Rating: 
Summary: One of the most thought provoking books i've read in years.
Review: This well-written, and vastly researched book is a must read. Pay no attention to the reviews that rate it really low and say it's a bore, and hard to comprehend... those same people are uneducated and can't spell, how do you expect them to comprehend this fact-filled and informative book anyway? Yeah, i know this isnt really a review of this book... read some of the other reviews, or excerpts, you already know what it's about! Go right now to half.com and get your copy for 7 bucks like i did, and get reading!
Rating:
Summary: Well documented facts and history -- you LEARN something!
Review: Frankly, this book is marvelous. Read it.The book is centered on the fast food industry: how it works, where it came from, where it is going, what it has done to American society (and now increasingly the global one), etc. The book is full of documented facts. In addition, it is full of great and fascinating history: the growth of the West on the 20th century, transformation of agriculture, food processing, potatoes, beef ranchers and processors, advertising directed at children, Disney and anticommunist hysteria, fast food franchising, labor relations, exploitation of child/teenage labor, where the flavor of most foods comes from, and so on. Each chapter deal with particular aspects but all chapters hang together nicely. I found two things to be quite impressive: (1) the clarity and depth of the factual documentation of what happened and is happening. This is simply a great book because you LEARN so many things. (2) The author is, in my opinion, balanced and not a whiner. This is particularly clear in his treatment of the historical aspects as the contradictions of US society are laid out in this particular case: the good and bad about private entrepreneurs, the pluses and minuses of a fast food system that provides unhealthy food and low wages but also provides playgrounds and toys and a social environment, the role of the government in subsidizing and/or regulating, etc. I felt the author tended to show some anger and frustration on a few issues: he takes sides against the fast food companies on issues regarding SEVERE labor exploitation particularly of the poor and immigrants, easily avoidable and extremely dangerous work conditions in meat processing, and grave lack of food safety and sabotaging of the food safety system by the companies and their hired politicians. I was hard pressed to disagree. Next time you go for a fast food hamburger, you'll ask yourself the questions whose answers are always hidden by corporations: where is the food coming from? How was it produced? Is the system humane or exploitative? How did it get to become the way it is? What are the costs and consequences of this system? The book provides excellently researched facts and an overall framework to address these questions. Did I mention you have to read this book?
Rating: 
Summary: Regurgitated information...
Review: I really do hate books written by journalist's. Most of them regurgitate someone elses words and this book is no different. I decided against my better judgement to buy this book based on two friends recommendations... and now they are going to pay me back for the hours i spent reading this book! The book is written in a logical flowing manner... but i found myself blanking out through huge sections of the book... "blah blah blah... The houses seem not to have been constructed by hand but manufactured by some gigantic machine... blah blah blah... mcdonalds...blah blah blah soviet bombers... blah blah blah...USDA... blah blah blah... " Honestly... it didn't turn me off fast food- i enjoy being a part of the masses- a consumer... i enjoy marketing strategies and how ingenious they are... in fact i think i will go enjoy some e.coli 0157:h7 topped with some shigella between two sesame buns right now!
Rating: 
Summary: Fast Food Nation
Review: I enjoyed reading the book very much, although I thought that the book could have examined some of the issues more thoroughly. The first half of the book examines the cultural history of fast food from the creation of burger restuarants to labor practices. The second half discusses food practices such as the meat packing industry. I think though that a part that was missing from the book that is very important to a "fast food nation" is an examination of why Americans enjoy the food so much. I didn't feel the book touched on this topic as much. Overall the book was easy reading and I learned a lot of information that I found very interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Scared me off meat!
Review: Fast Food Nation is a multi-faceted look at the industry of fast food. From the health risks of eating meat with fecal matter in it, to the social costs of an industry that ignores its horrific impact on the employees that drive it, this book will give you plenty of reasons to stay away from fast food.
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Summary: There's too much and not enough to this book...
Review: For anyone that is thinking about reading this book, because you are going to follow in the coat-tails of so many that have already, I say to you, if you do not want jargan and enough figures to make your head ache, then don't bother.
While the book does repersent an O.K. study of the "fast food" industry, this book is probally not what the average reader thinks it is. It is filled with senseless numbers, statements, and terms that will make the average reader lose interest or pretend that they understand everything.
This book is one of which many people won't finish, or will stuggle though to have that accomplishment. I say this, because this book is not leasure reading, and is even heavy with figures and data for a unprofessional journal.
Whoever is out there looking for a book to read about the fast-food industry, and all the sick attributes that go along with it, look for another book or go work for one.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much to Digest
Review: I thought this book would be an interesting read. Some parts are, but the rest of the book just goes on and on and on. Schlosser needed to do more editing on this book. The book had anti-business tones sprinkled throughout and the author believes that the Fast Food Industry is responsible for peoples health problems and obeseity. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Whoever doesn't know that fast food is not very good for you is quite ignorant.
Rating:
Summary: cow manure lurking in the beef...
Review: and other things you never, but SHOULD know about what's in fast food. just one of the many items described in the book such as: -- how a man fell into a machine was turned into canned lard by falling into the machinery and WAS NOT discovered until the items were already distributed and sold!
-- meat packers can pack millions of pounds of meat but hire poor, uneducated migrant workers to operate sophisticated machinery with little training.
--remember all those ground beef recalls? they were all voluntary - becuase the USDA lacks the power to force companies to recall tainted meat. by the time these recalls were announced, most of the meat had already been sold and consumed. READ THIS BOOK, AND I GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH ANOTHER BIG MAC AGAIN!
Rating:
Summary: Don't eat during breakfast!
Review: You'll be very careful about what you eat after reading Fast Food Nation. Not only does it have drastic effects on the world's health, but Fast Food impacts all sorts of other things -the environment, children's education, worker's unions, and the minimum wage. You'll learn about the unsafe conditions in the meat factories and the prevalance of e coli. You'll learn about how fast food chains have infiltrated our schools and foreign countries, and about the obesity epidemic in the US. Reading this book changed my mind about unions. While formerly I had believed they were bad for society, I now see why there is a need. Eric spends quite some time discussing the plight of the transient workers who process and serve our hamburgers. Better treatment of workers and animals would produce healthier meat and a healthier society, and Eric Schlosser always shows an alternative. From the pizza franchise that gives college scholarships to its workers to the beef farm that allows its cows to roam free, there is a good example to counter every sad story. Still, the majority of fast food practices harm us. This book will tell you how they harm us and even suggest ways that each of us can make a change. It is pointed out that these multi-national franchise have and will continue to change to please their customer base. This is one of the few social issue books that makes the reader feel empowered.
Rating:
Summary: Leftist Propaganda Slop
Review: The first red flag went up when Schlosser mentioned the formation of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang coinciding with the founding of McDonalds in San Bernadino, CA. The first real FACT (that was not ubiquitous common knowledge) appeared about page 119. Schlosser spends most of this book decrying the woeful state of affairs in capitalist America. Most of what he has to say has nothing whatever to do with the evils of fast food. Karl Marx would be proud.
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