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I hen that first printing sold out. And then the second printing did, too. And then the third ...

A year and a half and roughly 300,000 copies later, Nation has been unanimously declared the biggest surprise nonfiction bestseller of the century.

In the afterward to the paperback edition, Schlosser chalks up Nation's popularity to timing. "Its success should not be attributed to my literary style, my storytelling ability or to the novelty of my arguments ... Not just in the United States but throughout Western Europe, people are beginning to question the massive, homogenizing systems that produce, distribute and market their food."

All humility aside, Schlosser's thorough reporting and compelling narrative obviously made some difference. (After all, he's not the first person to assert that consolidation is bad for small farmers or that meat packing plants abuse their largely immigrant workforce.)

But what's really fueled the book's success has been its careful examination of the process involved in making fast food so unremarkable. No element of modern American culture goes untouched. MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers won't be surprised (much) by Schlosser's description of how agricultural land, food and meat quality are harmed by industrial production. But even knowledgeable readers might be surprised to learn how even the smallest children are targeted in the plans to make fast food chains indispensable to Americans.

- Sarah Beth Cavanah

To order Fast Food Nation, see MOTHER'S Bookshelf, Page 104.

Fast Food Facts: One in eight American workers has worked for McDonald's. McDonald's is the largest beef buyer in the One in three meat processing plant workers is reported injured on the job each year, more are unreported. - From Fast Food

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