Book Addiction

Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy  by John Bowe

From Publisher’s Weekly:

In this eye-opening look at the contemporary American scourge of labor abuse and outright slavery, journalist and author Bowe (Gig: Americans Talk About their Jobs) visits locations in Florida, Oklahoma and the U.S.-owned Pacific island of Saipan, where slavery cases have been brought to light as recently as 2006. There, he talks to affected workers, providing many moving and appalling first-hand accounts. In Immokalee, Florida, migrant Latino tomato and orange pickers are barely paid, kept in decrepit conditions and intimidated, violently, to keep quiet about it. A welding factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma imported workers from India who were forced to pay exorbitant “recruiting fees” and live in squalid barracks with tightly controlled access to the outside world. Considering the tiny island capital of Saipan, Bowe explores how its culture, isolation and American ties made it so favorable an environment for exploitative garment manufacturers and corrupt politicos; alongside the factories sprouted karaoke bars, strip joints and hotels where politicians were entertained by now-imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The detailed chapter gives readers a lasting image of the island, touted a “miracle of economic development,” as a vulnerable, truly suffering community, where poverty rates have climbed as high as 35 percent. Bowe’s deeply researched, well-written treatise on the very real problem of modern American slavery deserves the attention of anyone living, working and consuming in America.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book.  In college, I was a sociology major, and I took most of my soc classes in the areas of human rights, sociology of politics, and social justice, so this topic very much interests me to begin with, but I think anyone with even a slight interest in human rights would enjoy this fascinating look at slavery in American companies.  I found Bowe to be an excellent and insightful journalist, even when he made his opinions about what he was reporting blatantly obvious to the reader.  This isn’t an easy read, it took me awhile to get through it, but definitely worth the time.  I’d highly recommend Nobodies.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Left To Tell:  Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin

From book jacket:

Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished.  But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide.  Her family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans.  Miraculously, Immaculee survived the slaughter.  For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor’s home while hundreds of machete-waving killers hunted for them.  It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God.  She emerged from the bathroom hideout having truly discovered the meaning of unconditional love - a love so strong that she was able to seek out and forgive her family’s killers. 

My thoughts:

My grandma loaned me this book on Saturday evening and I finished it last night… clearly, I couldn’t put it down.  Immaculee’s story is absolutely heartbreaking but ultimately one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever read.  The things this girl has been through, words simply cannot describe (although Immaculee did a pretty good job describing them in her book, in full disgustingly bloody detail).  Reading this book made me feel very, very lucky to be alive and to know that this type of terror is not something that I’ll probably ever have to experience.  Left to Tell is very religion-focused because, like the summary says, that is how she got through those terrifying 3 months in a cramped bathroom, unable to move, speak, shower, or really even eat.  If you are turned off by the God centricity of this book, don’t be.  You can still feel just as inspired by this story if you don’t belive in her God, it’s truly a worthwile read no matter what your religious beliefs.  The book goes into a little detail about why the genocide in Rwanda occured; it’s pretty rudimentary but it will suffice if you are not informed of the causes already (of course, I encourage anyone to read up on the genocide who is not familiar with what happened anyway).  The main thing that struck me as so unbelievable (in a good way) was Immaculee’s incredible power to forgive.  She lamented many times throughout the book how she could not believe that powerful countries such as the United States, and organizations such as the UN, were not stepping in to stop the genocide until it had gone on for over three months and more than a million people had been killed; anyone in that situation would feel just as angry and resentful toward these large and powerful governments that did nothing to help Rwandans.  But as soon as the genocide was over, she went to work for the UN, and eventually moved to the United States with her American-born husband… if that’s not forgiveness, I don’t know what is.  The biggest thing that she forgave, however, was the killing of her family.  She said she relied on God to help her with this, and he put love and grace in her heart so that when she (many years down the road) came face to face with the man who killed her parents, she was able to tell him that she forgave him and move on with her life.  And move on she did - she is now a successful professional at the UN, she has created a foundation to help survivors of the genocide, and she has a wonderful husband, two kids, and a happy life.  This book will really touch your heart and inspire you; I encourage everyone to pick it up.

Rating of the book: 95 out of 100.

Dude, Where’s My Country? by Michael Moore

Summary:  In case anyone in Washington hasn’t noticed, Americans are fed up with the status quo. In this, the first shot fired over the bow of the 2004 Presidential election, Michael Moore aims to unseat the man who slithered into the White House on tracks built by the bloody hands of Enron and greased with the oil of his daddy. As if an unelected, semi-literate president weren’t problem enough, America’s Democrats have managed to take the liberty out of “liberal,” signing on with the G.O.P. for dirty corporate money and the ill-gotten gains of globalization. The “left” is just as satisfied as the right to stand idly by as the chasm between the haves and the have-nots grows wider and wider. Thank god for Michael Moore because DUDE, WHERE’S MY COUNTRY tells us precisely what went wrong, and, more importantly, how to fix things. In a voice that is fearless, funny, and furious, Moore takes readers to the edge of righteous laughter and divine revenge. Tapping into the collective and widespread discontent of everyday Americans, DUDE, WHERE’S MY COUNTRY provides an incisive look at Republicans, Democrats, and the robber barons of corporate America as it maps out what regular citizens can do to storm the halls of power and reclaim their stolen country.

My thoughts:

So I’m a little behind the times on this one.  This book was actually written right after 9/11, before the 2004 election, but I am just getting to it now.  Generally, I am a fan of Michael Moore.  I think his methods are a little crazy at times, and he tends to do things on purpose to piss a lot of people off (which I don’t enjoy), but I agree with 98% of his politics and 95% of the points he makes in explaining his politics.  This book was no different.  Although some of the avenues he used to explain his beliefs were a little odd to me, I think what he had to say was right on pointe.  Unfortunately, it is kind of pointless to discuss this book in the present because most of the things he talked about aren’t even applicable now - at least half of the book was about how messed up the Bush administration is and how important it is to get them out of office (in 2004).  As he obviously got reelected, and as he can only serve 2 terms and will be finished in 2008, that is kind of a moot point right now.  However, a lot of what Moore talked about in the book can still be applied today - such as the whole “terror threat” situation.  He talked a lot about how pointless and counterproductive it is to spread these threats of terrorist attacks around - how it just causes people to have more hatred, and doesn’t actually help us solve any problems associated with terrorism.  He also went into extensive detail into what he believes are the main reasons for war with Iraq - since the Bush family has extensive ties with the Saudi royal family, and with the Bin Ladens Moore makes the conclusion that the war is mostly about oil… not a new belief.  Although most of the stuff in this book is old news, at the time it was written it was really groundbreaking, radical ideas, and for that I think it’s a valuable addition to the political dialogue of the time.