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DON’T EAT THIS BOOK

Name: DON’T EAT THIS BOOK
Author: Morgan Spurlock
ISBN: 0-399-25360-1

FAST FOOD AND THE SUPERSIZING OF AMERICA

by Morgan Spurlock ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2005

A powerful work of reporting and punditry.

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Spurlock, the man behind the hit documentary Super Size Me, again savages the fast-food industry.

If you saw the film, you know that Spurlock undertook an experiment: eating only McDonald’s food for one month. Here, he translates his critique from film to book, and the result is, if possible, even more disturbing than the film. America is fatter than ever, and unhealthier than ever, and a good chunk of the blame lies with the fast-food industry. The statistics Spurlock marshals are stomach-turning: Americans spend $124 billion a year on fast food, and over the years, portions have increased. In 2001, 21 percent of Americans were clinically obese, up from 12 percent in 1991. This even affects airlines—our extra weight makes planes heavier, which increases fuel costs. If those stats don’t make you think twice next time you’re heading to the Golden Arches, Spurlock’s dissection of fat, sugar and, um, the fecal matter that often makes its way into beef will. We meet Matt Malmgren, who has a collection of McDonald’s burgers dating back to 1991—they sit on his bookshelves, indestructible. (Even his “dogs lose interest after the first couple of days.”) In fact, is fast food even food? Spurlock’s muckraking leads one to conclude that it’s not. Perhaps the most harrowing sections here are those about children—concerning the rise in obesity and decline in exercise in juvenile populations, the attendant health problems, and the despicable complicity of public school cafeterias and vending machines in fattening up our kids. Ultimately, Spurlock questions not only the fast-food industry but consumerism in general and a society whose people have time neither to shop for food nor to cook. Spurlock delivers all of this in his trademark take-no-prisoners style and with a humor that saves him from sounding pious or self-satisfied.

A powerful work of reporting and punditry.

Pub Date: May 19, 2005

ISBN: 0-399-25360-1

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2005

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.