A Mental Colon Cleanser of Sorts

Can you write a public policy book that entertains, informs and never bores its readers? Fast Food Nation author, Eric Schlosser, has done just that.

WHAT: Fast Food Nation WHERE: Your Garden-Variety Book Store HOW MUCH: $13.95

It’s hard to quickly summarize this book. Fast Food Nation is not, for instance, merely a treatise on America’s expanding waistline and growing love of all things smothered in Special Sauce. Those topics have been covered ad nauseum and would, honestly, make for a fairly boring book.

Instead, Fast Food Nation covers just about every conceivable philosophical corner of the universe that has been impacted by the fast food industry. And, believe it or not, it does so with a fair bit of humor and style.

Author Eric Schlosser sits down with the founder of Carl’s Jr. and visits the chemical labs in New Jersey where they manufacture the “tastes” for everything from Burger King milkshakes to Swanson’s chicken pot pies. Schlosser also spends time with the farmers, livestock men, gutters, teenage workers and everyday Average Joes whose lives have been dramatically altered by the fast food industry. The range of topics included in this book is staggering and includes everything from suburban sprawl to the impact of fast food culture in Europe.

The amazing thing about Fast Food Nation, though, isn’t that it covers so much terrain, but that it does so without boring you or stretching the facts. Fast Food Nation is actually very balanced. It is not, for instance, an elitist rant against “low culture”. Schlosser isn’t calling for an end to fast food, but rather, reform in the way this food is produced. Schlosser even has high praise for some fast food companies (Southern California’s In-N-Out hamburger chain, for example, runs its business in a refreshingly ethical manner).

Fast Food Nation is, at the end of the day, an interesting read and an accurate review of an industry that profoundly (if subtly) impacts life around the world. More importantly, this is a book that has appeal far beyond the typical audience which stays up at night pondering the rise of Wal-Mart and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In a sense, Schlosser has written a book that can satisfy both fans of Antique Road Show and lovers of Fear Factor. That’s a tall order, but Fast Food Nation is really that good.