New York, NY — The paperback edition of Corporateering: How Corporate Power Steals Your Personal Freedom And What You Can Do About It (Tarcher/Penguin) authored by award winning consumer activist Jamie Court will be available in stores across America today.

USA Today writes: “Court is mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. And, he writes, neither should you.” Publisher’s Weekly says Court “is keeping the muckraking tradition alive.” Michael Moore writes in the foreword of Corporateering, “If you want to understand the influence of corporate culture on America culture, and the growing power of the corporation to impose its goals on every other sector of society, this is the book to read.”

“Corporateering” — the act of prioritizing commercial gain over individual, society, or cultural benefit — is everywhere in our lives. In a book that corporate America would rather you didn’t read, Court traces the rise of the “Age of the Corporateer” during the last twenty five years. Court provides a devastating illustration of how corporations routinely and quietly rob us of our personal freedoms — including privacy, security, the right to legal recourse and more.

But he doesn’t stop there: Court offers a playbook on how to fight back, replete with empowering strategies to reclaim our rights to health and safety, our private lives, and the dignity of our citizenship.

In Corporatering, Court discusses the struggles of his consumer group — the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (www.consumerwatchdog.org) — to lower gasoline prices, fight profiteering by deregulated energy companies like Enron, reform HMOs, protect Americans’ privacy rights, lower insurer premiums, and counter the dangerous new assumptions corporations have placed in our culture.

Among the recent new developments Court is available to discuss:

‘ High Gasoline Prices. Court is leading the charge against profiteering by domestic oil refiners that Court claims have artificially reduced refined supplies to drive up gasoline prices. He’s headed up an effort to force the sale of Shell‘s Bakersfield refinery, which produces 2% of the state’s gasoline and is set for demolition this fall despite low inventories and the highest gasoline prices in the nation. (Visit http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/utilities/ )

‘ Enron Tapes. In Corporateering, Court gives an eyewitness account of California’s electricity crisis and Enron‘s rip-off of Californians. At the time, the energy industry vehemently denied Court’s group’s charges of energy scams. Now Court’s criticism, in light of recently released Enron tapes about employees cheering on California wildfires with calls of “burn, baby burn”, seem prophetic.

‘ The Attack On Individuals’ Legal Rights On Capital Hill. Court has spoken out against industry attempts to take the legal rights of injured consumers to sue big corporations. In his book, he traces the cynical corporate origins of the current industry attacks on Americans’ legal rights. (See Court’s recent commentaries on the subject at http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/ftcr/co/)

‘ The Nation’s Largest Health Insurance Merger & Executive Payouts. Last week, Court’s consumer group revealed a potential $600 million executive compensation package in the acquisition by Anthem Inc. of Wellpoint Health Systems. He has been urging regulators and shareholders to scuttle the deal. (See http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/pr/pr004348.php3)

‘ Arnold. Court’s group created http://www.arnoldwatch.org to chart the hidden hand of corporateers in the Schwarzenegger Administration. (Listen to Court’s recent commentary on the Arnold phenomenon at http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/ftcr/co/co004052.php3 )

‘ Cell Hell. Court’s group has recently filed lawsuits against cell phone companies for the collective time they waste through their mis-billing practices.

Court is the president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. For more information visit www.corporateering.org and www.consumerwatchdog.org