by Chris Hedges
First published 2012
Pulitzer winner Chris Hedges teams with cartoonist Joe Sacco to examine America's sacrifice zones. These regions have been stripped bare for corporate profit while their people face abandonment. The authors begin their investigation in western plains where Native Americans lost their lands to empire building. They travel to former manufacturing hubs and coal mining areas that powered industrial growth but now sit empty and crumbling. The journey continues through agricultural fields where American workers endure harsh conditions for minimal pay. Their exploration concludes at Zuccotti Park, where young protesters challenge a corporate system that has left them with economic ruin, political dysfunction, and environmental destruction. Hedges and Sacco combine reporting with illustrations to reveal what happens when markets operate without limits and communities become expendable.
Genres: political-science, social-issues, non-fiction, current-affairs, activism, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: journalistic-investigation, social-commentary
Setting: America, Western Plains, Zuccotti Park
Period: 21st Century
302 pages · Hardcover · Nation Books