Paperback, 383 pages
English language
Published July 5, 2005 by Harper Perennial.
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. (back cover)
It's not the most enjoyable reading experience, but it's a powerful one. Schlosser rips off the curtain covering America's fast food industry and reveals the ugly truths behind it. It's The Jungle (1906) of it's day. After reading it, I stopped eating fast food. It has been decades since I've eaten MacDonald's, Burger King or their equivalents.
