10.95 CDN / 10.95 US
112 pp.
ISBN: 1-894037-30-8
ISBN 13: 978-1894037-30-3
Politics
November 2006

Listen to David Lester discussing his book with C.S. Soong, host of KPFA's "Against the Grain"

By David Lester

Revised Second Edition

The Gruesome Acts of Capitalism is a Harper's Index of the havoc to humanity and the environment caused by global economic inequality.

Percentage of the world's population who live without electricity: 40

Amount spent annually subsidizing power stations that worsen global warming: $100 billion.

Number of billionaires who have greater wealth than the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 per cent of the world's people: 360.

Es konnte auch anders sein.
It could just as well be otherwise.

"A package of hard numbers encased in simple statements is all it takes in David Lester’s The Gruesome Acts of Capitalism to make a powerful agit-prop tool out of a small book. Like an unrelenting Michael Moore in print, the type is crudely designed to make the numbers jump out. Readers may end up seething at the corporations and sickened by celebrity-economics after grazing this little book....Whether it is billions spent on birthdays, weddings, and bombs, or lives lost to poverty, poor medical care and low education scores, these are the statistics of a world where equality has been forgotten in the celebration of excess."
The New Internationalist (June 2005)

"Lester's pocket-sized book is a handy argument enhancer, packed with hundreds of quick facts in crafty presentation, all of them reliably sourced. Get this book, win arguments."
The Republic (Vancouver)

“Lester breaks down the system’s more despicable traits into easy-to-read factoids that are certain to appall and inspire.”
Alternative Press Magazine (Cleveland, OH)

“This is the kind of book everybody should have in his or her possession. Thanks, Mr. Lester, for laying the facts on the line. But even more so, thanks for the resource.”
IndieWorkshop.com (Clive, IA)

“Charming in its clarity and understated simplicity of style, and adorned with pleasing and poignant artwork (also creatd by the author), this book presents the statistical facts about the impact of capitalism. The stark contrast of the nice little pocket book with this harsh reality prevents the reader from becoming totally overwhelmed by how gruesome our reality is.”
briarpatch (Regina, Saskatchewan)