The Rough Guide to Shopping With a Conscience by Duncan Clark and Richie Unterberger is probably the most comprehensive and up-to-date consumer guide of its kind. While the book covers all the historic cornerstones of ethical shopping, like the NestlŽ and Exxon boycotts, much of its information is up-to-the-minute or even into the future. For instance, it touts a barcode scanner that you take to the store to scan a product for information on its origin, the working conditions of the employees who made it, its company’s environmental record, etc. Ethical companies and small-footprint products are conveniently listed in pop-out sidebars alongside their evil, earth- and soul-destroying corporate twins. All this is spun in Rough Guide’s trademark brisk, contemporary prose, and though the writers seem, at times, emotionally distant from their subject, that may contribute to the book’s enormous credibility, especially for readers who might be a little wary of progressive Cassandras. Lynn Hamilton writes about environmental issues from Tybee Island, Georgia.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
