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When Naomi Klein took on the "brand bullies" in No Logo, a book charting the rise of anticorporate activism, she auspiciously, inadvertently perhaps, branded herself an anticorporate activist. Fences and Windows is a chronicle of that ascending career. It's a collection of the columns, speeches, and essays--the bulk of which appeared originally in The Globe and Mail--that Klein wrote between 1999 and 2002 as she traversed the world bearing witness to antiglobalization rallies, demonstrations, and counter-summits that mushroomed, largely in response to the November 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle. The book, ultimately, is a record of the emergence of a new type of activism, one indebted to the culture of globalization even as it seeks to open a critical window onto and provoke debate about the policies of multinationals, the WTO, the IMF, and national governments. She writes:
What emerged on the streets of Seattle and Washington was an activist model that mirrors the organic, decentralized, interlinked pathways of the Internet--an Internet come to life…. But while the movement's Web-like structure is, in part, a reflection of the Internet-based organizing, it is also a response to the very political realities that sparked the protests in the first place: the utter failure of traditional party politics.
The book is structured as a series of "hub and spokes," one of the metaphors Klein uses to describe the movement. The broad themes of intolerance towards and criminalizing of dissent, the impact of a genetically engineered food supply, the privileging of corporate profit over social welfare, the erosion of national sovereignty, and the neglect of ecological considerations are the hubs around which gravitate her reports on the protests that have taken place in Toronto, Quebec City, South Africa, Prague, Chiapas, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. The reader, Klein states upfront, should not expect a sustained thesis. Instead, the articles are dispatches from the many sites of dissent--brief, immediate, impassioned, engaged, positioned, incendiary, persuasive, crafted. A moment comes, however, when the reader does desire a more in-depth dialogue about the issues raised by these confrontations, especially when presented with a simplistic "us-versus-them" slant. One example is the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty protest in Toronto which erupted into a violent (some may argue provoked) clash between police and demonstrators. Klein almost seems to brush it off by taking one side, rather than contemplating the question "Is this the only kind of response possible, and should it be?" At a time when, as this book makes abundantly clear, the very topography of democracy is experiencing seismic tremors, critical and rigorous reflection by our intellectuals becomes of utmost importance. This is where Fences and Windows either constitutes a lost opportunity or presents an invitation for reflection. --Diana Kuprel
From Publishers Weekly
The success of Klein's No Logo, a slashing account of how corporations actively go after "market share" and the global misery that can result, makes anticipation for her next project high. As Klein notes in her preface, this book is more a stopgap than a follow-up. Covering the period of late 1999 to 2002, the book collects Klein's in-the-trenches journalism about sweatshops, genetically modified foods, evolving police tactics for crowd control and more. The two title images recur throughout: the fences are real, steel cages keeping protesters from interfering with summits, but they are also metaphorical, such as the "fence" of poverty that prevents the poor from receiving adequate education or health care. Klein argues that globalization has only delivered its promised benefits to the world's wealthiest citizens and that its emphasis on privatization has eroded the availability of public services around the globe. Critics have suggested that the "anti-globalization" movement (a term loathed, Klein notes, by many people actually involved) lacks a cohesive structure, but Klein generally sees this decentralization as a strength, likening the small groups' "hub and spoke" organization to that of linked Web sites. While Klein offers snapshots of success stories involving Nike, Starbucks and other corporate monoliths, she wisely does not suggest any easy solutions to this complex mesh of problems. Despite post-September 11 talk to the contrary, these dispatches indicate that the movement is far from over.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A passionate call to action and engagement,
By "bibliophile_ca" (Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate (Paperback)
I read _No Logo_ soon after its publication and was impressed. In it Klein provided me with the arguments and the evidence to back up my own mounting dis-ease with the excesses of modern consumer culture. So I read her new book with eager interest. I was not disappointed. The book is comprised of short articles and speeches given over the past 3 years and, as such, is a chronicle of her ongoing activities within what she likes to call "the movement." The focus of each piece reflects the circumstances under which it was written and her concerns and activities at that time. While they do not perhaps add up to a wholly unified programme of action (and she freely admits this in her preface), they do provide a fascinating chronicle of both the growth and persecution of the movement and of her own fears, worries, and hopes for our collective future. This book is not one grand text but many smaller texts grouped together and, as such, acts as a fitting metaphor for her own celebration of multiplicity. She moves back and forth between looking at the big picture (the global movement for change) and looking at the local and particular. Act where you are, move to change what needs to be changed, support what needs to be supported, challenge what needs to be challenged in your own community, then make connections with others who are doing the same thing in their communities. I was inspired, moved, angered, engaged, frightened, and shocked by turns.Silence is complicity. Do not remain silent.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Opens a Window,
By
This review is from: Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate (Paperback)
This book is not "No Logo". It will not be the Bible of any movement, however it is a good source of information about events that are happening in the stuggle against globalization and neo-liberalisms. The media has a bias and Naomi is the one who gives us the truth behind the events. She gives us understanding into the police crackdown and the politicians desire to stifle freedom of expression.As it is a collection of articles it's a book that can be picked up and read at any point. The articles are compelling and will help you to see a truth that's not given in the mainstream.
4.0 out of 5 stars
As worthwhile as No Logo,
By "idioteqnician" (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate (Paperback)
I thought this was a pretty good book. Unlike No Logo, which has a central thesis that guides each of the chapters, Fences and Windows is a collection of articles and essays that Naomi Klein wrote for The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Nation, The LA Times, The Guardian. What I liked about Fences and Windows is the diversity of topics, and how Klein makes clear the common link between them. So we have NAFTA linked up to foot-and-mouth disease linked up to homelessness in Ontario linked up to September 11th linked up to why left-wing political parties that want to centralize power are missing the point that anti-globalization activists make. While reading this, various people said to me, "Oh I liked No Logo better," (or more commonly, in fact, "Oh a friend of mine said they liked No Logo better..."). I like them both though. No Logo was written at a time when people like me were beginning to become aware of "the movement" (that vague catch-all term that Klein herself confesses to using). A few years along, and after having had it drilled into our heads that "the world is so different now" due to you-know-what happening on you-know-when, people like me are a little bit more aware of the basic issues and are now seeking to understand more of the details. I think this book did a good job of explaining the notion of pro-democracy rather than anti-globalization, of power that is decentralized and local rather than centralized and distant, and of how exactly these mega trade deals are hurting us. Because truthfully, I think there are a lot of people like me who know enough of the basic facts to know that capitalist fundamentalism is creating greater inequality in our world, but are a little hazy on how all those big economic forces play themselves out. Fences and Windows demystified that a bit.
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