In the 1960s and ’70s, a diverse range of storefronts―including head shops, African American bookstores, feminist businesses, and organic grocers―brought the work of the New Left, Black Power, feminism, environmentalism, and other movements into the marketplace. Through shared ownership, limited growth, and democratic workplaces, these activist entrepreneurs offered alternatives to conventional profit-driven corporate business models. By the middle of the 1970s, thousands of these enterprises operated across the United States―but only a handful survive today. Some, such as Whole Foods Market, have abandoned their quest for collective political change in favor of maximizing profits. Vividly portraying the struggles, successes, and sacrifices of these unlikely entrepreneurs, From Head Shops to Whole Foods writes a new history of social movements and capitalism by showing how activists embraced small businesses in a way few historians have considered. The book challenges the widespread but mistaken idea that activism and political dissent are inherently antithetical to participation in the marketplace. Joshua Clark Davis uncovers the historical roots of contemporary interest in ethical consumption, social enterprise, buying local, and mission-driven business, while also showing how today’s companies have adopted the language―but not often the mission―of liberation and social change.

From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs (Columbia Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism)

Business & Money

Davis, Joshua

Biography & History

Columbia University Press

In the 1960s and ’70s, a diverse range of storefronts―including head shops, African American bookstores, feminist businesses, and organic grocers―brought the work of the New Left, Black Power, feminism, environmentalism, and other movements into the marketplace. Through shared ownership, limited growth, and democratic workplaces, these activist entrepreneurs offered alternatives to conventional profit-driven corporate business models. By the middle of the 1970s, thousands of these enterprises operated across the United States―but only a handful survive today. Some, such as Whole Foods Market, have abandoned their quest for collective political change in favor of maximizing profits.\nVividly portraying the struggles, successes, and sacrifices of these unlikely entrepreneurs, From Head Shops to Whole Foods writes a new history of social movements and capitalism by showing how activists embraced small businesses in a way few historians have considered. The book challenges the widespread but mistaken idea that activism and political dissent are inherently antithetical to participation in the marketplace. Joshua Clark Davis uncovers the historical roots of contemporary interest in ethical consumption, social enterprise, buying local, and mission-driven business, while also showing how today’s companies have adopted the language―but not often the mission―of liberation and social change.

Economics

Joshua Davis dreams like most guys. He wants a fun career, exciting adventures, a happy wife who’s proud of him, and really big muscles that strangers can’t help but admire. Too bad he’s a 129-pound data entry clerk whose wife, Tara, has only three simple requests for their life together: direct sunlight, a dining room, and a bathtub. Since none of these exist in their 250-square-foot San Francisco apartment, Josh sets off on a quest to become the provider his wife wants him to be. The problem is that he does it in a way that most people in their right minds would never consider: he enters the most grueling and unusal contests in the world. In The Underdog, what begins as a means to get Tara her bathtub evolves into a charming story of courage, adventure, and just a little bit of insanity. On the heels of a fourth-place finish (out of four contestants) in the lightweight division of the U.S. National Armwrestling Championships, Josh gets a spot on Team USA and travels to Poland to face “The Russian Ripper” in the World Championships–and Tara finds herself wishing her husband would go back to data entry. Unfortunately for her, he’s just getting started. Over the next two years, Josh ventures to Spain to try his hand at bullfighting, sumo-wrestles 500-pound men, perfects his backward running in India and at the Golden Shrimp “retrorunning” race in Italy, and bonds with his family at the Sauna World Championships–because sometimes it takes a blistering 220-degree sauna to bring loved ones together. By turns hilarious, harrowing, and inspiring, The Underdog documents one man’s ballsy attempt to live the American dream to the extreme.

The Underdog: How I Survived the World's Most Outlandish Competitions

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Villard

Joshua Davis dreams like most guys. He wants a fun career, exciting adventures, a happy wife who’s proud of him, and really big muscles that strangers can’t help but admire. Too bad he’s a 129-pound data entry clerk whose wife, Tara, has only three simple requests for their life together: direct sunlight, a dining room, and a bathtub. Since none of these exist in their 250-square-foot San Francisco apartment, Josh sets off on a quest to become the provider his wife wants him to be. The problem is that he does it in a way that most people in their right minds would never consider: he enters the most grueling and unusal contests in the world.In The Underdog, what begins as a means to get Tara her bathtub evolves into a charming story of courage, adventure, and just a little bit of insanity. On the heels of a fourth-place finish (out of four contestants) in the lightweight division of the U.S. National Armwrestling Championships, Josh gets a spot on Team USA and travels to Poland to face “The Russian Ripper” in the World Championships–and Tara finds herself wishing her husband would go back to data entry. Unfortunately for her, he’s just getting started. Over the next two years, Josh ventures to Spain to try his hand at bullfighting, sumo-wrestles 500-pound men, perfects his backward running in India and at the Golden Shrimp “retrorunning” race in Italy, and bonds with his family at the Sauna World Championships–because sometimes it takes a blistering 220-degree sauna to bring loved ones together. By turns hilarious, harrowing, and inspiring, The Underdog documents one man’s ballsy attempt to live the American dream to the extreme.From the Hardcover edition.

The Underdog: Seeking the Meaning of Life in the World's Most Outlandish Competitions

Reference

Four undocumented Mexican American students, two great teachers, one robot-building contest . . . and a major motion picture In 2004, four Latino teenagers arrived at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They were born in Mexico but raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where they attended an underfunded public high school. No one had ever suggested to Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they might amount to much―but two inspiring science teachers had convinced these impoverished, undocumented kids from the desert who had never even seen the ocean that they should try to build an underwater robot. And build a robot they did. Their robot wasn't pretty, especially compared to those of the competition. They were going up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, including a team from MIT backed by a $10,000 grant from ExxonMobil. The Phoenix teenagers had scraped together less than $1,000 and built their robot out of scavenged parts. This was never a level competition―and yet, against all odds . . . they won! But this is just the beginning for these four, whose story―which became a key inspiration to the DREAMers movement―will go on to include first-generation college graduations, deportation, bean-picking in Mexico, and service in Afghanistan. Joshua Davis's Spare Parts is a story about overcoming insurmountable odds and four young men who proved they were among the most patriotic and talented Americans in this country―even as the country tried to kick them out.

Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream

Biographies & Memoirs

Professionals & Academics

FSG Originals

"Los inventores es una de esas historias raras que es difícil soltar. Narrada de manera impecable, es hilarante y también triste." --Chris Anderson, autor de The Long Tail En junio de 2004 el equipo de la preparatoria Carl Hayden, de Phoenix, sorprendió a todos los asistentes a la competencia anual de robótica auspiciada por la nasa cuando resultó ganador en el evento. No era para menos, el equipo estaba conformado por cuatro adolescentes, cuyas circunstancias a todas luces los colocaban en una situación poco aventajada. Se trataba de hijos de inmigrantes ilegales, provenientes de una escuela pública con recursos escasos para desarrollar un robot que resultara competitivo. O al menos eso parecía. Su ingenio, talento y perseverancia, además del apoyo de sus maestros, los hicieron merecedores a este galardón, por encima de equipos tan poderosos como el del mit, que cuenta con la mejor escuela de ingeniería del mundo. Los inventores retrata magistralmente la agridulce historia de estos muchachos y sus familias, y el verdadero esfuerzo que implica conquistar el sueño americano.

Los Inventores (Spanish Edition)

Community & Culture

FSG Adult

A riveting true story about dreams, dedication, and an amazing robot named Stinky, based on Joshua Davis' New York Times bestseller and now adapted for young readers by bestselling Mexican American author Reyna Grande. In 2004, four undocumented Mexican teenagers arrived at the national underwater robotics championship at the University of California, Santa Barbara. No one had ever told Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they would amount to much--until two inspiring high school science teachers convinced the boys to enter the competition. Up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, this team of underdogs from Phoenix, Arizona, scraped together spare parts and a few small donations to astound not only the competition's judges but themselves, too. Adapted by Reyna Grande--author of the acclaimed memoir The Distance Between Us about her experience as an undocumented child immigrant--this young readers' edition of Joshua Davis's New York Times bestseller showcases these students' ingenuity and courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Timely and empowering, Spare Parts is an accessible introduction to STEM, immigration, and the reality of the American Dream.

Spare Parts (Young Readers' Edition): The True Story of Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and an Impossible Dream

Children's Books

Biographies

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize New York Times Best Seller Four undocumented Mexican American students, two great teachers, one robot-building contest . . . and a major motion picture
In 2004, four Latino teenagers arrived at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They were born in Mexico but raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where they attended an underfunded public high school. No one had ever suggested to Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they might amount to much―but two inspiring science teachers had convinced these impoverished, undocumented kids from the desert who had never even seen the ocean that they should try to build an underwater robot.
 And build a robot they did. Their robot wasn't pretty, especially compared to those of the competition. They were going up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, including a team from MIT backed by a $10,000 grant from ExxonMobil. The Phoenix teenagers had scraped together less than $1,000 and built their robot out of scavenged parts. This was never a level competition―and yet, against all odds . . . they won!
 But this is just the beginning for these four, whose story―which became a key inspiration to the DREAMers movement―will go on to include first-generation college graduations, deportation, bean-picking in Mexico, and service in Afghanistan.
 Joshua Davis's Spare Parts is a story about overcoming insurmountable odds and four young men who proved they were among the most patriotic and talented Americans in this country―even as the country tried to kick them out.

Joshua Davis had a dream. He dreamt of being the best. It didn't really matter what he was the best at, he just wanted to be number one, the big enchilada, to say that he had made it. This is how it began: Josh was driving through the Mojave Desert one day when he saw a sign for the American arm-wrestling championship - all comers welcome. He decided to enter. He came fourth, out of four, but this was enough to secure him a place on Team USA and the chance of a show-down with the 'Russian Ripper' at the world championships in Poland (that didn't end very well either). But Josh had tasted the dizzy rush of competition and wanted more. And more turned out to be the most outlandish contests in the world - from bull fighting in Spain and backward running in Italy, to sumo wrestling and the World Sauna Championship in Finland. Joshua's quest is by turns hilarious, harrowing and a little insane, but it is also inspiring - because, after all, every underdog deserves his day.

Underdog

Corgi Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davis, Joshua. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Davis, Joshua

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davis, Joshua. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs (Columbia Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism)

From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise and Fall of Activist Entrepreneurs (Columbia Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism)

The Underdog: How I Survived the World's Most Outlandish Competitions

The Underdog: Seeking the Meaning of Life in the World's Most Outlandish Competitions

Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream

Los Inventores (Spanish Edition)

Spare Parts (Young Readers' Edition): The True Story of Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and an Impossible Dream

Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream

Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream

Underdog