TAKE IT PERSONALLY: How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World

Armchair observers of the WTO protests in November 1999 were bombarded by images of activists decrying globalization and its effects: demonstrators waved signs calling for a change in working conditions at sweatshops, in health care for women worldwide and in the environmental impact of toxic waste. Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, brings together essays by activist luminaries to show the interconnections between all these issues and to call for everyone to "take globalization personally." So many discussions of worldwide problems are presented in this volume's pages that the wealth of information is almost staggering. Jerry Mander, program director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology, explains how the computer revolution may not be so beneficial after all; Zac Goldsmith, editor of The Ecologist, details the possible effects of Britain's new Terrorism Act; and Larry Elliott, economics editor of The Guardian, passionately critiques the profit-driven actions of big pharmaceutical companies. Other contributors explore Burmese heroin production, global income disparities, Asian sex-worker horrors and other topics, while each chapter includes a list of additional resources, such as relevant Web sites, magazines and organizations. And the book is gorgeously designed, with powerful photographs in a striking layout. Though much of the information might be familiar to dedicated activists, there is a lot for the globally conscious—or globally concerned—reader to learn. Part activist treatise, part coffee-table tome, this is a valuable, compelling summary of our planet's ills. Illus. throughout. (Oct. 10)