Fast Food Nation

January 15, 2001
Schlosser's incisive history of the development of American fast food indicts the industry for some shocking crimes against humanity, including systematically destroying the American diet and landscape, and undermining our values and our economy. The first part of the book details the postwar ascendance of fast food from Southern California, assessing the impact on people in the West in general. The second half looks at the product itself: where it is manufactured (in a handful of enormous factories), what goes into it (chemicals, feces) and who is responsible (monopolistic corporate executives). In harrowing detail, the book explains the process of beef slaughter and confirms almost every urban myth about what in fact "lurks between those sesame seed buns." Given the estimate that the typical American eats three hamburgers and four orders of french fries each week, and one in eight will work for McDonald's in the course of their lives, few are exempt from the insidious impact of fast food. Throughout, Schlosser fires these and a dozen other hair-raising statistical bullets into the heart of the matter. While cataloguing assorted evils with the tenacity and sharp eye of the best investigative journalist, he uncovers a cynical, dismissive attitude to food safety in the fast food industry and widespread circumvention of the government's efforts at regulation enacted after Upton Sinclair's similarly scathing novel exposed the meat-packing industry 100 years ago. By systematically dismantling the industry's various aspects, Schlosser establishes a seminal argument for true wrongs at the core of modern America. (Jan.) Forecast: This book will find a healthy, young audience; it's notable that the Rolling Stone article on which this book was based generated more reader mail than any other piece the magazine ran in the 1990s.

This is all-out attack on the fast food industry. With great passion, Schlosser takes on this new American icon and greets with bitter sarcasm the statements of the fast food executives who say they care about workers and consumers. This is a lively book written in journalistic fashion, and Rick Adamson captures the character of the book in his reading. He reads with a clear voice and an even pace, never stumbling over the complex names of bacteria found in meat. Sometimes the pace seems too slow and his reading overdramatic, but that may be due to the character of the text. Schlosser's description of those injured at meat-packing plants is the most compelling portion, and his description of a caring restaurant owner shows that the industry is not entirely run by cretins. M.L.C. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine