Rating: 
Summary: eating crap
Review: Eric comes across as not liking republicans and blaming them for some of the problems of the food industry,i personally wish he had blammed goverment in genral as it is big buisness that controls goverments no matter who is in charge.That aside ifound this book seriously factual,i was not a big fan of red meats in the first place but after reading this book i have made a point of not eating it anymore.and as for the macdonald`s chain it is riping the sole out of every youngster in the world through TERRIBLE working condition`s they have to endure and with the truely unhealthy foods they serve over the counter which kids feel they must have through high powered advertising solely geared towards the young to which the book also describes in detail.PAUL BOYLE,GLASGOW,SCOTLAND.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic Read
Review: A fantastic read that is well researched and insightful. I remember the smell of Greely, CO when I would drive up there. I would hit you 7 miles from the town! Anyhoo, I digress. Go out and buy this book from a local bookstore (sorry Amazon, you can't have all of the business) and sit down a read it with your next Big Mac. Also, check out Troy McClure's visit to a slaughterhouse with little Timmy on the Simpsons. Truly a TV moment to remember! All this talk has made me hungry.
Rating:
Summary: Shockingly Refreshing
Review: There are tons of things that we tend to take for granted around us. Few should concern us as much as the details that surround the food we may be eating every day. Eric Schlosser did an incredible job of collecting tons of dirt on the fast food industry. This book takes its readers of a shocking and endlessly informative journey through a vast and often surprisingly strange world. Filled with historical references, privileged inside information, and endless statistics, Schlosser manages to satisfy the mind on many different levels. Written in true muckraking fashion: blunt, informative and critical. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book that informs and stimulates thought.
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Summary: We eat this?
Review: After reading this book, I'd read anything that Eric Schlosser wrote, because this guy does his research. If there is any information on the modern American eating habits, and the contents of our food, and the manufacturing of it, he checked it out. He looks at the history of fast food, an extremely American invention.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging at first, but declines into a series of polemics.
Review: I first encountered this book shortly after it was released last year, but did not actually purchase it until recently. I was hoping for a thorough analysis of the history of the fast-food industry and its effect on society. True enough, at least for starters. Schlosser clearly has taken an interest in his subject, enough such that he takes the time to document anecdotal evidence which is so often missing in scholarly studies. Indeed, the opening chapters provided a fascinating overview of the origins of fast food (especially vis a vis the growth of Southern California), the often denigrating working conditions found at fast-food restaurants, the chemistry of flavor and taste, and the economics that drive franchising. This part of the book makes for an engaging, fast-paced read. But too soon, Schlosser succumbs to the overwhelming journalistic temptation to Blame It All On The Republicans. Everything from low minimum wages to beef-inspection standards is said to be the fault of conservative Republicans, apparently in thrall to Big Fast Food. Moreover, the book ends with a rousing call for massive amounts of Government Intervention to "solve" the problems which Schlosser believes fast food have caused -- a truly overwhelming quantity of legislation and regulation. In an afterword published for the paperback edition, Schlosser claims he has "no partisan agenda" and bemoans not having documented the Clinton Administration's connection with the poultry industry in Arkansas. But this disclaimer is too little, too late. What could have been an interesting sociopolitical exploration of a uniquely American phenomenon instead declines into a partisan attack. It's almost as if this book is really made of two separate and smaller works. Don't miss the opportunity to read this book -- but go into it with an open mind and don't be prepared to accept all of Schlosser's conclusions.
Rating:
Summary: Important and scary
Review: When I picked up Fast Food Nation, with its bag of fries and smiling cartoon faces on the cover, I expected a piece on the effects of fast food on our waistlines and health. What I got was far more--an intense, well-researched, and extremely effective wake-up call concerning the distorting and often destructive effects of the American fast food industry on our domestic economy, homes, schools, farms, ranches, and workers, now rapidly being imposed on the rest of the world. Eric Schlosser's review of the history of the fast food industry reminded me of the enormous changes that have occurred in America since the 1950s, many of them due to or inspired by fast food. Cities and suburbs were not always just one identical strip mall after another, children were not the targets of endless marketing campaigns, most families could get by with only one full-time worker, schools did not provide kids with junk food and subject them to advertising, and we didn't read about nationwide outbreaks of E-coli and salmonella. The effects of the fast food industry and the franchising movement it inspired are so pervasive that they are essentially invisible, especially to young people. It takes a book like Fast Food Nation to make us take a hard look at what is going on. Schlosser goes far beyond what we can see with our own eyes or learn from the newspapers. He did his homework for this book, traveling the country, interviewing everyone from the leaders in the industry to the immigrant meatpackers who risk their lives and limbs for minimum wages in hellish killing and packing factories. Fully aware of the fast food industry's tendency to attack any critic with every legal tool available, including the infamous "veggie libel laws," Schlosser documents every one of his assertions in depth; he provides 55 pages of end notes, and five fine-print pages of bibliography. We all know that fast food is making us fat. What I didn't realize is the extent to which the fast food industry, with its enormous financial clout, gluttony for low-cost meat, chicken, potatoes and labor, its eagerness to suck millions from Washington and from state and local governments in the form of subsides and tax breaks, and its lobbying-protected union busting and dismantling of workers safety rules and enforcement, has affected not just our landscape and diet, but our economy and lifestyle as well. Schlosser shows how it has led to the growth of giant food processors and factory farms at the expense of independent farmers, ranchers and packers. It has led to the importation of large numbers of immigrant workers who live (and often die) to provide us with our burgers. Millions of teenagers are lured away from school to staff fast food outlets, again at minimum wages and given minimal training. And, Schlosser shows, the fast food industry is now exporting the entire system abroad. I now understand why a tour bus driver in Scotland pointed to a McDonald's outlet and announced to us, "and there's the American Embassy." Fast food Nation is an angry, frightening and eye-opening book. Read it before you grab your next burger and fries. Robert Adler, author.
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Summary: Change Agent
Review: This book had a definite impact on my family--how we eat and where. I was especially impressed on how my teens reacted to it; they would sit around with their friends (many of whom worked at fast food chains) looking up "their" chains to see how they rated. It was amusing to hear them comparing the relative nutrition and hygiene of these places, chilling to hear them telling about work-place accidents and comparing scars. I'm pleased to see that many of them have left fast food for part-time jobs in places like the public library. We can't turn back the clock and restore the businesses, values, health, or communities degraded by the fast food industry, but this book will absolutely raise awareness of what goes on behind the scenes before that hamburger reaches your hand. Making informed choices does have an impact on how and where people spend their food dollars, and it is with great interest that I heard recent news reports the McDonald's is closing restaurants due to lack of business. The company apparently has had losses for six of its last seven quarters. Hmmmmm--When did this book come out?
Rating: 
Summary: Educational and Interesting
Review: What a book! I enjoyed the history that involved not only fast food but much more of America including a little about the railways, highways, Disney, and so many occupations out there involved in making food that I didn't even realize. The first half of the book mesmerized me and kept me very eager to read more. BUT - I don't like the obvious Democrat flair and anti-Christian remarks. This book is very biased and puts down former presidents Ronald Regan and George Bush while making Clinton look like a victim of the Republican majority.... There is a lot of political jargon here, and though I can see how it deeply influences the meat packing industry, I would have rather read an unbiased set of facts. I did enjoy this book despite its flaws, and I am much more conscious of what my family is eating. It is alarming how much processed food is out there - and even more alarming is our naïveté to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Believe the Cover
Review: I suppose most of us purchase books either because we're curious or because we're looking for something "hard hitting" that supports our own often fuzzy views. And so I purchased "Fast Food Nation". It begins fine...lots of history, lots of arrows pointed at McDonald's heart...just the kind of thing for which I was looking. I couldn't wait until he would begin to "slice 'n dice" Wendy's, Burger King. . . the whole lot.
Then, the author slips off his mask of "objective reporter", and charges full steam into the arms of the liberal left. He's far more interested in the ". . . shameful Republican administrations. . ." that encouraged all these evil things to happen. Of course, if it was a Democrat administration in power, then it becomes "Congress" (nice and neutral, huh?) that somehow missed all the bad things that were happening.
Factual reporting I like. . . diatribes against political parties I can do without. Perhaps the author had one too many "Big Macs" and it adversely affected his mind?! For you liberals, you'll love the book. For anyone with a logical mind, who enjoys thinking, and who is looking for cold, hard, objective treatment of a subject...skip it!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but often biased by author's politics
Review: Fascinating history of the people and conditions which gave rise to our present fast food culture and detailed behind-the-scenes looks at how the business operates. Too often, however, Schlosser simplistically blames all food industry-related illnesses and injuries on Newt Gingrich, right-wing Republicans and their ties to "powerful business interests". Author cites Mead et al., "Food-Related Illness and Death" for key statistics on illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths related to food poisoning, and yet this reference is not listed in the bibliography (the complete reference can be found at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website). Interestingly, this reference indicates that food-related deaths have DROPPED markedly in recent years, from an estimated to 9,000 to 5,000, still way too high but a significant fact the author neglected to mention. Overall a good read, provided you take Schlosser's politics with a grain of salt.
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