Brian Fawcett’s first book of essays since 1991’s Unusual Circumstances, Interesting Times, Local Matters tries to come to grips with a system behind what everyone calls “globalization,” and to isolate some of its less publicized effects. A collection of thoughtful, irreverent, deliberately personal essays, Local Matters is a polemic against brand-borne viruses, a love letter to one man’s Toronto neighbourhood, and a road map to a better world. Many of the essays are developed from earlier versions published on dooneyscafe.com, the internet news service Fawcett runs with Stan Persky.