Wal-Mart's "everyday low prices" benefit millions of American consumers, and it is Fortune magazine's number-one most admired company in the United States. But others argue that Wal-Mart is a bad bargain for American workers. Here, Gary Gereffi, professor of sociology at Duke University; Brink Lindsey, vice president for research at the Cato Institute; Jon Lehman, a former Wal-Mart store manager; and Ray Bracy, Wal-Mart's vice president for federal and international corporate affairs, address the question: Is Wal-Mart good for America?

Across the country, communities weigh the costs and benefits of opening their doors to the nation's largest discount retailer.

With 1.2 million employees -- the nation's largest employer -- Wal-Mart is, in the words of historian Nelson Lichtenstein, a "template firm" for U.S. companies, and thus has received much media scrutiny for its employment practices. Here is a closer look at the issue of Wal-Mart and unions, and a roundup of some of the charges that have been made in court against the retailer and the company's defense. Plus more on Wal-Mart's plans for becoming a "a leader in employment practices."

A chronology of Wal-Mart's stunning growth from its humble, small-town origins to the world's largest company.

The Los Angeles Times won a Pulitzer Prize for this series of articles on the tactics that have made Wal-Mart the largest company in the world and the company's cascading effects across American towns and developing countries.

This Web site accompanies the PBS program of the same name, which explores one local community's reaction to the announcement that Wal-Mart wanted to build a store in its neighborhood.

"The mathematics of big numbers suggests that Wal-Mart's growth must slow," says this April 15, 2004 article from The Economist. "Amazingly, the opposite appears to be happening."

Daniel Gross writes in Slate, "Low wages, the trade deficit, the collapse of U.S. manufacturing -- the business press says Wal-Mart's responsible. Actually, you are." (Oct. 8, 2003)

Wal-Mart's corporate Web site has more information about the company's history, growth and culture; its annual report and other investor information; and Wal-Mart's statements on its stance on controversial issues, such as gun sales, sweatshop allegation, and unions.

Sprawlbusters is an organization designed to "help local community coalitions on-site to design and implement successful campaigns against megastores and other undesirable large-scale developments."