Politics & Government
![David Dayen - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B01GXXQO34.jpg)
Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power
From the airlines we fly to the food we eat, how a tiny group of corporations have come to dominate every aspect of our lives―by one of our most intrepid and accomplished journalists
"If you're looking for a book . . . that will get your heart pumping and your blood boiling and that will remind you why we're in these fights―add this one to your list." ―Senator Elizabeth Warren on David Dayen's Chain of Title
Over the last forty years our choices have narrowed, our opportunities have shrunk, and our lives have become governed by a handful of very large and very powerful corporations. Today, practically everything we buy, everywhere we shop, and every service we secure comes from a heavily concentrated market.
This is a world where four major banks control most of our money, four airlines shuttle most of us around the country, and four major cell phone providers connect most of our communications. If you are sick you can go to one of three main pharmacies to fill your prescription, and if you end up in a hospital almost every accessory to heal you comes from one of a handful of large medical suppliers.
Dayen, the editor of the American Prospect and author of the acclaimed Chain of Title, provides a riveting account of what it means to live in this new age of monopoly and how we might resist this corporate hegemony.
Through vignettes and vivid case studies Dayen shows how these monopolies have transformed us, inverted us, and truly changed our lives, at the same time providing readers with the raw material to make monopoly a consequential issue in American life and revive a long-dormant antitrust movement.
"If you're looking for a book . . . that will get your heart pumping and your blood boiling and that will remind you why we're in these fights―add this one to your list." ―Senator Elizabeth Warren on David Dayen's Chain of Title
Over the last forty years our choices have narrowed, our opportunities have shrunk, and our lives have become governed by a handful of very large and very powerful corporations. Today, practically everything we buy, everywhere we shop, and every service we secure comes from a heavily concentrated market.
This is a world where four major banks control most of our money, four airlines shuttle most of us around the country, and four major cell phone providers connect most of our communications. If you are sick you can go to one of three main pharmacies to fill your prescription, and if you end up in a hospital almost every accessory to heal you comes from one of a handful of large medical suppliers.
Dayen, the editor of the American Prospect and author of the acclaimed Chain of Title, provides a riveting account of what it means to live in this new age of monopoly and how we might resist this corporate hegemony.
Through vignettes and vivid case studies Dayen shows how these monopolies have transformed us, inverted us, and truly changed our lives, at the same time providing readers with the raw material to make monopoly a consequential issue in American life and revive a long-dormant antitrust movement.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Monopolized: "If you're interested in a sweeping but detailed take on the modern landscape of corporate power, you should buy a copy of Dayen's Monopolized; it's enormously well-researched, and you will know more about corporate power after you are done. I learned a lot, even though studying monopoly is what I do."
-Matt Stoller, BIG
"A master storyteller. . . . Dayen eschews the sterile supply and demand charts and instead tells the gripping stories of individuals who have suffered at the hands of monopolists in their daily lives."
-Hal Singer, ProMarket
"David Dayen's new book, Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power, is a comprehensive look at why its title is an accurate description of our economic life."
-Kelly Candaele, Capital & Main
"A superb book about the rise and rise of monopolies. . . . If telling this kind of complicated, technical story and making it personal and urgent is an art, then Dayen is an artist."
-Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Blending professional rigor with journalistic flair, Dayen, executive editor of the American Prospect, takes readers on a comprehensive tour of the American economy."
-BookPage "A cutting damnation of the monopolization of the international marketplace for‚ well‚ pretty much everything. . . . The author digs deep into the problem‚ chronicling his travels around the U.S. to see not only the macro effects of monopolies‚ but their very real impacts on real people. . . . A powerful‚ necessary call to arms to strengthen the antitrust movement and fight a system whose goal is complete control."
-Kirkus Reviews "Balancing copious data with profiles of workers and business owners, and writing in clear, accessible language, Dayen makes a persuasive argument that reining in big business should be a priority for American voters and policy makers. This is an incisive, irrefutable call to action."
-Publishers Weekly "Dayen's investi...
-Matt Stoller, BIG
"A master storyteller. . . . Dayen eschews the sterile supply and demand charts and instead tells the gripping stories of individuals who have suffered at the hands of monopolists in their daily lives."
-Hal Singer, ProMarket
"David Dayen's new book, Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power, is a comprehensive look at why its title is an accurate description of our economic life."
-Kelly Candaele, Capital & Main
"A superb book about the rise and rise of monopolies. . . . If telling this kind of complicated, technical story and making it personal and urgent is an art, then Dayen is an artist."
-Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
"Blending professional rigor with journalistic flair, Dayen, executive editor of the American Prospect, takes readers on a comprehensive tour of the American economy."
-BookPage "A cutting damnation of the monopolization of the international marketplace for‚ well‚ pretty much everything. . . . The author digs deep into the problem‚ chronicling his travels around the U.S. to see not only the macro effects of monopolies‚ but their very real impacts on real people. . . . A powerful‚ necessary call to arms to strengthen the antitrust movement and fight a system whose goal is complete control."
-Kirkus Reviews "Balancing copious data with profiles of workers and business owners, and writing in clear, accessible language, Dayen makes a persuasive argument that reining in big business should be a priority for American voters and policy makers. This is an incisive, irrefutable call to action."
-Publishers Weekly "Dayen's investi...
Readers Top Reviews
WilliamFerglekuttMid
This is an interesting book about harmful monopolies in various industries. Monopolies often degrade the quality of products and services in numerous industries. Monopolies supercharge inequality. United, American, Delta, and Southwest collectively control over 80% of United States air routes. In 1984, there were 14,400 commercial banks in the U.S. Today there are about 4,600. The Federal Reserve did not reject a single bank merger application between 2006 and 2017. I recommend this book to those people who want to know more about the effects of various monopolies.
CJJamie
Absolute must read. Monopoly power is at the center of every problem in america. This book is essential in waking people up to this undeniable fact.
evan o'keeffe
didn't realize the massive issue we as a planet have with monopolies. The book goes through everything from farming, food, flights, eye wear, to military components. 44% of this book is excellent citations that business owners also need to know!!
d-k, as E. wiLsOn
The book looks at about 10 industry’s like: The airlines Broadband Big Pharma Hospitals, etc., etc., tying together through use of anecdote and fact and our changed economy by which Corporations now dominate.
