Heroes of capitalist labour

The book by investigative journalist Saša Uhlová consists primarily of reports she wrote and gradually published as part of a special project of the A2larm.cz magazine (which received a grant from the Fund for the Support of Independent Journalism). As part of the project, the author changed her name and physical appearance, rearranged her family life and devoted half a year of her life to researching the conditions in which people work in unskilled and low-paid jobs – from a laundry to a poultry farm, a supermarket checkout, a razor blade factory to a waste sorting plant.

The book also includes personal diaries and notes in which he captures feelings, insights and reflections that did not fit into the reports. The individual reports are interspersed with texts that are intended to introduce the lay reader to the legislative and organisational circumstances of employing people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

The whole project is connected with the documentary film The Boundaries of Work by Apolena Rychlíková.

The graphic design of the book is by Barbara Klimszová. The two-colour print on yellow paper with the longer side uncut is reminiscent of a newspaper and the back cover, which becomes a poster when unfolded, hides a surprise.