Rating: 
Summary: VERY BIASED AND MISLEADING
Review: I found this book to be very misleading and hope that it's readers have more common sense than that of the author. Is fast food healthy? Of course not. Then again, how much worse is it than going to a fancy restaurant and ordering a steak with a baked potato covered in butter and sour cream? Fast food provides quick, cheap meals for people that don't always have the time to spend going to a regular restaurant that will also serve you unhealthy food, it will just take a lot longer and cost a lot more. As for working conditions, that varies from store to store, depending on the owner of that particular store, and also the store manager. For example, the fast food chain that my wife works for as a member of management, offers 401k and paid vacations for every employee. Wages are also very competitive to other businesses in the area. Her company also stresses cleanliness and good customer service. The bottom line, regarding fast food as a form of employment, is that it is not for everyone. What job is? But if you enjoy it, and work for a good company, you can turn it into a career. Whenever I hear someone refer to a job in the fast food industry as just "flipping burgers" I think of my wifes paycheck and the trips (Cancun, Jamaica, etc.) that her company has provided to members of management and laugh at the ignorance of the person.
Rating: 
Summary: A little too skewed
Review: Book starts out pretty even-handed and then becomes nothing but extremely skewed liberal ranting. For example, lots of whining about the difficulties of ranches because of suburban inroads but nothing about the small fortunes they've made selling their land to developers. Another example is how he goes on and on about the lack of unions, where 1/3rd of the workers are actually unionized (including the guys at the start of the butchery line). Everything bad in the world is blamed on Republicans. Still, there's some good information in here if you're not familiar with the topic, and the writing is good.
Rating: 
Summary: How fast food has changed our worlds
Review: This book was very well researched and well written. I'm not typically a fan of non-fiction, but couldn't put it down!It's fascinating to see how Fast Food has changed so many aspects of our every day lives. I don't think I will ever eat Fast Food again after reading about the meatpacking companies and how they treat the employees and animals!
Rating:
Summary: A lot of "facts" went into this book, but not much thought
Review: Eric Schlosser is mad at the world. But rather than write a book titled "I'm Mad at the World," he's organized his ranting around McDonald's. As is true for many leftists, McDonald's symbolizes modern society and serves as a handy target. Schlosser is upset that teenage workers are paid only the minimum wage and-horrors!-aren't even union members. He ought to consider that unionized restaurants are rare indeed, and that his favorite mom-and-pop locally owned restaurant is more likely than the fast-food chains to violate the law by paying less than the minimum wage. Schlosser is upset that McFood is so high in fat, not appreciating that burgers at Burger King and Wendy's have even higher fat content than those at McDonald's. Anyway, it's unlikely their customers would go home to whip up some tofu and lentils; home-cooking can be incredibly high-fat as well. Schlosser is angry about food poisoning in ground beef, yet in jurisdictions that publish restaurant cleanliness ratings, fast food outlets score better, on average, than independent restaurants. The typical home kitchen wouldn't score all that well in a public health inspection, either. Schlosser also complains that slaughterhouses in small communities bring in members of racial minorities to staff those facilities. There is just a tad of irony that a leftist would get upset about slaughterhouses making rural communities more racially diverse. Through all of this, the pro-business Republicans are painted as evil, yet Schlosser forgot to mention that the Clintons gave preferential treatment to Tyson Foods, the country's biggest chicken processor, and that Hillary used to sit on their board. If this book makes you pass by McDonald's to eat instead at Joe's Diner, remember that independent restaurants pay their employees less than fast food outlets, have lower sanitary standards, and often use products that are past their sell-by date. Bon appetit!
Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Read
Review: This book is amazingly well-researched, beautifully written. Compassionate, intelligent, sickening at times, a must-read. If you eat fast food, you owe it to yourself, to the children in your life and everyone you know, to read this book and take its message to heart. We are killing ourselves, with our foul eating practices, by letting the meat industry get away, literally, with murder, with our terrible labor practices. Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Investigative journalism at its best!
Review: Truly an outstanding book -- first-rate investigative journalism! Perhaps he very best in its genre -- extraordinarily insightful, articulate, and full of the emotion that the subject well deserves. Schlosser is the modern-day Upton Sinclair. Let's hope his book has a similar impact on American public policy. Schlosser helps us all to appreciate the current status of American capitalism and the fast-food culture that it has spawned. Schlosser provides a nice balance of statistical information, historical background, and a recounting of contemporary developments in the food industry over the previous century. For the general reader, there is much to be gained from the many anecdotal stories that help us understand the human dimension. For the activist, there is plenty of ammunition here to motivate the masses. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Undeniablely a great book for anybody
Review: This book is a MUST read for everyone. The author gives an indept insight into an area of the fast food industry that has never been covered so thoroughly. Even if you have never stepped into a fast food joint, the information shared through this boook will have its way of finding a meaning in your life. It will gross you out and make your stomach sick, but it will shed light on many unknowns.
Rating: 
Summary: A real eye-opener
Review: For anyone who has ever purchased food from a fast food restaurant, and you know who you are, this should be required reading. Find out what you are eating and what type of industry you are supporting. The book is well-written, informative, but occasionally preachy. An interesting, but often stomach-turning read.
Rating:
Summary: On the money, in spite of lefty bent.
Review: Though I am still leary of Schlosser's lefty credentials, I have to admit that I agree with most of what he says in this book, and that those who call him "communist" are name-callers who are as blindly enamored of the concept of "capitalism" as doctrinaire Marxists were of unbending Russian-style communism. Most thoughtful Americans are already quite aware of the health and socio-economic problems that stem from our obsession/addiction on fast food. Schlosser takes the economic analysis a bit deeper by correctly pointing out that "capitalism", a term coined in the 1800s long AFTER the founding of the U.S., is NOT THE SAME as free or fair market trade. Big corporate farm interests and corporate ranch and slaugher interests and even good ol' Mickey D's have been getting a free ride from taxpayers through corporate welfare, abuse of tax incentives designed to help small business owners, and relaxed enforcement of anti-trust laws (even big American corporations are now turning to European courts for fair and unbiased interpretation of anti-trust laws.) As a conservative who favors a free (but FAIR) market,I was a bit leery when I read a review of "Fast Food Nation". Schlosser proved to be an unbiased and compassionate observer.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Read
Review: In 1948, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald closed their restaurant in San Bernardino, California. Three months later they reopened for business, with a streamlined menu and a revolutionary method of creating food. They had invented fast food.
It was a moment that was to change the world but, as Eric Schlosser argues in his book 'Fast Food Nation', not necessarily for the better. Yet Schlosser is not an eco-crank; his book has been carefully researched with 60 pages of notes supporting his arguments. Schlosser is not just worried about rubbish in McDonalds car parks. Subtitled 'What the All-American Meal is Doing to the World', 'Fast Food Nation' embarks upon a sweeping assessment of the impact of fast food over the past 50 years.
Schlosser begins with a survey of the pervasiveness of fast food and how it has changed eating habits. For example, the average American eats three hamburgers and four serves of French fries each week. The most obvious impact of this has been the alarming rise in rates of obesity.
But the fast food industry is about much more than eating. The image and marketing of the huge corporations is vitally important to their business - and from the earliest days McDonalds advertising has been aimed at families and particularly children. Today, 90 percent of US children visit McDonalds each month; Happy Meals making McDonalds one of the world's largest toy distributors.
Schlosser also goes behind the counter were things are not quite so McHappy. The low wages paid to teenage workers make the food service the lowest paid industry. Schlosser also points out the high rates of franchise failures.
Occupying the bulk of 'Fast Food Nation' is the investigation of the sources from which the meat, potatoes and flavours - the fast food raw materials - come. There is the exploitation of slaughterhouse workers and the whole communities impacted by the indifferent, profit-driven meat packers. Schlosser visits farms, factories, slaughterhouses and laboratories. Without preaching, Schlosser presents a powerful argument for a healthier diet (and, yes, there are some nasty things - including fecal matter - in the hamburger meat).
As the largest chain of fast food vendors, McDonalds comes in for special attention. For example, McDonalds are the largest purchasers of beef in the US and they sell the most Coke in the world. However, also included within Schlosser's journalist sights are KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, Taco Bell and a number of other less familiar fast food franchises.
The book has a largely American focus but there is a chapter pointing to the globalisation of America's fast food - 15,000 McDonalds in 117 countries outside the US, with five more opening every day.
If you have anything to do with fast food - whether as an employee or a consumer - you need to read 'Fast Food Nation'. Be concerned and horrified, get angry and consider adopting Schlosser's concluding recommendation - "The first step towards meaningful change is by far the easiest: stop buying it."
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