Mark Thomas (1) (1963–)

Mark Thomas ia a man on a mission: to upset as many people as possible. He is what journalism should be, but in an era of cut budgets and press release recycling, is no longer possible.

Thomas has been on the circuit for over twenty years, combining comedy, politics and protest to shine lights where vested interests would much prefer we were kept in the dark.

His track record included "The Mark Thomas Comedy Product" for Channel 4, radio documentataries and talk shows for the BBC, a column in show more the New Statesman, regular tours (he's on the road now) and two books. "Belching Out the Devil" is his second.

His target is the Coca Cola company, which at first glance is pretty soft (if not soft drinks). Easy meat: take a pop at the advertising, the effect of its products on teeth, its obsession with brand. However, Thomas takes the term 'activist' literally, and will go anywhere and do anything to get his story: Bogotoa, Kaladera, Nejapa, Atlanta - anywhere ending with A.

Sorry, but that's the type of joke that he'll drop into a paragraph to lighten a very grim picture. His mission here is to expose working practices at Coca Cola plants across the developing world, the effect it has on water supplies, and the way it infiltrates even religious practices to maintain its market share.

There are three main themes that run through the book:

- the exploitation of workers, through employment conditions, intimidation and the surpression of all attempts at collective representation (including 8 trade unionists killed in Colombia);

- the CSR corporate-speak that senior officers use to describe their activities and cover their tracks;

- the fluid relationship between the Coca Cola Corp (it makes the syrup and manages the brand) and the bottlers in each country (that make and distribute the product).

It's scrupulously researched and extremely well documented (including a 14-page memo, leaked from Coca Cola's legal department).Thomas appears to be fearless and willing to face anyone to get to reality.

But there's more to this book than first meets the eye. At one point, sitting in the Houses of Parliament, waiting to attend a Select Committee hearing, Thomas finds himself with an HR Manager from the company. After some uncomfortable small-talk, she asks him (with the directness he uses on others): "Why are you picking on the Coca Cola Company?"

It's a brilliant question, not because CCC doesn't deserve investigation, but because the book could have been about almost any global corporation. It isn't really about a sticky, fizzy drink; it's about the day-to-day consequences of globalized operations, the impact of outsourcing (not only activity, but also responsibility), and governments in developing countries willing to do anything to get crumbs off the corporate high table.

It's a very uncomfortable book; it pulls back the curtain on things that we'd like to pretend don't happen, or at least prefer to ignore.

BOTD is entertaining (there are some very good jokes), informative and challenging. Highly recommended. show less

Just in case you're wondering, the Acts of Dissent pictured on the cover are, from left to right:
1: Smashing a papiér maché piñata of Nick Clegg with a copy of the Tory/Liberal Coalition Agreement sticking out of its paper buttocks;
2: Women racing pink Barbie remote control cars outside the Saudi Arabian embassy;
3: Taking an in-your-face photograph of a police officer every weekday for a year;
4: Sticking Margaret Thatcher's face into porn mags and putting them back on the shelves;
5: show more Posting heavy things to major corporations without stamps so they have to pay excess postage;
6: Playing "What's the Time, Mr Wolf?" in Hyde Park to protest the introduction of fees for playing organised sports.

Excellent book - I recommend it for a laugh and potential ideas! (Though Mark Thomas's idea of 'minor' is questionable in some cases!) show less

The arms trade is hardly a barrel of laughs but Mark Thomas's searing anger lambasts the British government and weak arms control laws for sheltering its own arms industry, particularly BAE Systems, and flogging small weapons and torture equipment to regimes that will certainly use them. A bloody good read, indeed a must-read to open eyes to the complicity of Western governments in human rights abuses elsewhere in the world.

I really enjoy Mark Thomas's ability to treat serious issues with a twist of humour that enables people who wouldn't read a more heavyweight book (or watch TV programme) to become familiar with an issue. This book is no exception and it would be nice to see him write more.

In this book, Mark and his cameraman take a walk round Israel's illegal Separation Barrier, walking on both sides of the wall, with locals as guides, hosts and conversationalists. It's a moving, funny and witty description show more of the difficulties 'ordinary' people living by the wall have in trying to live their lives with a wall impinging on their life. His bewilderment at how some Israelis can justify the mistreatment of the Palestinians in the name of security is hauntingly genuine.

If you know very little about the situation in Israel, this is a good place to start; if you consider yourself to have a good understanding this provides a humane portrait of the reality; a light read of a heavy topic. show less