Monday, July 2, 2012

Blurbage, July 2012

The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table. Tracie McMillan. Scribner, 2012.

"To uncover the truth behind how our modrern food system works, McMillan took jobs in a supermarket produce section, a chain restaurant kitchen, and the fields alongside migrant laborers. If you eat, you owe it to yourself to read this masterful book."

                            -- Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland

Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion. Janet Reitman. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

"Inside Scientology goes beyond the celebrities and the scandals -- though they're here -- to find in Scientology a more profound story about 'technology' as an article of faith and faith as a vessel for science, or, at least, science fiction."

                            -- Jeff Sharlet, author of C Street

 

The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water. Charles Fishman. Free Press, 2011.

"After Reading The Big Thirst, you'll never look at a lawn sprinkler, the ocean, or even a glass of tap water the same way again. Consider:

  • The U.S. uses more water each day than it uses oil in a year.
  • Most of our water use is hidden -- the electricity we use at home requires 250 gallons of water per person each day. A single day's meals for a typical American requires 450 gallons of water.
  • Dramatic progress is possible in reimagining water use. The U.S. uses less total water today than it did in 1980 -- despite an economy that is twice as large."
                            -- from the dust jacket

The Richer Sex: How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners Is Transforming Sex, Love, and Family. Liza Mundy. Simon & Schuster, 2012.

"Mundy has written a visionary, optimistic, inspiring book about the future of gender relations in America... This is the rare book about the future that tells you not only where we're headed but why we should want to arrive."

                            -- Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist    


"The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table" By Tracie McMillan Photo: Scribner / SF