Some Reasons to Not Buy Books from Amazon

Amazon's Business Practices

“Behind the Amazon.com smile”: a four-part series providing a glimpse inside the company (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2017883596_amazonintro25...

“The Amazon Effect” (The Nation)

http://www.thenation.com/article/168125/amazon-effect#ixzz2ZQpu1EgH

"Amazon Economy: From Warehouse to Powerhouse" (Financial Times)

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cc3a0eee-c1de-11e1-8e7c-00144feabdc0.html

“Amazon a Virtual No-show in Hometown Philanthropy” (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2017883663_amazonmain25....

"Amazon Ranked Among Worst Performers in Addressing Climate Change" (GreenBiz.com)
 

Amazon and Job Creation

“Amazon.com and the President’s Blind Spot on Job Creation” (Jeff Milchen, Bloomberg Businessweek)

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-31/to-tout-good-jobs-visit-...

“The Truth About Amazon and Job Creation” (Stacy Mitchell, ILSR)

http://www.ilsr.org/amazonfacts/

Amazon and the Book Industry

“As Competition Wanes, Amazon Cuts Back Discounts” (New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/business/as-competition-wanes-amazon-c...

“Amazon Yanks 5,000 titles from Independent Publishers Group, a Chicago Book Distributor” (Chicago Tribune)

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-23/business/ct-biz-0223-amazo...

“Amazon.com Trying to Wring Deep Discounts from Publishers” (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2017889877_amazonpublish...

“Publishing’s Ecosystem on the Brink: The Backstory” (Authors Guild)

http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/publishings-ecosystem-on-the-brink-...

"E-book Suit May Shift Power Back to Amazon" (Financial Times)

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/aed615cc-8427-11e1-9d54-00144feab49a.html...

“The Antidote to Algorithms: A Real Bookstore” (Ann Patchett, Wall Street Journal, subscription required)

http://bit.ly/16Cpuaj

“Amazon Bullies Independent Publishers” (Dennis Johnson, Melville House)

http://www.mhpbooks.com/reaction-to-amazon-retribution-against-ipg-spreads-quickly-but-big-six-remain-silent/

“Hold the Applause for Amazon.com” (Jeff Milchen, AlterNet)

http://www.alternet.org/story/24023/hold_the_applause_for_amazon.com

Tax Avoidance and Government Subsidies

“Amazon’s (Not So Secret) War on Taxes” (Fortune, subscription required)

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/23/technology/amazon-sales-tax.pr.fortune/i...

“After 20 Years, Congress May Finally Pass Internet Sales Tax. Is it Too Late?” (Stacy Mitchell, ILSR)

http://www.ilsr.org/20-years-congress-finally-pass-internet-sales-tax-late/

“States Fight Back Against Amazon.com’s Tax Deals” (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2017895493_amazonsalestax03.html

“Amazon’s Billion-Dollar Tax Shield” (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/06/us-tax-amazon-idUSBRE8B50AR201...

“To Help Main Street, Close the Internet Sales Tax Loophole” (Jeff Milchen, Bloomberg Businessweek)

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2011/sb20110428_074924.htm

"House of Lords Says Amazon-style Tax Avoidance Schemes Must End (The Guardian)
 

Amazon as an Employer  Working Conditions

“Amazon Warehouse Jobs Push Workers to Physical Limit” (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2017901782_amazonwarehou...

“I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave” (Mother Jones)

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-s...

“Inside Amazon’s Warehouse” (Allentown Morning Call)

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/amazon/

“Amazon Faces Strike Threat in Germany Over Pay, Conditions” (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/29/net-us-amazon-germany-strike-i...

"Amazon Gets Taste of the Old World With Strike in Germany" (Financial Times)
 

Jeff Bezos/Amazon and the Washington Post

“Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to Buy Washington Post” (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/washington-post-to-be-sold-to-jef...

“How Jeff Bezos Will Change Washington” (Joshua Green, Bloomberg Businessweek)

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-06/how-jeff-bezos-will-chan...

“Bezos and the Washington Post: A Skeptical View” (John Cassidy, The New Yorker)

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/08/bezos-and-the-...

"Jeff Bezos Bought the Washington Post, But So Did Amazon" (wired.co.uk)
 

“What Amazon Lobbies for in D.C.” (Ezra Klein, Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/06/heres-what-am...

Infographics

“Amazon: How a Single Company Gained a Stranglehold over Online Shopping and the Future of Retail” (ILSR)

http://www.ilsr.org/amazon-infographic/

“Ten Charts: Why Wall Street Loves Amazon and Hates Apple” (CNN Money)

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/07/29/apple-amazon-wall-street/

- See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/news/letter-abas-ceo#sthash.oYB4LDHH.dpuf

Grateful acknowledgements to Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and Jeff Milchen, co-director of the American Independent Business Alliance, in compililng these links. Further information from both organizations on Amazon is available here [http://www.ilsr.org/understanding-amazon-com-reading-list/] and here [http://www.amiba.net/resources/all-about-amazon] - See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/news/letter-abas-ceo#sthash.oYB4LDHH.dpuf

Download Audiobooks

Libro.fmWe've partnered with Libro.fm to bring you a top-notch option for digital audiobooks. Take a look at our large catalog of recorded books at https://libro.fm/citylightsnc 

Dig Sylva LogoOur Neighbors: City Lights Cafe