Take It Personally

When Anita Roddick calls her new Fair Trade agitprop handbook Take It Personally, you know that she means business. Ethical, fairly traded business, of course. Take It Personally has two hosts. Roddick herself steers the text with introductions to the essays and extracts that make up the book's five sections, headed Activism, People, Development, Environment and Money. Her hapless sidekick is George W Bush, whose unintentional humour provides the light relief in what is mostly a depressing analysis.

A focal point, naturally, is the 1999 Seattle demonstrations, and eye-witness accounts tell of the brutality protestors experienced, including Roddick, who was probably the only CEO on the streets that day. Directed at a World Trade Organisation meeting, held appropriately in the Land of the Free (Trade), the book takes similar aim, in addition to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, all guilty, in Roddick's words, of "social Darwinism". The tone of the rhetoric is striking, and though the writing can be variable, much of it is persuasive, particularly the contributions of Naomi Klein, whose book No Logo has inspired an unbranded generation, Indian activist Vandana Shiva, David Boyle (The Tyranny of Numbers) and a short interview by John Pilger with Burma's elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The graphics for this highly visual book are frequently arresting, steeped in the culture of "subvertising", and mingled with hard-hitting soundbites, as well as listings for useful, informative Web sites and magazines.

With proceeds going to NGOs and relevant organisations, Take It Personally practises what it prescribes. While the details of sweatshops, child work abuse, arms trading, poor food distribution, global warming and "profits before people" are hugely dispiriting, the contributors' consensus is the need for individual responsibility, ethical choices, to build from the bottom, from GM-free, organic grass roots, until it grows into corporate response. Biodiversity over monoculture is infinitely the most fruitful agricultural choice, and it stands as a similarly bountiful metaphor for our interconnected world. "Take It Personally" proves a vitally accessible addition to the growing debate on alternative economics and ecological awareness, alongside John Humphrys' The Great Food Gamble, George Monbiot's Captive State, and even Bjorn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist. --David Vincent

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An almost useful introduction to an enormous topic - Rated
This is an anti-globalisation book through and through, so don't expect any reasoned debate. If you're unfamiliar with globalisation theory, you'll need to look elsewhere. If you've looked into it, don't like what you see, and feel powerless in the face of it, then this becomes a more useful book.
Roddick's credentials in the anti-globalisation world are great - a major CEO with principles, not afraid to get her hands dirty. But Roddick is only compiling here, and although some of contributors bring something informative, some sections are paper thin, ranting, or inward-looking, like the work of an anti-globalisation in-crowd (Yes, you were tear-gassed in Seattle in 99, get over it). At times it's even rather lazy, with calls for action against 'them' that forget to mention who 'them' is. It ends up giving you a whole lot of things to be indignant about, but without quite explaining why.
Still, it's a quick read, it covers a lot of ground and serves as a good whistle-stop tour of the main issues.

A colourful yet penetrating introduction to globalization... - Rated
With a focus on one of the largest untruths of our age, Take It Personally provides a colourful yet personal introduction to globalization and why it has failed to benefit all mankind in the way it's advocates declared it would.
With all the themes it tackles this could have easily turned into a wholly depressing analysis. However, the best and most useful parts of the book offer hope. Contributions from various non-governmental organisations detail the examples of success that have occurred when action is taken. This shows all is not yet lost and people can take control again in a world that is increasingly putting profit before people. There are numerous suggestions for readers to take positive steps to help in this. Many web site listings are given suggesting ways to pursue involvement further and gain a more detailed knowledge.
Anita Roddick has achieved a wonderful balance of providing an ostentatious and easily accessible addition to anyone's coffee table, whilst giving a starting point to exploring many ways and means in which anyone can get involved in making change a reality. Although mostly written before the tragedy in New York on September 11th, the author states the message Take It Personally delivers is more important than ever, to focus on the issues which are truly important, freedom and fairness.