Publishers Weekly
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In this expansive history and wonky call to action, Minnesota senator Klobuchar (The Senator Next Door) discusses milestones of U.S. antitrust enforcement to make the case for taking on Big Tech, Big Pharma, and other alleged abusers of monopoly power. As proof of the need for new laws and better enforcement of existing statutes, she cites a 2011 federal court ruling in favor of a pharmaceutical company that raised the price of a neonatal heart medication from $109 per treatment to $1,500. From there, Klobuchar discusses a wide range of historical episodes, including the Boston Tea Party, the origins of the board game Monopoly (its precursor was designed to promote progressive, anti-monopolist economic theories), and the breakup of AT&T in the 1980s. Klobuchar blames lax antitrust enforcement for rising income inequality, unfair labor practices, and the outsize influence of money on politics, among other social ills. Her suggested reforms include rewards for whistleblowers who expose anticompetitive practices and allowing government regulators to review the effects of past mergers. Klobuchar covers well-trod historical ground and gets deep into the policy weeds, but she makes a persuasive argument for reinvigorating the government agencies tasked with reigning in big business. Those on the left should take note. (Apr.)

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

This is a plea from Minnesota Congresswoman and recent presidential candidate Klobuchar for an overhaul to our national financial system, specifically antitrust legislation. Her concern is fueled by the anger and frustration she's experienced during the past decade presiding over the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee. Klobuchar reviews past monopolies, starting with a certain tea party, and continuing through the Gilded Age and the Sherman Act to current day, providing plenty of social, political, and legislative context. She highlights the loopholes, unintended consequences, and fallacies of previous laws, citing multiple court cases, with defendants ranging from chain stores to professional sports organizations to internet providers. Unsurprisingly, Klobuchar is very critical of Donald Trump's pre-White House business dealings and his uneven enforcement of antitrust policy during his term in office. Her message is simple: Big is bad. Bad for American workers, bad for social justice, bad for equitable access to information, goods, technology, and services—and really bad for political campaign donations. She argues for swift, sweeping reform in economic, legislative, social welfare, and human rights policies. A steady stream of period political cartoons help keep things lively, and her style is engaging and energetic. Expect significant interest.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The senior senator from Minnesota offers a thorough history of trustbusting in America and an urgent plea for stricter enforcement.Klobuchar is on a mission to strengthen and enforce federal antitrust laws in order to halt the growing consolidation of big business, which thwarts competition and exacerbates economic inequality. This book, unlike her standard-issue political memoir, The Senator Next Door (2015), is both a diligently researched history lesson and a well thought out plan, meticulously delineated, to take on corporate consolidation, Congressional inertia, and the conservative courts. Showcasing her hardworking Midwestern roots, the author moves from her childhood in a Minneapolis suburbher father wrote for the Star Tribune, and her paternal grandfather was a miner, a profession for which strong unions were crucialto the initial growth of the Granger movement in response to grain price monopolies in the heartland. The first federal legislation was put forward by Ohio Sen. John Sherman in 1890, but it was not enforced until Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency and sought to dismantle the Northern Securities railroad monopoly, among many others. In 1911, Howard Taft broke up Standard Oil, thanks in large part to Ida Tarbells groundbreaking expos, which set the stage for the passage of more antitrust legislatione.g., the Clayton Antitrust Act and Federal Trade Commission Act, both passed in 1914. Yet the progressive era gave way to war-caused fatigue and the reopening of certain legal loopholes. In addition to sketching the beliefs of the Chicago versus Harvard schools of thought on monopolies, Klobuchar examines key cases in the digital age (ATT, Microsoft), alarming mergers in high tech and health care industries, and suits brought against Google and Facebook. The author also clearly shows how the previous administrations pro-business stance led to significant reductions in important resources like antitrust lawyers. The final section, The Path Forward, is a staggeringly detailed, impressively documented and presented list of the Top 25 recommendations to improve competition in our nation.Solid, sharp, articulate worknot just advertising for a possible 2024 presidential run. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The senior senator from Minnesota offers a thorough history of trustbusting in America and an urgent plea for stricter enforcement. Klobuchar is on a mission to strengthen and enforce federal antitrust laws in order to halt the growing consolidation of big business, which thwarts competition and exacerbates economic inequality. This book, unlike her standard-issue political memoir, The Senator Next Door (2015), is both a diligently researched history lesson and a well thought out plan, meticulously delineated, to take on “corporate consolidation, Congressional inertia, and the conservative courts.” Showcasing her hardworking Midwestern roots, the author moves from her childhood in a Minneapolis suburb—her father wrote for the Star Tribune, and her paternal grandfather was a miner, a profession for which strong unions were crucial—to the initial growth of the Granger movement in response to grain price monopolies in the heartland. The first federal legislation was put forward by Ohio Sen. John Sherman in 1890, but it was not enforced until Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency and sought to dismantle the Northern Securities railroad monopoly, among many others. In 1911, Howard Taft broke up Standard Oil, thanks in large part to Ida Tarbell’s groundbreaking exposé, which set the stage for the passage of more antitrust legislation—e.g., the Clayton Antitrust Act and Federal Trade Commission Act, both passed in 1914. Yet the progressive era gave way to war-caused fatigue and the reopening of certain legal loopholes. In addition to sketching the beliefs of the Chicago versus Harvard schools of thought on monopolies, Klobuchar examines key cases in the digital age (AT & T, Microsoft), alarming mergers in high tech and health care industries, and suits brought against Google and Facebook. The author also clearly shows how the previous administration’s pro-business stance led to significant reductions in important resources like antitrust lawyers. The final section, “The Path Forward,” is a staggeringly detailed, impressively documented and presented “list of the Top 25 recommendations to improve competition in our nation.” Solid, sharp, articulate work—not just advertising for a possible 2024 presidential run. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.