box Swindle draws on real life to show how some communities are successfully countering the spread of mega-retailers and rebuilding their local economies. Mitchell describes innovative approaches—from cutting-edge land-use policies to small-business initiatives—that together provide a detailed road map to a more prosperous and sustainable future.

“In the muckraking tradition of Fast Food Nation and Nickel and Dimed, this is a searing indictment of the impact of behemoth retailers.” —John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which included Big-Box Swindle in its Top Ten 2006 list

“What Nickel and Dimed did for the Wal-Mart worker, Mitchell does for the community threatened by mega-retailers.” —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

“Stacy's book provided much of the information we were using during the campaign against Target,” said Don Shor of the Davis Independent Merchants Alliance, which is sponsoring Mitchell's talk Tuesday at 7 p.m…“It's probably a Davis best-seller at this point,” said Shor, owner of Redwood Barn Nursery.
—Davis Enterprise (Davis, CA), article in the May 4th issue

“This letter is for anyone who still thinks that Wal-Mart would be an asset to our city, and also our city council. I urge you! I implore you! Please read this book: Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega Retailers and The Fight for America's Independent Businesses by Stacy Mitchell.” —Atascadero News (CA), letter to the editor