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Rating: 
Summary: Good Business History, Good Muckraking - bad mix of the two
Review: Anyone with an interest in business history has to be fascinated by the story of Wal-Mart. Starting from a single store in an obscure Southern town, the company expanded relentlessly over the course of thirty-five years to become the most powerful retailer in the world. At the center of this story stands the enigmatic figure of Sam Walton, a folksy and sincerely genial man who ran the single store back in the mid -1950's and still controlled the burgeoning corporate empire at the time of his death in 1992, having by then amassed the largest personal fortune in America. Bob Ortega has done a workman-like job in telling the story of both the company and its founder. However, Ortega is an investigative journalist by trade, not a biographer or business historian. His interest in Wal-Mart began with a series of muckraking reports he did on the company during the 1990's, and he devotes the last half of "In Sam We Trust" to rambling through much of this material, focusing on Wal-Mart's longstanding compliance with abusive and illegal labor practices on the part of its suppliers, and on it ruthless real-estate practices that have for the last three decades steam-rollered over what remains of the cultural ethos of small-town America. Ortega is a good writer and a conscientious journalist, laboring hard to stick to facts and avoid sensationalism. And given his obvious distaste for what Wal-Mart has become, it speaks well of his literary integrity that the historical and biographical portions of this book are objectively told. Sam Walton himself is portrayed with his all positive personal qualities intact - he's rather likeable - and his flaws, while apparent, aren't blown out of proportion either. The fascination with him, which is well-presented, lies in the paradox of such an amiable fellow possessing a ruthless competitive drive rivaling that of the any of the legendary 19th century Robber Barons. The problem with Ortega's book is that the biographical and historical half doesn't fit together very cohesively with the muckraking half, even though both portions are well-enough done in their own terms. Anyone wanting business history here is going to get a little bored with the repetitive accounts of third-world sweatshops and anti-Wal-Mart community action drives. I recommend the book, but many readers should be prepared skim over portions of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: I read this after seeing the PBS Frontline story on Walmart. I had never realized how much of an effect this store has on American communities, workers and manufacturing. As the book explains well, Walmart is not the only one to blame for the negative trends, but it is the biggest and was a trendsetter for this style of megabusiness whose only goal is to grow and eliminates all concerns except the bottom line.
The book was a pageturner for me. Really interesting and well written. I'd like to see a new edition that is updated with info from the last 6 years. Walmart has grown ALOT in 6 years!
Rating:
Summary: A book everyone should read
Review: I started reading this book when I was looking for a topic for one of my term papers (I had thought about writing a paper on Wal-Mart). When I decided to do my paper on sweatshops, I still used the book for reference purposes --especially on the infamous Kathie Lee Gifford/Wal-Mart/sweatshop scandal. However, I couldn't put it down. I would read a few pages and then I would need to know what happened before and what happened after. The book is very informative and well-written but I think the writing is accessibly to most people. It's an interesting book that offers a view of Wal-Mart that most of us don't get to see. It doesn' bash the retail-giant, but it provides us with a perspective of a business built by a determined man and what that business has meant to the country since it's beginning. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think a lot of you out there would as well.
Rating:
Summary: A book everyone should read
Review: I started reading this book when I was looking for a topic for one of my term papers (I had thought about writing a paper on Wal-Mart). When I decided to do my paper on sweatshops, I still used the book for reference purposes --especially on the infamous Kathie Lee Gifford/Wal-Mart/sweatshop scandal. However, I couldn't put it down. I would read a few pages and then I would need to know what happened before and what happened after. The book is very informative and well-written but I think the writing is accessibly to most people. It's an interesting book that offers a view of Wal-Mart that most of us don't get to see. It doesn' bash the retail-giant, but it provides us with a perspective of a business built by a determined man and what that business has meant to the country since it's beginning. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think a lot of you out there would as well.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read book for new business owner
Review: One of my friends is going to start a new business and ask me to recommend the relevant books. I recommend him with this title. I think even exerienced veteran in business can also be inspired by the story of Sam.
Rating:
Summary: A tale of two Wal-Marts
Review: Organizations reflect the people in charge. IN SAM WE TRUST by Bob Ortega tells how, after the death of founder Sam Walton, Wal-Mart department stores lost its way with both employees and the public.According to IN SAM WE TRUST, Sam Walton made Wal-Mart employees and customers feel as though he cared about them even when his business practices said otherwise. With at least false hope, those people continued working and shopping at Wal-Mart. Sam Walton died in 1992, and, as IN SAM WE TRUST tells it, subsequent Wal-Mart leadership did not care nor pretend to care about people. The book's final chapters document just how cold Wal-Mart headquarters became. Everyday low prices? Yes. Everyday people? Only on Sly Stone's greatest hits album. Read IN SAM WE TRUST.
Rating:
Summary: A tale of two Wal-Marts
Review: Organizations reflect the people in charge. IN SAM WE TRUST by Bob Ortega tells how, after the death of founder Sam Walton, Wal-Mart department stores lost its way with both employees and the public. According to IN SAM WE TRUST, Sam Walton made Wal-Mart employees and customers feel as though he cared about them even when his business practices said otherwise. With at least false hope, those people continued working and shopping at Wal-Mart. Sam Walton died in 1992, and, as IN SAM WE TRUST tells it, subsequent Wal-Mart leadership did not care nor pretend to care about people. The book's final chapters document just how cold Wal-Mart headquarters became. Everyday low prices? Yes. Everyday people? Only on Sly Stone's greatest hits album. Read IN SAM WE TRUST.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating History of America
Review: This is an excellent book. It's not merely the account of a powerful businessman and how he sahped a company. It's also an account of modern American socio-economic history. Ortega expalins hoe Sam Walton maanged to take advantage of changes that were occurring in demographic distribution, technology and savvy business techniques from those who taught him and his competitors. Ortega provides a history of retailing in the USA from the late 19th century and explains the success of the modern outlet store in terms of its roots in the catalogue stores, department stores and demographic distribution. The history of the WalMart company is told by focusing on its relentless founder Sam Walton. ortega reveals Walton's hiring processes, the reasons that led him to develop the worker profit-sharing programs and how the ideas of the cheer and other details, now familiar to any Wal Mart shopper, came to be. Ortega does not set out to accuse Walton, he lets the story speak for itself and the reader can decide whether or not they wish to continue shopping there. All in all this Business profile is well worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A look at the other side of Sam & Wal-Mart
Review: This well-researched book tries to tell how ruthless a businessman Sam Walton was and the questionable tactics he has employed to dominate the retail industry. The author is critical about Walton and Wal-Mart. The specific criticisms relate to Buy American program (the author claims that around 90% of goods in Wal-Mart were imported when the company was running the "Buy American" program)and the use of sweatshops to manufacture goods sold in Wal-Mart. Point taken. Other criticisms relate to the devastating socio-economic effect (like homogenizing, uniqueness being eroded, etc.) Wal-mart has when it arrives in townships and improper care of employees. The bottomline is: if you want to be inspired by the example of Sam Walton don't read this book. His autobiography is a better bet. But if you want to see the so-called darkside of the business empire you may read it. Be forewarned: if you read this book the shopping experience at Wal-Mart may not be as warmer any more.
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