It’s safe to say Seattle’s Socialist city council member is not a fan of Amazon or Jeff Bezos.
Kshama Sawant has called Amazon extortionists and even promoted their prosecution after they paused a construction project as they waited to see the results of a local job’s tax. Sawant has labeled Bezos a “bully” on many occasions and she’s been called out for using city resources to print anti-Amazon flyers. Indeed, Sawant successfully led the push to tax Amazon in Seattle to fund a homelessness plan that hasn’t even been fleshed out yet.
But when it comes to her forthcoming book? The Kindle edition of her book is listed for pre-sale on Amazon for $9.99. Oh the irony.
“American Socialist” aims to be an inspirational story of “how Sawant toppled a sixteen year incumbent who was backed by a powerful Democratic Party establishment and reshaped Seattle’s political culture around demands for economic and social justice, reviving national debate around municipal socialism in the process.”
The book will be published by Verso Books, the “largest independent, radical publishing house” in America, if it ever gets completed.
Irony aside, this book is several years overdue. Originally, it was expected in 2015 but the manuscript was never delivered. Several years later, the publisher is still uncertain when it’ll be available for purchase.
“We don’t know the actual date yet,” said a member of the Verso team, explaining that the whole project has been a “moving target.” I originally reported this conversation at KTTH.com, the website behind my Seattle talk radio show.
“We’re excited to publish it, but it’s been put on hold,” she told me.
Why is the memoir so late? “No reason given; It’s due,” by Sawant, I was told.
What was interesting about my conversation was how irritated the staffer sounded, to me, when discussing the book’s tardiness. Originally, I was told they didn’t even receive the manuscript, but then she corrected herself, claiming they’ve received several versions. One thing seems clear: it’s nowhere near ready for publishing, with a September 2019 date given as a hopeful date.
I have not yet heard from Sawant’s office as to whether or not she intends to pull the book from Amazon, since she’s been the company’s harshest critic in Seattle.
Jason Rantz hosts the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH 770 AM in Seattle/Tacoma weekday mornings from 6-9am. You can subscribe to his podcast here.