Subscribe to RSS 2.0Best part of a monkey (c.f. slang, monetary)
Here's an offer you don't get every day. If you remember a while back I made a big fuss about Naomi Klein's most recent book, The Shock Doctrine. I think it's important. But the subject matter doesn't interest as many people as it might. So I have a proposition. I have one pristine copy of the book to give away. I also have a crisp twenty pound note. If you are someone who would not ordinarily read such a thing, but you'd be prepared to do so for a free copy plus a twenty-pound incentive, then let me know and I will mail them both to you. Sadly I only have one of each on offer, but it's been bothering me that despite my best efforts I haven't persuaded a single, solitary person to read the thing, so desperate measures are called for. It's beautifully written and crammed full of information you really need to know. Plus there's twenty quid in it for you. So what do you say?
Update: I've had a taker for the book (though they kindly declined the cash). Now I just have to find someone who wants the twenty-quid. (Only joking)
Comments: 4
Rob, I won't take your book or your twenty pound note off you, but I will buy the book from amazon today. I went to a talk by Lord Nicholas Stern last night who described climate change as "the biggest market failure the world has ever seen". The was the former chief economist of the world bank telling us about one rise of disaster capitalism, I'll be intrigued to hear what Naomi has to say about the rest....
Posted by: Gail on March 13, 2008 02:36 PM
Hey Gail, good to hear from you. I'm sure there's room in your brainy brain for this stuff.
Posted by: Rob on March 13, 2008 02:52 PM
Actually, Rob, you persuaded me to read it!
I didn't get very far though... I found No Logo fascinating, so would probably have got to The Shock Doctrine eventually, but your comments on it convinced me to hunt it out sooner, rather than later. I found it quite difficult to engage with compared to No Logo though - and this, coupled with its huge bulk in hardback (impossible to commute with) meant I eventually gave up around a third of the way through it. I do still feel I would like to give it another go, once it's in paperback!
Posted by: Lou on March 13, 2008 03:11 PM
Lou, I hope you do go back to it. I totally agree about hardbacks, though. I hate wrestling with them and having to pay extra for the trouble is particularly annoying. What justification, besides a bit of gentle extortion, is there for not releasing the paperback simultaneously? Anyway, I think the first third is the least rewarding. And in my view, ten hours of reading it covers more ground than several hundred hours of watching the evening news. (And please note, the final hundred pages are just references.)
Posted by: Rob on March 13, 2008 03:19 PM