Reviews

The Anatomy of Bibliomania by Holbrook Jackson

jb16772's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

After reading the first three Reacher novels in a row I immediately started on this fourth novel. That was a few years ago, and I couldn't get through the first part. I recently started reading the book again, and it was difficult to put down. I usually switch between a novel and some non-fiction but not for the few days that I read this book. I just couldn't wait to see how it continued.

dar_muzz's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Nestle (no relation) proves that Big Food is just as bad as Big Tobacco and Big Pharma.

The author speaks for population health - what is best for the majority. She takes exception with the notion that all foods are good foods and moderation is the key. Knowing that most people consume the Standard American Diet and should reduce saturated fats and added sugars, she criticizes beef and dairy lobbyists as well as fast food, soft drink and candy makers. (She doesn't support low-fat processed foods or artificial sweeteners either). While she doesn't recommend eliminating these foods, she doesn't like their influence on government policy and public education, in the forms of funding political candidates and creating public campaigns against government regulation. As with all other consumer issues, the industries complain about "the nanny state" and how regulations take away freedoms.

American food education, marketing, lobbying and legislation of the 1990s are analyzed in detail. It now reads as history. I remember all the issues and campaigns cited, such as efforts to improve school lunches and get sugary soft drinks out of schools, efforts to reduce the advertising of junk food to children, the introduction of fat substitute Olestra to the market, the right of processed food makers to put nutrition claims on their products, the right of supplement makers not to have to establish that their products work, the influence of "big agriculture" on the food pyramid, the influence of corporate funding on dieticians' research, and so on. A preface and afterword to the 10th anniversary edition provide updates and context.

Anyone who has a keen interest in food and was around long enough to follow these U.S. stories in the 90s might enjoy the book; I did. Readers under 40 will want to look for another source!

cathasach's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I finally read this out of curiosity and I have to say, it's just not really my cup of tea (no pun intended) but also not horrible. I just found myself a little bored with it and thought it was a little too random for my taste but it is a classic and I couldn't pass it up.

maxines_obsessions's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This is an incredibly creative book, and I liked how descriptive it was.
I thought the characters were lacking any depth, but that may be because I didn't always understand what they were saying. Also Alice has to be one of the most irritating characters I've come across in a while. She came across as a spoilt little brat, who thought she was better then everyone.

butterbee's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

"She was a woman afraid of never feeling, and he was a man afraid of feeling too much."

Old school western romance with a marriage of convenience (kinda?) and a beta hero. We met Bailee, who after a series of unexpected events, ends up married to Carter. They learn and grow together, facing challenges along the way. Sweet romance, on the slow-burn side. <3

jcwlib's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

http://bibliophibian.blogspot.com/2013/04/cbr5-5-secret-garden-by-francis-hodgson.html
More...