Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (2001) is a book written by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry.

Fast Food Nation is an amazing read and a great book delving into the disgusting and somewhat horrid intricacies of the American fast food industry. It’s a book I read years ago and still have a copy of. There’s no skimping in the story-line, Eric goes right back to where it all began and takes you right through to the current day scenario (2001). Regardless of the fact that no-one should be eating fast food anyhow reading this book will only further solidify that fact.

I suppose people just continue to eat fast food either out of sheer ignorance or laziness. Meals are not centered around family or quality time. Instead it’s everyone for themselves, eating must be done quickly because the rat race must go on at your own expense. I could go on about this topic forever but I’ll try and keep it simple.

Last month they came out with a fictionalized thriller inspired by Eric Schlosser’s bestselling nonfiction expose of junk food companies. I haven’t seen the film yet but will be soon! In regards to the book I think it should become standard reading material in schools across the US.

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I saw one by RCA which just looked really crappy and would kill your eyes, the other one I saw is a new one by Sony. Sony by default is expensive and so is this book reader, not cheap at all. The technology behind it is new and I would say revolutionary which drives the price up but it’s not worth my hard earned money quite yet. It’s selling for $349 and it’s an additional $49 for the cradle, that’s in US dollars. Granted the battery will last for 7,500 page turns no matter how much time goes by.

The screen is not backlit so it won’t be a strain on the eyes, the new technology I mentioned earlier is actually thousands of tiny black and white capsules that are electronically rearranged to make up the characters on the screen. The book reader can be charged via USB on your computer and you don’t really need the cradle accessory that’s available for it. As nice as it would be to have it I can’t justify paying that much money. I mean come on I just bought a new 20 inch flat panel LG flatron widescreen monitor and it didn’t even come close to that price. It will be an interesting item to watch and hopefully the price will drop soon!

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I am currently awaiting a copy of Unborn Jesus Our Hope that has been sent to me, I am anxious to read it and once I have will be writing more about it. For now I will share with you quotes and testimonials from others:

Unborn Jesus Our Hope, a spiritual reflection upon the first nine months of Jesus’ human life, the time spent in the virginal womb of His Holy Mother, offers a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the many mysteries of the Word becoming flesh. The Patristic, Scriptural, Spiritual and Poetic texts referenced provide a rich abundance of material for study and meditation. This book promises to be a significant contribution to the further promotion of an authentic Culture of Life.

Most Reverend Bishop Robert F. Vasa
Diocese of Baker, Oregon

I was stunned with joy at the beauty of Peate’s account of the meaning for us of Unborn Jesus….Unborn Jesus Our Hope is a masterpiece. With its poetic style and theologically sound presentation, it provides a unique synthesis of contemplation and human experience. Studded with evocative quotations, the reader is invited to commune with the great perceptions of centuries of Church teachers. UNBORN JESUS OUR HOPE is a masterpiece. With its poetic style and theologically sound presentation, it provides a unique synthesis of contemplation and human experience. Studded with evocative quotations, the reader is invited to commune with the great perceptions of centuries of Church teachers. While written from a Catholic background, I believe all Christians will love this book, especially because of the constant references to Scripture.

Ronda Chervin, PhD
Professor of Philosophy
Author of numerous books about Christian living

Unborn Jesus Our Hope is an inspiring reflection on the many and varied reasons why Christ, from the first moment of His existence, was as He is today: the answer to our agonies, our miseries and our longings to serve the most defenseless of our brothers and sisters.

Judie Brown
President, American Life League

George Peate has provided us with a penetrating series of reflections over nine impressively researched chapters following the gestation of Mary’s Child who, despite his apparent confinement, has much to teach our world that is waiting for a rebirth to a richer life…Read. Reflect. Reform. Renew. This book is both timely and timeless, as well as relevant and revelatory.

Dr. Donald DeMarco
Prof. Emeritus:
St Jerome’s University
Adjunct Prof.:
Holy Apostles College & Seminary,
Mater Ecclesiae

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Held in limbo for years Moazzam saw and experienced the reality of innocents on the so called ‘war on terrorism’. Even though his reality became harsh and bleak, void of logic and reasoning he was not without his faith, his sense of humour. His interactions with soldiers in Guantanamo bay proved of interest where he learned many of the soliders hated being there just as much as the prisoners.

For all that happened Moazzam Begg is a fortunate man, one whose family rallied behind him in an effort to gain his freedom. He is now a free man, back amongst his family and I’m sure to some degree still adjusting to living in society again. I find his story in some small way a tribute to all the other countless victims with untold stories that suffer each and everyday in this world, victims without a voice. It’s well worth the read!

It’s unlikely but not impossible that Moazzam Begg will ever read this post, but if he should ever happen upon it my prayers are with you and your family Moazzam, you are a great man with a stong Faith, God bless you for all that you and your family have endured!

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While it would seem to be more of a children’s book it’s not a bad read for adults as well. This book is used in schools all over the world, from America, to Australia and Canada and the UK.

‘I am David’ doesn’t give too much background on the story, you don’t really know the actual setting at the beginning of the story or why David is where he is. However the story is mainly focused on a journey, a journey made by a young boy (12 yrs) across Europe.

‘I am David’ very much involves learning about life, whether it be emotions, people, God, faith, decision making etc. David is no ordinary boy and understands more than other children his own age. Along David’s journey his comprehension deepens as he experiences life on the ‘outside’ while making his way to Denmark.

It was a quick read, and a good book, I enjoyed it and much thanks goes to Karen for loaning it to me!

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Enough about that, time for something more interesting. I ordered this book from England a few days after it was released. To the best of my knowledge it’s not available in North America yet. I have to say I’m quite pleased with the shipping, it only took five business days to get here and that’s with standard shipping.

This is a greatly anticipated read for me, once I had read an excerpt of the book on the Guardian’s site I was intrigued.

Enemy combatant is the story of an ordinary man who has endured an extraordinary fate — he is one of the nine Britons detained in the camps at Guantánamo Bay, imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit and whose precise nature has never been determined. The US government labeled him simply an ‘enemy combatant’. (How convenient of them)

Moazzam was abducted at his home in Pakistan, he had been working on education and water projects. He was taken first to the US detention facility at Kandahar, then on to Bagram, and finally to Guantánamo Bay. In all he spent three years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, and was subjected to over three hundred interrogations, as well as death threats and torture, witnessing the killings of two detainees. He was released early in 2005 without explanation or apology.The book provides insight into the mentalities of his captors and those who interrogated him. It describes not only the meaningless questioning from the different so called intelligence agencies, but also the differing views on the ‘war on terror’ he encountered from the US soldiers on guard detail.

My reading begins tonight…I shall do a review on the book once I’m finished reading, which I’m sure won’t take long!

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