Surviving Capitalism (Not) : “911!” The Book Amazon May Not Want Americans to Read

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

“911!” The Book Amazon May Not Want Americans to Read

Click here to access article by Gary Brumback from Dissident Voice.

During this year I've noticed more and more posts attacking Amazon for censorship of books. I've long wondered when their virtual monopoly on the sale of books would start censoring books, but only this year I've read online articles documenting this new reality. Now Brumback is also experiencing this sledgehammer by crushing political books that the ruling capitalist class doesn't want you to read.

I took the author's challenge and looked for his book on Amazon's website. Sure enough, he is absolutely correct. Although they haven't banned the book, the corporation goes out of their way to make it impossible to find.

As you may know, I buy nearly all of my used books from Abebooks which is based in Victoria, Canada, and I've enjoyed supporting the company that markets books exclusively from independent booksellers. Although in 2008 Abebooks was purchased in 2008 by Amazon, I haven't experienced any problems with access to books from them. Now I am beginning to worry.