Oooooh this was good. This book combined just about all my favorite nonfiction topics into one book- American consumer society, social responsibility vs. day to day compromise, the decline in American manufacturing, shopping, and the rapidly tipping balance of the global economy. You wedge all that into one book, and I am sold, baby.
Sara Bongiorni wrote a great, fun, dazzling read, which was lighthearted yet poignant, and effortlessly informative.
After reading an article about a woman who spent a year buying American, Bongiorni decided to try what she imagined would be an easier task- avoid "Made in China" for a year. This wasn't out of xenophobia or Freedom-Fries style goofiness, it was out of a genuine curiousity to see how hard it could be.
The result is a fantastic, fantastic book. I could go on in raptures about her tone, and how well and easily she narrates rather awkward things, like long phone calls with customer service representatives, and turns what could have so easily been a grumpy polemic into a great story from someone you want as a friend.
I want to try it. What more can I say? Well, I can say a little more- this is a book I think I will own, when it comes out in paperback. Out of all the library books I've read since I've started this blog, this is the first one that has to come live with me. (Rosemary's Baby, that rotten Bobbsey Twin book, all the Gossip Girls, and High Tide are mine- everything else has been borrowed)
A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy
Quality: 10 Popularity: 9 Overall: 19
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