Local First Alliance Suggested Readings

Reading List

For the living economy enthusiast, we recommend the following articles, books and movies. Be sure and order them through your local independent bookstore. Find a local bookseller here.

Local First Articles: Local Business & Local Investment, by Terry Appleby (General Manager, Co-op Food Stores); Local living Economies: The New Movement for Socially Responsible Business, by Judy Wicks (Co-Founder, BALLE); Interview with David Hess, by MIT Press; An Open Letter to Bellingham, by Michael Shuman; New Deal for Local Economies, by Stacy Mitchell; The Benefits of Doing Business Locally, by Jeff Milchen (Co-Founder, AMIBA)
Local First Books: Deep Economy, Bill McKibben (2007); Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, Stacy Mitchell (2006); Localist Movements in a Global Economy: Sustainability, Justice, and Urban Development in the United States, David Hess (2008); Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy, Lyle Estill (2008); For the Common Good (1989),Herman Daly, Steady State Economics (1977) and (with John Cobb Jr.); Short Circuit (1996), Richard Douthwaite; The Living Economy, Paul Ekins, ed., (1986); The Economy of Cities (1969) and Cities and the Wealth of Nations (1984), Jane Jacobs; When Corporations Rule the World, David Korten,; Neighborhood Power: The New Localism (1974) and Self-Reliant Cities (1982), David Morris; Environmental Protection and Economic Well-Being, Thomas Michael Power,(1988); Human Scale, Kirkpatrick Sale (1980); Small Is Beautiful, E.F. Schumacher (1973); Going Local and The Small-Mart Revolution, Michael Shuman (1998, 2006); Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth, Juliet Schor (2010)
Local First Movies: Twilight Becomes Night by Virginie-Alvine Perrette
Set in New York City, this moving 36-minute film explores the vital role that locally owned businesses play in the social fabric of our communities. It includes profiles of many long-standing businesses, including several that have had to close due to rising rents and an alarming influx of chains in the city. A rare look at this issue in an urban context, Twilight Becomes Night offers hope in the form of neighborhood activism and interviews with academics and community activists who see a better way forward.; Independent America: The Two-Lane Search for Mom-and-Pop by Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes
This 80-minute film follows filmmakers Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes as they hit the road and travel 13,000 miles through 32 states in search of Independent America. It's a place populated by hardy souls fighting for the right to remain independent in a land smothered by big-box stores and fast-food chains.; OurTown: What Kind of Town Do You Want to Live In? by Doreen Conboy, Wendy Hebb, and Michael Richard
This 56-minute film follows the story of a group of citizens who challenge Wal-Mart's plans to build a supercenter in a small Maine town.; Talking to the Wall: The Story of an American Bargain by Steve Alves (Hometown Productions)
Wal-Mart's plan to build in a small town goes well until an 11th hour citizens' rebellion resists the lure of low prices to reveal another side of the bargain-a side which paves over open land, annihilates Main Street businesses, and rolls back wages. The story then goes deeper, following, over seven years, one town's decision contrasted with another 20 miles away.

Suggest a local first book or film.

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Reading List