Book Review: "Don’t Eat This Book" by Morgan Spurlock

How great are the bargain sections in bookstores? I picked this book up for about $3 because the back cover has a very slight tear in the corner. Considering how often I spill food on books/drop them/fold them inconsiderately, a little tear doesn’t do much to worry me. Especially not when the book is of the health variety!

Morgan Spurlock is the “producer, director, and guinea pig” of the documentary Super Size Me (I’m SURE you all remember the controversy that the film sparked!). This book is a sort of follow-up to that movie, with a focus on the schemes involved in the marketing business and the effects that it has on kids. He discusses the connections between tobacco companies and fast food chains, and provides detailed research information on various studies that have been conducted. He also talks about his experiences with Super Size Me, so its interesting to read about what happened even more so behind the scenes of that movie and the days and months following the making of the film. His tone, especially when peppered with anecdotal evidence and hard facts regarding the changes in our society, is a very comfortable one. This is the kind of book that you can pick up, read a couple pages, and then set down again to wander off in search of a snack. You can return hours or days later, read a few more pages/chapters/half the book, and then wander off again. Sometimes I find that health books can be very heavy and written in an intense voice, requiring some concentration or at least a certain mindset in order to process and understand the information given. They can become tedious if the writer isn’t all that engaging, and in an effort to be as professional as possible the author can occasionally get carried away with a more literature-based voice (which, if you aren’t in the mood for it, can be rather tiresome).

Luckily, Spurlock’s book isn’t of that variety, and it is instead a breezy read that will grab everyones attention. If you’re trying to convince someone of the dangers of junk food or the appalling practices of marketing schemes, all you have to do is flip open this book to virtually any page and hand it over. You’ll convince them pretty quick of the validity of your argument!

I would love to provide you with some short quotes from the book, but to be honest, as I was reading I couldn’t choose from all of the information that he presents to the reader. Every page is filled with fascinating information and really engaging ideas that its impossible to make a choice between them. Among other things, he talks about the state of medical schools and doctors’ lack of nutrition knowledge, the state of our education systems and the efforts to reel children in to fast food at an early age, the history of the fast food industry and the global issues involved with obesity issues and food distribution. He also brings to attention how celebrities and even Olympic events are sponsored by companies such as McDonalds, and the ridiculous contradictions involved with these people selling out in this way.

I sincerely enjoyed this book, especially for all of the snippets of info that Spurlock offers. You can really just open this book on any page to learn some random fact. Its a good introduction piece to getting started into reading health books or if you are just starting to learn about nutrition. Even if you do know a thing or two about nutrition, its a great eye-opener and its really interesting how it delves into the history behind restaurants and processed food in our society. This is a leisurely sort of read if you aren’t interested in anything too heavy, and if Super Size Me intrigued you, then this will be ideal for you.

What books will you be reading this week? What books have you read recently that were really good?

Happy reading!