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Summary: You'll Never Eat At McDonalds Burger King again
Review: I Like this book.. It is interesting.. enlightening.. and it tells us what we kind of know already..how we have been over run with fast food chains, and fake food. Eat at "In and Out Burgers" its the only real fast food left out there. And no I dont own stock in In & Out..but I should they cook their food right there on the premises, they dont own a freezer.. This book just tells us how we have been slowly duped, hoodwinked..by the fast food industry. Get this book..it will change your eating habits.
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Summary: Great book!
Review: I definitely recommend this book! It is as much a history of the development of the United States as it is about the fast food industry. I really liked reading about the founders of the fast food industry and other business owners. The writing style is excellent and it's like reading a story told by a friend. I really felt bad for some of the people in the story and this book really informs about the entire industry. I still quote many items from the book, especially "de-skilling" jobs. When a job is de-skilled, the employee just goes through the motions. Well done, book. I gave 5 stars even though I agree with other critics that it blames Republicans too much. Whenever something good happens when a Republican is President, then the Democrats in the senate are given the credit and when something bad happens when a Democrat is President, then the Republicans in the senate are blamed. I think the only blame should go to the corporations that own the fast food industry. Other than that, this book is a keeper!!
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Summary: A Darkly, Starkly Look At US...in the USA
Review: What a remarkably exhaustive researcharama completed by Author Schlosser! Is this book worth reading? Should be required reading for Americans, especially for high school students. I want to put this book in the hands of so many. As a vegetarian since 1972, I haven't been a patron of fast foods. But this book isn't just about "food" it's about the evolution of American business ethos; it's about the manipulation of blue collar and high school workers; it's about the country you live in and how it functions to the disinterest of the populace, and only in the interest of palace politics. Read it! Please?
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Summary: Interesting view of McCulture that strays
Review: Schlosser's Fast Food Nation is an eye opening look at what America has become in terms of eating habits, and as a look at the McCulture that has been formed, it is a very good read. But after a while, it seems that the author wanted to write two books, and put them into one. We start out with an overview of the rise of the fast food culture in America, showing the fascinating story of how we got to where we are in a short time. But then he strays to the burger (and more specifically McDonalds) culture of fast food. Here it is still interesting, talking about the darker side of fast food in terms of employment, and the effects on farmers with the rise of the french fry. But by the middle of the book, Schlosser is fancying himself the modern Upton Sinclair as he disects into the, well disgusting, world of meat production. What he writes is certainly eye opening and stomach churning. I know that I don't go to the store and look at ground beef the same way any more. But at this point it's Beef, Beef, Beef. All other fast foods are dropped by the wayside. There is no exploration of other companies in the fast food world really, nor is there any look at the way the companies interact. Instead of Fast Food Nation it becomes McDonalds Hamburger Nation. Finally he looks at some of the international impact, again focusing on McDonalds in the world, though he does wryly note that internationally Pizza Hut is often not thought of as American, and thus seems to avoid some Anti-American rioting that occurs. He starts out strong, and while what he says is certainly relevant and interesting, he drops the ball of his original target as he goes along. A very interesting, if flawed, book.
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Summary: A good read, sure, BUT....
Review: I appreciate the light shed on an undoubtedly shady industry, but allow me, as a chef with 12 years experience, to enlighten you: It's not just fast food. Sure, fast food places are more likely to be scummy than traditional restaurants, but you could be exposed to the same dangers there. Who's to say your favorite Italian joint around the corner doesn't have a shady purveyor? How do you know the cooks back there are clean people? You think Outback steak houses get their beef from some magical farm with miles and miles of grazing land? Wrong. Do you know how many Outbacks there are? Same growth hormones, pal. Same corn that the animals can't even digest, which is why we give them antibiotics in the first place. What I'm saying is this: It all depends on your crew and on your suppliers, and while I appreciate the author's research, I found the book a tad alarmist.
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Summary: A Foreigner's point of view
Review: I grew up in Asia and left my country before the first fast food store/McDonald's opened in our capital. In other words, I spent 17 years not eating or knowing fast food. However my cousin who's 10 years younger grew up with increasing number of American fast food outlets in her town. Now she can't go for two days without eating a fast food meal (and she's still back in my home country). I do believe what the author stated that the fast food chains want to hook the devotees from as young as possible. After reading the book, I am glad that I did not grow up with fast food and I have no craving whatsoever. But I do feel sorry for the younger generations who are fed with fast food both at home and in school. They have to spend a life time fighting to get the 'addiction' out of their system. Although a bit more time consuming but there's nothing that can compare to a home cook meal be it by yourself, your mom/dad, or your spouse.
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Summary: It Was Like A Scary Movie That Was Just Too Good!
Review: FAST FOOD NATION is like a scary move that is just too good! It covers the "Dark Side" of the fast food industry; the politics, the greed, the corporation, the socio-economics and the dirty corporate strategies of the fast food giants. This book truly opened my eyes to the real story behind those cheap hamburgers, fries, shakes and nuggets!!! The horror!!! It made me hunger for more knowledge... It was hard to put down. I kept asking myself "What's next?"... I would stay awake at night, reading page after page late into the night. I couldn't sleep. I even read pages outloud to my husband and shocked him with the details so much that he vows never to eat at another fast food restaurant ever again. If you've ever eaten at a fast food restaurant, I bet you never will again after you read this book!
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Summary: Consumer Cash Cow
Review: This book should be added to every high school syllabus required reading list. Schlosser, in thorough detail examines and scrutinizes the fast food market, primarily McDonald's, with alarming and shocking statistics. Beyond a comprehensive overview of the origins of the fast food market, he discusses job safety, the high involvement government plays, and some grisly details about what you're actually putting in your mouth. The paperback contains a new afterward that covers the recent outbreak of Mad Cow Disease in Europe, as well as addressing some of the negative reactions to the book. Will it stop you from going through the drive thru some night for a Big Mac? Maybe not, but it'll definitely give you a little more food for thought with your extra value meal.
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Summary: Generations and Freedom
Review: Like reviewer John Calvin Jones, who is apparently an academically oriented person, I draw from a deep and wide background to say congratulations to Eric Scholosserer for "Fast Food Nation."What is sad is the split between those who are already aware of the ugly side of the food industry, and not only just fast food, and those who cry "bias." Of course he has a bias--FOR health and decent treatment, Is that bad? I won't repeat the position and points of Jones and a few others (I didn't read every review--400 +--but find a naivete that I hope Scholosser can crack--a little. Wake up.) Whether we want it or not we have ultra serious issues in our society--and food--nutrition--is at the base of it. Schlosser is a scholar and a prophet. Listen up, young folk! If you're going to be skeptical, be sure you're on firm ground (not chemical gunk.)
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Summary: Bad tastes are in the eye of the beholder
Review: A recent reviewer of this book was disappointed, as Schlosser focuses (perhaps incorrectly) on the profits made by fast food joints in part of this book. However, I still recommend it as a powerful read. Despite how statistics may have been "twisted", profit is not the only thing Schlosser attacks in /Fast Food Nation/. Among the other, more pertinent, problems he discusses are the heavy pressure of advertising in the United States and how fast food companies contribute to it, how illegal immigrants working at meat processing plants are exploited and driven like slaves to keep the price of fast food cheap, and the strange practice of franchising, all of which he covers in gross detail. There are still few reasons not to recommend /Fast Food Nation/ to anyone who supports the entire business; if you're still too wary to buy the book, I'd advise taking it out from the library to see if it's really just media propaganda.
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