Welcome to the 26th installment of The Wal-Mart Weekly, a column dedicated to bringing you insight, wit, facts, results, opinions and just a bit of everything else when it comes down to a very hot topic these days: Wal-Mart. Last week we wondered whether Always Low Prices was just a myth in today's competitive climate.

This past week, I discussed Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) Stores, Inc.'s entry into the non-protected digital music file download business. With the retailer selling non-protected songs from its website for a maximum of $0.94, will this action dent into Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iTunes market share? Who knows at this point.

Wal-Mart has been in the news quite a bit this past week in regards to a European competitor entering a market Wal-Mart is already in (just not in a big way) -- California. Tesco (LSE: TSCO) said it will be opening smaller-concept stores soon that feature the opposite of the big-box retail feeling of the standard 100,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter. Tesco's stores will average about 10,000 square feet. What will Wal-Mart do in response?

As you know, Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is pretty controversial these days. Amid concerns about the company's labor practices, environmental policies, and effect on mom-and-pop shops, people everywhere are asking "Is Wal-Mart good for America and the world?" I don't have a definitive answer to that question, but it's a question that's of great interest to me, and many others. Academics from various disciplines, from economics to sociology, have convened conferences to debate the impact of Wal-Mart. If you're interested in becoming a Wal-Mart expert, and an informed citizen on the company and its impact, be sure to check out these books:

The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy by Charles Fishman. I consider this to be the definitive primer on Wal-Mart. It's written from an objective, nuanced perspective, and is a fascinating read: The man who said no to Wal-Mart, a gallon of pickles for three dollars, and more. If you want to understand Wal-Mart and America, read this book.