Takes us into the heart of the biggest company on earth, ever, to show how the 'Wal-Mart effect' shapes lives everywhere, whether for cleaners in America, bicycle-makers in China or salmon farmers in Chile. The author asks: how did a shop manage to do all this? And what will the ultimate cost of low prices be?



Charles Fishman takes us into the heart of the biggest company on earth, ever, to show how the ‘Wal-Mart effect’ shapes lives everywhere, whether for cleaners in America, bicycle-makers in China or salmon farmers in Chile. Now Wal-Mart’s influence is so great it can determine everything from working practices to market forces themselves, Fishman asks: how did a shop manage to do all this? And what will the ultimate cost of low prices be?