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Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take It Back
Typically sharp sardonic humor in Hightower's inimitable Texas style
280 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2003
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155 people want to read
About the author
Jim Hightower
39 books23 followersJames Allen Hightower is an American syndicated columnist, progressive political activist, and author. From 1983 to 1991 he served as elected commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 7, 2007
Imagine a country ruled by thieves. A country ruled by elites content upon transferring money from the many to the few. A country that preys upon your fears and worries to invade every aspect of your privacy. This is much the image we get (and rightly so) of the government of the US as told to us by Jim Hightower. This book is a modern-day analysis of our current country and the diminishing of our democracy. Mr. Hightower urges us to be vigilant, brave and to take it back once again making it a country of the people and for the people.
In the first part of the book Hightower talks about the corporate greedheads and other thieves who like nothing more than to evade paying taxes and enrich themselves at the expense of those Americans struggling to make it. He later goes on to elaborate BushCo's role in not only being complicit and catering to these corporate greedheads but also enriching themselves and filling key positions in the Gov. with none other than former corporate "leaders" (?).
Throughout the book Hightower uses his characteristic wit and humor to make the book highly entertaining and pleasurable. No one is spared. He pummels Bush, Ashcroft, Ridge, Democrats, Enron, Worldcom, sweatshops, and others. A part of the book that I particularly enjoyed was a chapter on the behemoth beast Walmart. Think Walmart is your friendly, cheery, happy store down the street that just loves to bring you Christian values and super-duper low prices? Think again. Hightower exposes them for the greedy sharks they are. They exploit overseas labor in China, and pay domestic workers here little-to-none all in their quest for global empire and riches. He also explains how their money is funneled out of the local economy and into coroprate headquarters in Arkansas. Something to think about the next time you go shopping at your local "roll back America" store.
Anyway, anyone of any political persuasion can benefit from reading this book. You will come away being more informed, humored and angered than before. Hopefully, you will also feel somewhat compelled to stand up for yourself and to do what you need to do to help bring real democracy back to America and prevent these elitist rich boys from taking over what is so great about this country.
In the first part of the book Hightower talks about the corporate greedheads and other thieves who like nothing more than to evade paying taxes and enrich themselves at the expense of those Americans struggling to make it. He later goes on to elaborate BushCo's role in not only being complicit and catering to these corporate greedheads but also enriching themselves and filling key positions in the Gov. with none other than former corporate "leaders" (?).
Throughout the book Hightower uses his characteristic wit and humor to make the book highly entertaining and pleasurable. No one is spared. He pummels Bush, Ashcroft, Ridge, Democrats, Enron, Worldcom, sweatshops, and others. A part of the book that I particularly enjoyed was a chapter on the behemoth beast Walmart. Think Walmart is your friendly, cheery, happy store down the street that just loves to bring you Christian values and super-duper low prices? Think again. Hightower exposes them for the greedy sharks they are. They exploit overseas labor in China, and pay domestic workers here little-to-none all in their quest for global empire and riches. He also explains how their money is funneled out of the local economy and into coroprate headquarters in Arkansas. Something to think about the next time you go shopping at your local "roll back America" store.
Anyway, anyone of any political persuasion can benefit from reading this book. You will come away being more informed, humored and angered than before. Hopefully, you will also feel somewhat compelled to stand up for yourself and to do what you need to do to help bring real democracy back to America and prevent these elitist rich boys from taking over what is so great about this country.
January 16, 2013
ISBN 0965839095 - Reading "current event" books, particularly about the fast-moving world of politics, when they're no longer exactly "current" events can be an enlightening experience. It's rare, but it happens. Thieves is one of those; even five years removed from "current", it's worthy of a read.
With a great deal of humor and an often sharp tongue, author Jim Hightower shows the reader where Democrats went wrong and how they could return to the right direction - in time to beat George W. Bush in the 2004 election. Highlighting Bush's worst choices, including his choice of friends and their choices, Hightower makes a good argument with laughs thrown in, apparently based on the idea that if you don't laugh, you'll cry. Best of all, he lays out how the Democrats could win...
First, let me say that Hightower's trying all too hard here to be funny. After a while, it's a bit annoying. On the other hand, he might just be a prophet, and that's what reading this book now gives you that you wouldn't have seen when it was published in 2003. Sure, the Democratic nominee did not win in 2004, but in 2008 the Democratic party put forth a candidate who just might have read this book - Obama campaigned on a good portion of Hightower's to-do list: "A tax cut on working stiffs... and spread the burden up to include the billionaire's club. Health care for all... Energy independence for America through a ten-year moon-shot project (Obama even used the language!) that'll put Americans to work..."
The final chapter is "Bob Runs for President" and Bob's an interesting (albeit imaginary) guy. A few quotes: "Sure, I've got a background I could tell you about, a resume, a family picture album, a personal story - but that's not the important thing. What's significant is that my song is essentially the same as yours." "I'm talking about that spark that's deep inside all of us, urging us to keep going, to be bigger than the sum of our parts, to keep reaching for something better, richer, more meaningful than what is - or what we're told can be." "It's part anger, but the bigger part is hope, a small but constant flicker of belief..." The quotes are from the (again, fictional) man that Hightower puts forward as the guy who could win a presidential election. Kind of makes me want to read his latest stuff, see if he can foretell 2012.
- AnnaLovesBooks
With a great deal of humor and an often sharp tongue, author Jim Hightower shows the reader where Democrats went wrong and how they could return to the right direction - in time to beat George W. Bush in the 2004 election. Highlighting Bush's worst choices, including his choice of friends and their choices, Hightower makes a good argument with laughs thrown in, apparently based on the idea that if you don't laugh, you'll cry. Best of all, he lays out how the Democrats could win...
First, let me say that Hightower's trying all too hard here to be funny. After a while, it's a bit annoying. On the other hand, he might just be a prophet, and that's what reading this book now gives you that you wouldn't have seen when it was published in 2003. Sure, the Democratic nominee did not win in 2004, but in 2008 the Democratic party put forth a candidate who just might have read this book - Obama campaigned on a good portion of Hightower's to-do list: "A tax cut on working stiffs... and spread the burden up to include the billionaire's club. Health care for all... Energy independence for America through a ten-year moon-shot project (Obama even used the language!) that'll put Americans to work..."
The final chapter is "Bob Runs for President" and Bob's an interesting (albeit imaginary) guy. A few quotes: "Sure, I've got a background I could tell you about, a resume, a family picture album, a personal story - but that's not the important thing. What's significant is that my song is essentially the same as yours." "I'm talking about that spark that's deep inside all of us, urging us to keep going, to be bigger than the sum of our parts, to keep reaching for something better, richer, more meaningful than what is - or what we're told can be." "It's part anger, but the bigger part is hope, a small but constant flicker of belief..." The quotes are from the (again, fictional) man that Hightower puts forward as the guy who could win a presidential election. Kind of makes me want to read his latest stuff, see if he can foretell 2012.
- AnnaLovesBooks
September 20, 2012
Hightower wants us to agitate, and agitated I was as I read this book. The first half is pure torment. Letting us know what is actually going on behind the scenes. You thought it was bad? You don’t have a clue as to how bad it really is. And you think the Government was rotten under George Bush, "the worst President in the history of the United States," as Jimmy Carter said, then retracted? Well, the corporations are WORSE. Much WORSE. So when I was totally used up, depressed about all that is going on in this country, Hightower switches to incidents where We the People have made a difference and how we need to all stand up and make even more of a difference.
p. 41 To jettison our nation’s ideals for nothing more than the further enrichment of elites is no mere shift in policy – it’s a moral failure, a betrayal of what the American experiment represents.
p. 97. Be Quiet? We have no right to be quiet. Too many democracy fighters before us have fought, bled, and died to make it possible for us to speak out, dissent, protest, organize, and agitate in order to right our foundering ship of state.
p. 107. 5. Public financing of all elections, so we can get our government back from the greedheads. ….Yet our strength is not inside the Beltway but out here, where people are doing great things and wondering why the Democratic Party isn’t with them. Reverse that ratio and start focusing on building a grassroots organization across America, organizing and mobilizing, block by block.
p. 183. Institute for Self-Reliance, based in Minneapolis, is a creative group of thinkers and doers who help people figure out how to develop their homegrown economies without becoming dependent on the big-box operators…. The Institute tracks grassroots efforts to revitalize local economies, and it advises communities nationwide on solutions for strengthening homegrown business. www.ilsr.org.
p. 41 To jettison our nation’s ideals for nothing more than the further enrichment of elites is no mere shift in policy – it’s a moral failure, a betrayal of what the American experiment represents.
p. 97. Be Quiet? We have no right to be quiet. Too many democracy fighters before us have fought, bled, and died to make it possible for us to speak out, dissent, protest, organize, and agitate in order to right our foundering ship of state.
p. 107. 5. Public financing of all elections, so we can get our government back from the greedheads. ….Yet our strength is not inside the Beltway but out here, where people are doing great things and wondering why the Democratic Party isn’t with them. Reverse that ratio and start focusing on building a grassroots organization across America, organizing and mobilizing, block by block.
p. 183. Institute for Self-Reliance, based in Minneapolis, is a creative group of thinkers and doers who help people figure out how to develop their homegrown economies without becoming dependent on the big-box operators…. The Institute tracks grassroots efforts to revitalize local economies, and it advises communities nationwide on solutions for strengthening homegrown business. www.ilsr.org.
September 21, 2013
Kleptocrat Nation: 1. a body of people ruled by thieves 2. a government characterized by the practice of transferring money and power from the many to the few 3. a ruling class of moneyed elites that usurps liberty, justice, sovereignty, and other democratic rights from the people 4. the USA in 2003.
A hard-hitting, no-holds-barred expose of the first Bush administration, the Iraq war, Walmart intrusions, sweatshop clothing, civil disobedience and more!
I thoroughly enjoyed the biting criticisms and the down-home humor of the author. Checking out his other books.
Note: donated this book to my local library after reading.
A hard-hitting, no-holds-barred expose of the first Bush administration, the Iraq war, Walmart intrusions, sweatshop clothing, civil disobedience and more!
I thoroughly enjoyed the biting criticisms and the down-home humor of the author. Checking out his other books.
Note: donated this book to my local library after reading.
September 4, 2010
As much as I love political diatribes, I have a tendency to discount most political analysis unless the author includes a works cited page that I can cross-reference for myself. While I agree with the majority of his progressive stances, and Hightower can be highly entertaining and hilarious, I tend to take most of his assertions with a grain of salt due to a lack of sources and cited works. Call me petty, but years of writing research papers has wired my brain to rely on reliable, academic resources. Aside from that, Thieves in High Places can be pretty entertaining in spots, and it's nice to read opinions that don't make me feel so isolated in my progressive/leftist beliefs.
September 20, 2018
Jim Hightower is always fun to read. He manages to use his populist views to skewer those in the political establishment.
November 1, 2018
Jim Hightower is fantastic. Down to earth and easy to read, he puts a sense of humor where politics and politicians don’t even know what a sense of humor looks like.
He does it, while telling truths.
He does it, while telling truths.
March 6, 2021
Jim Hightower wrote this book during the W era. He's very critical of W's administration and recognizes the democrats' enabling its behavior. His conversational writing style and humor are not my favorite, but got the point across.
Fun Story: A local thrift store was in the process of moving buildings when I arrived. A worker in the bookstore section was packing up a dolly with books that he admitted would be heading to the dumpster. My open hatchback interceded and those books ended up at my house. I felt it was my duty to read them all and that is how Hightower landed on my reading list. Next up, 2011 Phillies Media Guide. Pretty stoked about it.
Fun Story: A local thrift store was in the process of moving buildings when I arrived. A worker in the bookstore section was packing up a dolly with books that he admitted would be heading to the dumpster. My open hatchback interceded and those books ended up at my house. I felt it was my duty to read them all and that is how Hightower landed on my reading list. Next up, 2011 Phillies Media Guide. Pretty stoked about it.
September 29, 2007
Apart from the lack of citations (which is why it didn't get four stars), nothing wrong with this one. General gov't bashing, more approachable for the average voter than Noam Chomsky or Mike Ruppert, but a little more grounded than, say, Michael Moore, and surpringly focused for the range of subjects it attacks. Contained plently of information I hadn't heard, but ultimately, nothing I didn't already know, if that makes any sense.
March 29, 2009
The books of Jim Hightower belong on the same shelf as those of the late Molly Ivins and Mark Twain when it comes to combining laughter and spearing governmental wrongdoers. He offers hope along with the anger and points out possible solutions along with problems, which is better than a lot of political muckrakers do. Good reading for anyone who wants to be better informed and better able to help work on making all parties and politicians accountable to the rest of us again.
January 30, 2008
The one thing I remember, after reading this book, is how much I hated Wal-Mart. Then, I moved to the center of Dallas, and had to save money. So, now, I get my groceries at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. I suppose I should read this book again.
Another thing I remember, is Jim Hightower is really funny.
Another thing I remember, is Jim Hightower is really funny.
April 15, 2007
if you really hate bush....... you will know you're right by reading it. This book reveals why and how corporatios are te most dangerous criminals of the world....ensured not to be punished ever.
US government or Bushco?
US government or Bushco?
September 17, 2012
Jim Hightower really knows how to expose what is wrong with government in a way that is not depressing. The book is actually pretty optimistic. This book is more intelligent than what I would expect from a book highly recommended by corporate media Queen Arianna Huffington.
May 13, 2013
Hightower is a hoot... a liberal Texan, who knew such a thing existed? A very amusing and informative read. Much better than expected.
Read
May 5, 2019I highly recommend anything and everything written by Jim Hightower.
December 20, 2023
This book is about corporate greed, the enablers, and what we should do about it. It starts with what was going on during the George W Bush administration, then describes how the public view was not on board with the administration actions, and finally offers how a grassroots rebellion can overcome the power of corporate greed.
The administration is indicated as a domination/transformation of the governing apparatus as so antithetical to our democratic values, and yet so thorough. Hightower provides countless examples of the administration's "rigging the rules" to aid corporations at the expense of the public interest. However, Hightower also makes clear that the Democratic Party enabled much of what Bush accomplished in relation to their corporate interest - 13 Democratic senators voted to take 1.3 trillion from the public treasury and dump on the rich. Hightower recommends that the Democratic Party needs to get support of working people by focusing tax cuts for working people, health care for all, free education, oil-free future, and public financing of elections.
As detailed by Hightower, a substantial majority of the public had a view contrary to the Bush administration regarding education, health care, where tax cuts should be targeted, stabilizing social security, the environment, and trade deals. In opposition to the people's will is the power of corporate greed that has not only entrenched itself, but has tunneled into every aspect of our lives and culture. However, a grassroots rebellion will continue to spread and deepen as more and more of us catch on, realizing that we're being had by the kleptocrats.
Hightower talks about the common, lets'-fix-it spirit that has worked for us before to make a better world for people. He details how even powerful Walmart can be beat at their game. He covers the power of consumers on agriculture and the clothing industry. He also covers the invasion of privacy that needs to be overcome, and the importance of improving our understanding of the issues.
The administration is indicated as a domination/transformation of the governing apparatus as so antithetical to our democratic values, and yet so thorough. Hightower provides countless examples of the administration's "rigging the rules" to aid corporations at the expense of the public interest. However, Hightower also makes clear that the Democratic Party enabled much of what Bush accomplished in relation to their corporate interest - 13 Democratic senators voted to take 1.3 trillion from the public treasury and dump on the rich. Hightower recommends that the Democratic Party needs to get support of working people by focusing tax cuts for working people, health care for all, free education, oil-free future, and public financing of elections.
As detailed by Hightower, a substantial majority of the public had a view contrary to the Bush administration regarding education, health care, where tax cuts should be targeted, stabilizing social security, the environment, and trade deals. In opposition to the people's will is the power of corporate greed that has not only entrenched itself, but has tunneled into every aspect of our lives and culture. However, a grassroots rebellion will continue to spread and deepen as more and more of us catch on, realizing that we're being had by the kleptocrats.
Hightower talks about the common, lets'-fix-it spirit that has worked for us before to make a better world for people. He details how even powerful Walmart can be beat at their game. He covers the power of consumers on agriculture and the clothing industry. He also covers the invasion of privacy that needs to be overcome, and the importance of improving our understanding of the issues.
March 24, 2022
This is a great book, for people in any country with a kleptocracy (that is, government stealing from the people.) It is easy to read, with good information about things that happened in the US in the early 2000's. Good examples of "we the people" who were able to stop huge, international corporations from doing something wrong!
March 23, 2014
I can say I was not a big fan of this book. I share some of the same hopes that people will wake up and take back the power they have turned over to the government. Though I do have many issues that I don't see eye to eye on with Mr. Hightower like less government intrusions on our lives such as government free healthcare. This is not the reason I don't care for the book. It was in essence the lack of professionalism in the book. It was how the book was written that irritated me to no end. This is just my opinion others may find it well written I for one did not.
Want to read
November 18, 2008Probably a gift from mama
April 8, 2017
Thoughtful and amusing as is his other book I read "If the gods had meant us to vote they would have given us candidates."
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews