Klein is one of those journalists we need more of: lucid writing, critical eye, and an awareness of the big issues of the day. What's more, she seems to get sight of the big issues well before the rest of us. Perhaps the most important thing about the book, and its best critical insight (written, as it was in the late 1990s) is the emptiness of many brands - that is, her case that in many cases branded companies do not themselves produce anything but a brand. As paradoxical as this may seem, it was an insight that had little public resonance at the time although business observers shouted it as a good thing and trade unions as generally bad - in both cases because of the long and complex sub-contracting chains and effects on wages (trade unions) and profits (business observers). Within a few years of the book's publication, however, several high profile brands (such as Nike) were coming extensive pressure over the business ethics and rates of exploitation associated with this business model: it hasn't changed but the extremely successful campaigns such as the US-student led anti-sweat shop products on campus shamed many of the big clothing brands into taking some, minimal, action - in no small part because of the publicity given to the issues by this book.

A discomforting unpacking of the conditions of contemporary capitalism.