Synopsis
Eric Schlosser’s extremely compelling, un-nerving attack on America's fast food industry is done with care and precision as he addresses different aspects of restaurants like McDonald’s--from the meat-packing industry to how flavorings are chemically created in the lab. Sharing a history of the birth of fast food, Schlosser goes on to prove how this industry has radically transformed the country’s health, cultural machinations, and more. This is a must-read for anyone interested in factory farming, the food industry, and the continuing transformation of America into a mono-culture.

The author attacks America's fast food industry, blaming it for the downfall of the contemporary American lifestyle. He blames burgers and shakes, readily available on the way home from work, for reducing quality time families once shared in their kitchens and dining rooms. He also condemns the industry for promoting high-fat diets, which he believes may be responsible for many health problems.

Details
Publication Date:	2002-01-01
Edition Description:	Reprint

Size
Length:	383 pages
Height:	8.0 in
Width:	5.5 in
Thickness:	1.0 in
Weight:	11.2 oz

Publisher's Note

Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but here Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.

Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from California's subdivisions where the business was born to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike where many fast food's flavors are concocted. Along the way, he unearths a trove of fascinating, unsettling truths -- from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has wrought in food production, popular culture, and even real estate. He also uncovers the fast food chains' disturbing efforts to reel in the youngest, most susceptible consumers even while they hone their institutionalized exploitation of teenagers and minorities.

Industry Reviews
"Schlosser makes a powerful argument against an industry that exploits its workers, destroys the environment and creates an obese society in the relentless pursuit of profit."
Book - Houghton Mifflin

"...FAST FOOD NATION is a tool for understanding the nature of corporate capitalism in the 21st century."
London Review of Books - James Meek (05/24/2001)

"Eric Schlosser provides a view of the country and its people that is both rich and disturbing."
Times Literary Supplement - Sidney Mintz (09/14/2001)

"[T]he good news is that this isn't a frivolous book at all. Schlosser is a serious and diligent reporter, and ''Fast Food Nation'' isn't an airy deconstruction but an avalanche of facts and observations as he examines the fast-food process from meat to marketing. Or maybe that's the bad news. One of the central themes here is the degree to which the modern fast-food business is defined by the industrialization of most of its parts, a development whose consequences Schlosser sees as almost universally negative."
New York Times - Rob Walker (01/21/2001)

"An exemplary blend of polemic and journalism, guaranteed to put you off your lunch."
Kirkus Reviews (12/01/2000)