About the Author

Naomi Klein, born in Montreal in 1970, is an award-winning journalist. She writes a weekly column in "The Globe and Mail, "Canada's national newspaper, and is also a frequent columnist for the British "Guardian." For the past five years, Klein has traveled throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, tracking the rise of anti-corporate activism. She is a frequent media commentator and has guest-lectured at Harvard, Yale, and New York University. She lives in Toronto.

Reviews

""No Logo" has been a pedagogical godsend. I used it to illustrate contemporary applications of complex cultural theories in an introductory social science sequence. It worked so beautifully, word about the book spread across campus, and other students were begging to read it in their sections of the course."--Bruce Novak, Division of Social Sciences, The University of Chicago
"A complete, user-friendly handbook on the negative effects that 1990s uberbrand marketing has had on culture, work, and consumer choice."--"The Village Voice"
"The "Das Kapital" of the growing anti-corporate movement."--"The London Observer"
"Klein is a sharp cultural critic and a flawless storyteller. Her analysis is thorough and thoroughly engaging."--"Newsweek.com"
""No Logo" is an attractive sprawl of a book describing a vast confederacy of activist groups with a common interest in reining in the power of lawyering, marketing, and advertising to manipulate our desires."--"The Boston Globe"

""No Logo has been a pedagogical godsend. I used it to illustrate contemporary applications of complex cultural theories in an introductory social science sequence. It worked so beautifully, word about the book spread across campus, and other students were begging to read it in their sections of the course."--Bruce Novak, Division of Social Sciences, The University of Chicago
"A complete, user-friendly handbook on the negative effects that 1990s uberbrand marketing has had on culture, work, and consumer choice."--"The Village Voice
"The "Das Kapital of the growing anti-corporate movement."--"The London Observer
"Klein is a sharp cultural critic and a flawless storyteller. Her analysis is thorough and thoroughly engaging."--"Newsweek.com
""No Logo is an attractive sprawl of a book describing a vast confederacy of activist groups with a common interest in reining in the power of lawyering, marketing, and advertising to manipulate our desires."--"The Boston Globe

""No Logo" has been a pedagogical godsend. I used it to illustrate contemporary applications of complex cultural theories in an introductory social science sequence. It worked so beautifully, word about the book spread across campus, and other students were begging to read it in their sections of the course."--Bruce Novak, Division of Social Sciences, The University of Chicago
"A complete, user-friendly handbook on the negative effects that 1990s uberbrand marketing has had on culture, work, and consumer choice."--"The Village Voice"
"The "Das Kapital" of the growing anti-corporate movement."--"The London Observer"
"Klein is a sharp cultural critic and a flawless storyteller. Her analysis is thorough and thoroughly engaging."--"Newsweek.com"
""No Logo" is an attractive sprawl of a book describing a vast confederacy of activist groups with a common interest in reining in the power of lawyering, marketing, and advertising to manipulate our desires."--"The Boston Globe"

""No Logo has been a pedagogical godsend. I used it to illustrate contemporary applications of complex cultural theories in an introductory social science sequence. It worked so beautifully, word about the book spread across campus, and other students were begging to read it in their sections of the course."--Bruce Novak, Division of Social Sciences, The University of Chicago
"A complete, user-friendly handbook on the negative effects that 1990s uberbrand marketing has had on culture, work, and consumer choice."--"The Village Voice
"The "Das Kapital of the growing anti-corporate movement."--"The London Observer
"Klein is a sharp cultural critic and a flawless storyteller. Her analysis is thorough and thoroughly engaging."--"Newsweek.com
""No Logo is an attractive sprawl of a book describing a vast confederacy of activist groups with a common interest in reining in the power of lawyering, marketing, and advertising to manipulate our desires."--"The Boston Globe

In the global economy, all the world's a marketing opportunity. From this elemental premise, freelance journalist and Toronto Star columnist Klein methodically builds an angry and funny case against branding in general and several large North American companies in particular, notably Gap, Microsoft and Starbucks. Looking around her, Klein finds that the breathless promise of the information ageÄthat it would be a time of consumer choice and interactive communicationÄhas not materialized. Instead, huge corporations that present themselves as lifestyle purveyors rather than mere product manufacturers dominate the airwaves, physical space and cyberspace. Worse, Klein argues, these companies have harmed not just the culture but also workersÄand not just in the Third World but also in the U.S., where companies rely on temps because they'd rather invest in marketing than in labor. In the latter sections, Klein describes a growing backlash embodied by the guerrilla group Reclaim the Streets, which turns busy intersections into spaces for picnics and political protest. Her tour of the branded world is rife with many perverse examples of how corporate names penetrate all aspects of life (who knew there was a K-Mart Chair of Marketing at Wayne State University?). Mixing an activist's passion with sophisticated cultural commentary, Klein delivers some elegant formulations: "Free speech is meaningless if the commercial cacophony has risen to the point where no one can hear you." Charts and graphs not seen by PW. Agent, Westwood Creative Artists. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.