Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer [Paperback]

Ester Reiter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

The author worked full-time at a Burger King outlet for ten months gathering information for this study. This text analyzes the profound effect the fast food industry has had on women's work, youth employment, the labour movement, the family, and the community. Family life, for example, has changed dramatically in the last 40 years as many activities that were traditionally part of the home have been replaced by services available in the marketplace. This study examines the way the fast food model is being adopted in other areas, such as health, and explores unionization in fast food businesses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Making Fast Food is a long overdue book designed to uncover the brutal truths about the have-a-nice-day industry of burgers and French fries ... Reiter masterfully documents, analyses and attacks the low pay and appalling working conditions of the fast food labour force." Emily Caston, City Limits, London, England. "A fascinating and highly readable study of the fast food phenomenon that has become a symbol of life in contemporary society." Diane Schoemperlen, Books in Canada. "Illuminating ... This is a thought-provoking, honest, and painstaking work." Mark Abley, Montreal Gazette. "Creative, demanding, and instructive ... It is so rare that scholars undertake this kind of field research ... [Reiter's study] will come to stand as a classic text on qualitative methodologies." Roberta Hamilton, Department of Sociology, Queen's University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Mcgill Queens Univ Pr; 2 Sub edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773513876
• ISBN-13: 978-0773513877
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,881,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I flipped for this book, December 15, 2000

By 

L C "lc70" (Binghamton, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer (Paperback)

This is a really good book!! It is a great introduction to the culture of north American capitalism, specifically from the perspective of labor. I assigned this to several of my classes when we spoke about consumption; they learned a great deal about the labor involved in consumer society... and enjoyed doing it!

Reiter set out to do a sociological/anthropological study of workers at McDonald's and fast food. Denied permission to work under the golden arches, Reiter then switched to Burger King. As a graduate student, Reiter was able to observe through participant observation what it was like to be an employee in the culture of the fast food industry.

I liked the chapter discussing the origins of mass consumerism of fast food; Rieter presents the the cliche process of "flipping burgers" within the context of Taylor's efficiency models, and Marx's discussions of class relations. In a very friendly, enjoyable way, this book gives the reader a new view on the fast food industry, how it uses labor, and creates "community" within larger corporate contexts. She also gives this sometimes belittled occupation a more human character, and helps the reader understand the cycle of class construction and worker's poverty which comes out of "flipping burgers."

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Making Fast Food in a Fast World, March 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer (Paperback)

Ester Reiter's Making Fast Food is an interesting, detailed account not only into the world of Burger King, but also into the North American culture that has permitted franchises to be representative of our fast pace world. I enjoyed this book because it included necessary facts and case studies; however, it touched on ideas to which we can all relate. The increasing participation rate of women into paid labor was discussed fervently by Reiter. As well, she wrote of struggles by minority groups and youth trying to gain employment. Both accounts are very interesting. Reiter's style of writing is professional, yet easy to follow. Reiter's ideas on how North American culture grew into a fast food world left me thinking far after I closed the book. Written from a sociological, anthropological, and cultural perspectives, Reiter's book is a joy to read.