Seattle Times/SF Chronicle columnist to discuss new book

PORTLAND EVENT: SEATTLE TIMES/SF CHRONICLE COLUMNIST TO DISCUSS "THE UPRISING" - NEW BOOK ON RISE OF POPULISM IN 2008

David Sirota's new book includes chapter on efforts to unionize tech workers in the Northwest

On June 13th, bestselling author and nationally syndicated columnist David Sirota will visit Portland to discuss his newest book, THE UPRISING: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street & Washington (Crown Publishers, May 2008).

THE UPRISING, which follows Sirota's New York Times bestseller Hostile Takeover (2006), reports on today's seething popular discontent on both the Right and Left, which is creating a new populist political movement roiling the 2008 presidential campaign and national politics. From behind-the-scenes meetings on Capitol Hill and an anti-war march with appearances by Jane Fonda and Sean Penn to an ExxonMobil stockholder meeting and the dusty campsite of the California Minutemen guarding the U.S.-Mexico border, Sirota traveled the United States to report on this anger and the populist uprising it is creating. One of the book's key chapters focuses on efforts to unionize high-tech workers in the Pacific Northwest. Publishers Weekly says Sirota "weaves entertaining case studies, keeping his tone conversational, the narrative fast-paced and the content accessible," adding that "this book presents a rousing account of the local uprisings already in effect."

The book traces the historical roots of populism, from its start in the rural West and Midwest all the way to the present. It also explores the ongoing efforts to thwart populism, including a close look at the Democratic Party's construction of the "superdelegate" system now playing a key role in the presidential campaign. THE UPRISING features exclusive reporting on icons across the political spectrum, from CNN's Lou Dobbs, to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, to ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillorsen to Senate candidate Ned Lamont. It is all firsthand narrative over a year-long journey across the country, and shows why Molly Ivins hailed Sirota as "a new-generation populist who instinctively understands that the only real questions are ‘Who's getting screwed' and ‘Who's doing the screwing?'"

June 13^th, 7:30pm: David Sirota will appear at a reading, Q&A and book signing at Powell's Bookstore co-sponsored by the Oregon Bus Project. Location: Powell's Bookstore, 1005 W. Burnside, Portland, OR.

David Sirota is a political journalist, nationally syndicated columnist and bestselling author. He got his start in politics as the spokesman for Vermont Rep. Bernie Sanders, then helped elect Brian Schweitzer governor of Montana, and then served as a top aide to Ned Lamont in Connecticut's 2006 senate race. He is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economics. His weekly Creators Syndicate column appears in newspapers with a combined daily circulation of more than 1.6 million readers. That includes, among others, the Denver Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times and Everett Herald.