Dicker, John 1973–

PERSONAL: Born 1973.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Penguin Publicity, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER: Colorado Springs Independent, Colorado Springs, CO, former staff writer.

WRITINGS:

The United States of Wal-Mart, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Nation, and Colorado Springs Independent, and to Salon.com.

SIDELIGHTS: In his book The United States of Wal-Mart, journalist John Dicker takes an in-depth look at the big-box giant retailer, which employs one out of every 115 American workers. According to Dicker, the company has become a type of international despot that pays its workers meager wages with few benefits and helps to put local businesses out of operation as it continues to expand. Although the author reveals stories about Wal-Mart's ongoing efforts to stop any unionization among its ranks, Dicker also discusses the company's competitors and their seeming inability to understand why Wal-Mart is so successful, which has led to their failure to compete effectively against the company. Nevertheless, Dicker points out that the store's success and its employees' dilemma stem largely from the American consumer's myopic focus on low-cost products without regard for the American worker. The author also discusses how the company's business practices have had a profound impact on American culture and on social and political policy.

Writing in the National Review, Alexander Rose called the book "a classic anticorporate tract," and went on to note: "Dicker really hates Wal-Mart and everything it stands for, but replace "Wal-Mart" with … Exxon, Starbucks, The Gap, McDonald's, Union Carbide, Nike, Monsanto, Halliburton, Philip Morris, the Carlyle Group, etc., and you'll find the arguments very, very familiar. That's not to say some of the criticism isn't true or deserved." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author's "analysis is unsparing but balanced," and added that he "conveys a wealth of information in a lucid and light-handed style."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

National Review, August 8, 2005, Alexander Rose, review of The United States of Wal-Mart, p. 49.

Publishers Weekly, April 25, 2005, review of The United States of Wal-Mart, p. 49.