Wal-Mart company towns try to ban book

Some have called Cincinnati a company town, as there has been little tolerance for criticism of the region's corporate powers. Speak ill of a Cincinnati corporation, and notice the scowls and irritated sighs that follow.

But this may be nothing compared to what befalls those who dare to criticize Wal-Mart in northwestern Arkansas.

The region around Bentonville, Arkansas, is in effect a company town commandeered by Wal-Mart, which is based there.

Now a new book - 'Boom Town: How Wal-Mart Transformed An All-American Town Into An International Community' by Marjorie Rosen - is under fire in the area's so-called public libraries.

Library trustees in Bentonville and Rogers have canceled appearances by Rosen because they consider the book too "inflammatory" against Wal-Mart. This despite the fact that the book actually takes a somewhat positive view of the embattled retail giant.

President Kennedy once said that libraries should be open to all - except the censor. The last place a censor should be is on a library's board of trustees.

(Source: http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=7fe6b71a-7a88-40de-bb9e-51ef0320418b)