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Exclusive: Jonathan Rees Reviews “The Bully of Bentonville”

Dr. Jonathan Rees of Colorado State Univ. reviews Anthony Bianco’s new book, “The Bully of Bentonville.”

Two books on Wal-Mart have been published by major presses recently, The Wal-Mart Effect, by Charles Fishman and The Bully of Bentonville, by Anthony Bianco. Both these authors work for major business magazines (Fishman for Fast Company and Bianco for Business Week), but neither book is likely to bring smiles to the people at Wal-Mart HQ.

That alone should tell you something about how attitudes towards Wal-Mart are changing. People still make the argument that the only people who are opposed to Wal-Mart are crazy liberals and other “special interests.” The fact that two respected business writers are taking Wal-Mart on in depth not only destroys that argument, it really ought to make Wal-Mart worry.

As Bianco’s title suggests, his is definitely the more hostile of the two books. The Bully of Bentonville is basically a collection of all the stories and arguments about Wal-Mart that have been circulating over the last few years. There is almost nothing here that is really new. Nevertheless, Bianco tells these stories and makes these arguments in a highly readable and engaging manner.

Bianco is particularly good at providing revealing detail to supplement what are now very well known stories. For example, if memory serves me well, former Wal-Mart manager Jon Lehman is both in Robert Greenwald’s movie and the fabulous documentary from PBS’ Frontline, “Is Wal-Mart Good for America?” But Bianco gets Lehman to tell him about his career as a Wal-Mart manager (he made gobs of money) and what changed his mind about the company (taking a job at a unionized Meijer store).

Some of the best parts of the book are contained in short vignettes that Bianco has wedged between the larger chapters. In one, Bianco accompanies Lehman in a walk through Wal-Mart #1 in Rogers, Arkansas. “It’s bloody,” says Lehman about a package of meat he is showing Bianco. “It’s supposed to have a little pad under there to absorb all the blood.”

In another of these sections, Bianco offers new details of the notorious closing of the Wal-Mart in Jonquiere, Quebec. If you don’t know, Wal-Mart closed the store almost immediately after the workers voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union, and the vast majority of Canadians connect the two events even if Wal-Mart does not.

Bianco interviews Sylvie Lavoie, the worker who led the unionization effort, which was sparked in part when she and other cashiers learned that new hires at a new store 25 miles away were getting paid more than them. “We were a big bunch of girls and we all went together,” is what she told Bianco about how they raised the issue with their manager. “He laughed in our faces. He told us point blank that there would be no report made and that we we’re supposed to discuss our salaries.”

From the larger chapters, the best and freshest work is an analysis of the grocery business in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bianco explains why the existing grocers there have been dreading the coming of Wal-Mart for years and explains how they plan to fight the chain’s inevitable arrival. Apparently “Jungle Jim” Bonaminio, a famous local independent owner, has been expanding his grocery store into something resembling a theme park. If others follow this path shopping will be a lot more fun, but you have to wonder whether America will be better off.

In short, Bianco book has few surprises for diligent students of Wal-Mart. Nevertheless, it is an excellent introduction for people who are just beginning to worry about the ways in which Wal-Mart is changing America for the worse. Bianco’s book could be the definitive study of Wal-Mart’s past to this point of time. Hopefully, the next batch of Wal-Mart books will continue to move the Wal-Mart debate into new territory.

Posted by Media Team on Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Click Here for a Printer-Friendly Version

COMMENTS

This book review is correct. Canadians have a very low opinion of Walmart.
I am looking forward to reading this book, then donating it to the public library.

Alex in Ontario, Canada
Tuesday, March 07 at 05:43 PM

“The fact that two respected business writers are taking Wal-Mart on in depth not only destroys that argument, it really ought to make Wal-Mart worry.”

Or maybe it should read…

The fact that two respected business writers are taking Wal-Mart on in depth shows that bashing Wal-Mart has turned into an industry. Thanks for buying all our books!

Edgar in USA
Tuesday, March 07 at 09:04 PM

Edgar:

Before you offer your critique or try to engage us with your unsolicited opinions on either of these two books, why don’t you read them first!

ScrewedbyWal-Mart in Anytown, USA
Tuesday, March 07 at 11:56 PM

Edgar in USA-

Because these books are being promoted on this site I am sure that they are nothing but pure propaganda tools. I had borrowed The WalMart Effect from the library but decided not to read it after seeing it being promoted on this site.

Hey Edgar I would like to solicit your opinions.

Cooper in KCMO
Wednesday, March 08 at 02:05 AM

Tom...er...Screwed-

Edgar’s claim has nothing to do with whether or not he read the books.

Someone in USA
Wednesday, March 08 at 01:26 PM

ScrewedbyWal-Mart,

I did not critique the books, I simply stated that anti-Walmarterism has turned into an industry. That’s a fact. From experience I can tell you that the anti-Wal-Mart camp is about as objective as Rush Limbaugh, whom you mention in your posts on a regular basis. There are dozens of books and documentaries out about Wal-Mart already, why waste my time and regurgitate the same (biased) information over and over again? It’s too much like presidential campaigns...yuk.

Edgar in USA
Wednesday, March 08 at 06:56 PM

Edgar in USA-

I just finished watching the high cost of low prices, it turned out to be a complete waste of time. Greenwald does not make a very good documentary, in fact I believe it was the worst I have ever seen. It is pieced together by half truths, and nothing else.
I have seen better work by high schoolers.

Cooper in KCMO
Thursday, March 09 at 12:53 AM

Maybe you didn’t have enough butter on your popcorn.

JM in USA
Thursday, March 09 at 12:40 PM

Coop and Edgar:

Fighting WalMart is NOT an industry. Big retail boxes are an industry. War is an industry.

Fighting WalMart is a loose configurations grass roots community organizations.

Clad we could clear that up for you.

Don Myers in NYC
Monday, March 27 at 10:28 AM

Inspite of all the thrash said about walmart .. the consumer is still with Walmart.. Need less to say When dogs bark the elephant moves ON.

moses in
Tuesday, April 04 at 02:21 AM

In my opinion, I detest Wal-Mart. Some of the information I have read about its treatment of employees makes my stomache turn, granted these are individual and not global experiences, ie not every employee has the same story. The fact that that infamous Canadian Wal-Mart was closed immediatly following word of employees unionizing is proof enough for me that Wal-Mart doesn’t care whatsoever about its employees. Wal-mart has plenty of revenue, keeping a store like that open would’ve made them money, Wal-mart just didn’t want to give employees the extra buck under any circumstances.

Dreg in Woodland, CA
Friday, April 07 at 01:29 AM

In my opinion, I love Wal-Mart. I think that this is a stupid website and the creators of this website should get a life. Im sorry the creators are such losers and do not have a life. I bet they even shop at Wal-mart. The only thing they do is criticize Wal-Mart. They never point out the good things Wal-Mart does for their community. They donate millions of dollars to orgazations. The books by these authors sucked.

Jeremy in Jonesboror,AR
Friday, April 07 at 11:20 AM

All the books did was offer one side of the story. Authors should know by now that if you dont have both sides of the story. The book is nothing but biased. So these apparently these authors need to go back to school.

Jeremy in
Friday, April 07 at 11:28 AM

I have read in several places that Wal-Mart Employess (weather full or part - time) are made to heavily rely on medicaid for health bebefits. This should be an ebarrassment to a company making billions of dollars in profit a year. I can see now why the Canadian store tried to unionize. Anyone who is a full time employee should be eligable to recieve health benefits.

Jim in Il
Saturday, April 08 at 04:24 AM

Jeremy,

Great point that the makers of this website are such losers and need to get a life! That makes you an even BIGGER loser, because you wasted time posting on a website created by such losers.

Jim,

You are right about the health care benefits. In fact, a study done by the University of California shows that last year the state of California spent $86 billion for health care and social service expenses for Wal-Mart employees.

http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=212

Greg in NC
Tuesday, April 11 at 01:59 PM

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