In his nonfiction essay-type book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser tells the behind-the-scenes story of the fast food industry in America. He begins by describing top secret American military base, Cheyenne Mountain, and tells of a Dominoes pizza being delivered to it. As the chapters go on, Schlosser describes not only the health side of the fast food issue, but the sides of ethics, publicity, and buisness.
The book surprises right from the start. One might expect that ia book of its title and theme would focus on nutrition, spewing facts and demanding its readers eat healthier. Fast Food Nation does very little of this. Rather, it focuses on how fast food became an industry and how its nutrition and young marketing targets are more buisness moves than anything. Schlosser compares childhood friends Ray Kroc and Walt Disney and how they developed their family friendly buisnesses similarly. He tells how early developers of fast food worked earnestly to make a buisness. Such explanations are dual-purpose; they tell the backstory of fast food and create a well-rounded tone for the book.
I would recommend this book for anyone curious about the way the fast food industry is run and what makes it something considered so bad for the consumer. The book has its gross-out moments, (Example: Chapter 10 regarding the inner workings of an American slaughterhouse) but if one can stomach through it, they will be graced with a great, eye-opening read.
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