Tescopoly : how one shop came out on top and why it matters

You can shop anywhere you like, as long as it's Tesco.The inexorable rise of supermarkets, particularly Tesco, is big news but have we taken on board what it really means for our daily lives, and those of our children?

In this searing analysis Andrew Simms, one of Britain's leading experts on this issue and the person who introduced the term 'Cone Towns' into our language, tackles a subject that none of us can afford to ignore.Simms traces the supermarket disease back to its American roots and charts the moment when the promise of choice turned into something altogether different.

With Tesco leading the way, he shows how supermarkets are draining the life from our town centres, creating a commercial nanny state that knows more about you than you think, profiting from shelves full of global plunder and unpicking the fabric of our communities.But there is change afoot.

The consumer tide is turning and the backlash spreading, with international campaigns gaining ground.

Simms ends with suggestions for change and rethinking big business to safeguard our communities and environment - all over the world.