Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take It Back FROM OUR EDITORS
Plainspoken grassroots activist Jim Hightower strikes back against "Thief-in-Chief" George W. Bush, his confederacy of "kleptocrats," and other greedy members of the establishment in this collection of fiery power-to-the-people manifestos.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
The Kleptocrats have taken over. A confederacy of corporate fat cats, Republican think tankers, Wobblycrats, empire builders, right-wing media barons, and just plain greedheads have heisted America's political process and our democratic ideals -- and are just about to dump our whole country into their giant bag of swag. Imagine that they would be doing if they'd actually won the election! Is this what the founders had in mind? Is this what you had in mind? Is this the best our country can be? Jim Hightower knows we can do better, knows that we don't have to settle for the plutocratic, autocratic, kleptocratic agenda of BushCo. Hightower is the most outspoken populist in America, and he's back in the nick of time, mad as hell, with a new book that is at once illuminating, hilarious, infuriating...and filled with hope. Fortunately for readers (unfortunately for our country), he has no shortage of material and targets these days. The economy is in the ditch, George W keeps fattening the rich at the expense of the rest of us, Rumsfeld is on the warpath for global domination, Ashcroft is insane, polluters rule, the Democrats are worse than pathetic, the media is a tasteless joke ... and we've got another corporate-sponsored made-for-TV presidential election coming up.
What better time to speak the truth -- and to show people the way out of this mess? And who better than Hightower to have so much fun along the way? That's right, fun. Thieves in High Places is full of fight and fun. In it, Hightower spares us not an iota of outrage about what the Powers That Be are doing to our America, but he brings us the bad news with plenty of his laugh-out-loud Texas humor as he lays out the whole unappetizing mess that we find ourselves in. He identifies the culprits in government, in the corner offices of our great land, and in the big-box retail stores that are systematically destroying our downtowns -- and exploiting our workforce -- from coast to coast. But more than the catalog of evils that usually passes for political commentary these days, Thieves in High Places offers a battle cry, a rallying point, and a populist hall of fame, highlighting and celebrating people who have stood up to the bullies and regained their rights along with their dignity. His book is a road map for taking power back from the thieves and a welcome antidote to the passivity and defeatism that has dogged progressive-minded Americans for too long.
SYNOPSIS
Not just those in high government, but also corporate CEOs, think-tank pundits, movies stars and directors, and glossy-haired televangelists and news anchors, are telling Americans to grab everything they can get their hands on and protect it behind high walls, says Texan social critic Hightower, but Americans are not thieves and should reclaim not only the government, economy, and all, but the American ethic as well. He remains as humorous as always. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Populist radio commentator, columnist and author Hightower (If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates) delivers a timely manifesto for progressives living in what he calls a nation ruled by "a confederacy of kleptocrats." In Hightower's view of the current political situation, "King George the W" reigns atop a greedy hierarchy of corporate-politico corruption in which many politicians have become no more than handmaidens of corporations and the super-rich. Devotees of Hightower's populist politics and his sardonic style will find much to admire, but the average reader will consider the book a jumble of loosely connected treatises laced with distracting sidebars and peppered with hyperbolic forebodings of government evil. Hightower warns the reader, "Big Brother is no longer a paranoid's nightmare, but is alive and very much on the prowl." Hightower's prose at times bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the propaganda he condemns. While he does offer inspirational stories of community action and even practical information (e.g., how to contact a long list of public interest groups), the book's disorganization is baffling: he careens in one chapter from professional sports through the fate of public libraries to the history of Santa Claus. In addition, Hightower's quasi-comical, off-the-wall pronouncements (suggesting, for instance, that CEOs of companies with tax-free Bermuda bank accounts be required to wear Bermuda shorts at all times) tend to stifle his worthy, impassioned calls for action. Progressives will need a more comprehensible spokesperson if they hope, as Hightower envisions, to "take [America] back." Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
A former Texas public official turned author and lecturer, Hightower (If The Gods Had Meant Us To Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates) takes on the conservative political establishment, calling them "kleptocrats" and arguing that the nation is ruled by thieves who have stolen democracy from the people and used the levers of government to enrich themselves and their fat-cat friends. President George W. Bush, the "Thief-in-Chief," comes in for especially harsh criticism. With biting and often on-target wit, the author attempts to speak truth to power, calling on the public to wake up and reclaim the democracy they have lost. Hightower is a gifted humorist who often brings his considerable talents to the defense of a brand of liberal populism that has difficulty finding a voice in post-9/11 America. This book won't change any minds, and it certainly won't appeal to conservatives or supporters of the President, but it will entertain Bush's critics and help establish Hightower as one of the stronger voices of liberalism in the country.-Michael A. Genovese, Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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