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Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom Hardcover – June 25, 2019

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 213 ratings

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“This is a book to savor, especially if you’re a fast-food fan.”―Bookpage

"This fun, argumentative, and frequently surprising pop history of American fast food will thrill and educate food lovers of all speeds."
Publishers Weekly

Most any honest person can own up to harboring at least one fast-food guilty pleasure.
In Drive-Thru Dreams, Adam Chandler explores the inseparable link between fast food and American life for the past century. The dark underbelly of the industry’s largest players has long been scrutinized and gutted, characterized as impersonal, greedy, corporate, and worse. But, in unexpected ways, fast food is also deeply personal and emblematic of a larger than life image of America.

With wit and nuance, Chandler reveals the complexities of this industry through heartfelt anecdotes and fascinating trivia as well as interviews with fans, executives, and workers. He traces the industry from its roots in Wichita, where White Castle became the first fast food chain in 1921 and successfully branded the hamburger as the official all-American meal, to a teenager's 2017 plea for a year’s supply of Wendy’s chicken nuggets, which united the internet to generate the most viral tweet of all time.

Drive-Thru Dreams by Adam Chandler tells an intimate and contemporary story of America―its humble beginning, its innovations and failures, its international charisma, and its regional identities―through its beloved roadside fare.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of July 2019: Oh, fast food...that much maligned bastion of American eats that sprang to life with the birth of car culture and embedded itself in cities and towns across the United States. Fast food often gets a bad rap, but the truth is Americans still harbor a (sometimes secret) love for it. In Drive-Thru Dreams, Adam Chandler introduces us to the entrepreneurs, drop-outs, and dreamers who built empires out of nothing, and mentored others to follow in their footsteps. We meet the people who work in fast food restaurants and those who gather around their Formica tables— these are places where all share a common experience, rich or poor, young or old. Fast food has changed over the decades, including the re-branding of such establishments as quick-serve restaurants. Chandler looks at the evolution of the industry’s business models and menu items, from healthier options embraced (or shunned) by consumers to what you’ll find at franchises around the globe. Drive-Thru Dreams is a fascinating and incredibly fun read that will change the way you think about this most American of industries. ---Seira Wilson, Amazon Book Review

Review

A Publishers Weekly Book of the Week

“This is a book to savor, especially if you’re a fast-food fan.”―Bookpage

"This fun, argumentative, and frequently surprising pop history of American fast food will thrill and educate food lovers of all speeds."
Publishers Weekly

"
Drive-Thru Dreams is one of my favorite food books ever." ―Ed Levine, founder of Serious Eats

"Adam Chandler makes the case that our love for fast food is a defining part of American culture. I spent much of my childhood chasing Happy Meal toys and clamoring for Blizzards. If you did, too, this book’s for you." ― Brandon Canter,
NPR

"Eminently readable, smart, and fascinating,
Drive-Thru Dreams is, belying its subject matter, a full meal." ―Entertainment Weekly

"An entertaining treatise on how fast food has changed American culture, and been changed by it, Adam Chandler traces its history from the beginnings of White Castle to today." ―Business Insider

"Before anyone casts judgment upon fast food, Chandler asks readers to take a much closer look at all the outcomes and influences of this industry, how these businesses both provide employment and act as equalizing venues of social interaction.... In Chandler’s version of the narrative, these corporate behemoths are still made up of people. He shares a host of anecdotes about some ever-fascinating individuals, from servers to CEO’s."
―Booklist,
starred review

"The sprawling, silly, rigorous, empathetic pop history of fast food I've always wanted to read, executed more perfectly than I could have ever dreamed."
―Helen Rosner

"This book will completely change the way even the fiercest health advocate thinks about our nutritional landscape. There is no road to reform without understanding the ways fast food is woven into American history and culture, which Adam Chandler articulates brilliantly."
―James Hamblin, M.D., author of
If Our Bodies Could Talk

"Driven by relentless curiosity, a sharp mind, and an honest affection for America’s fast food,
Drive-Thru Dreams splits the difference between structural analysis and charming storytelling, and makes a compelling case that to understand fast food is to understand America. Whether chronicling the industry’s birth among rags-to-riches pioneers or tracing the startling symbiosis between social media and fast food sales, Chandler brings our understanding of fast food into the twenty-first century."
―Tracie McMillan, author of
The American Way of Eating

"
Drive-Thru Dreams creatively and playfully explores how fast food has shaped―and continues to shape―America, daring to posit that perhaps the relationship between Americans and its franchised food establishments has been mutually beneficial. We see how fast food can be both a great equalizer in American society and a source of strife and class differentiation. I couldn’t help but be inspired by Chandler’s thoughtful account of this uniquely American phenomenon."―Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto

"
Drive-Thru Dreams is a key text to understanding the American love affair with fast food and the culture around it, including its economic impact and fandoms. This spicy and humorous narrative feels personal while writing the necessary chapter of what may be, for good or ill, some of America's most consumed chow. Brilliant and necessary."
―Michael Twitty, James Beard Award winning author of
The Cooking Gene

"On the page, terrific writers know how to have their cake (or their Big Mac) and eat it, too. Adam Chandler is such a writer, and
Drive-Thru Dreams, his account of the wild and inalienable wonderland of American fast food, gives us not just insight and history but a pleasure that is downright gustatory."
― Vijay Seshadri, Pulitzer Prize winning author of
3 Sections

"Adam Chandler puts the country on a griddle with his juicy defense of that much-maligned national obsession, fast food. It’s a delicious full-item, be-pickled feast of high calorie Americana―including dad jokes. What a book! I’m hungry!"
―Nicholas Dawidoff, author of
The Catcher Was a Spy and The Crowd Sounds Happy

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Flatiron Books (June 25, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250090725
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250090720
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.79 x 1.17 x 8.52 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 213 ratings

About the author

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Adam Chandler
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Adam Chandler is a journalist and author based in New York. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, WIRED, Vox, Slate, New York Magazine, Texas Monthly, Esquire, TIME, and elsewhere. Chandler is the author of Drive-Thru Dreams (2019) and 99% Perspiration (2025).

Previously, Chandler served as a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covered business, culture, politics, and foreign affairs. In addition to stints at start-ups, non-profits, and in publishing, Chandler also tended bar for six years at The Brandy Library, Fresh Salt, Lexington Bar & Books, and West 3rd Common. (He has been generously credited with introducing at least two patrons to their future spouses.)

He has appeared across television, radio, and digital platforms including five seasons of The History Channel’s The Food That Built America as well as Modern Marvels, The Today Show, Hardball, CBS Sunday Morning, National Geographic’s The ‘80s, BBC’s World News America and Context, and NPR’s Morning Edition, Planet Money, 1A, and On Point. Chandler grew up in Houston, Texas, and is a graduate of George Washington University and the MFA Creative Nonfiction Program at Sarah Lawrence College. At least one of his stories has been mocked during a live New York Mets broadcast.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
213 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative and interesting, with fresh insights into fast food history and culture. They describe it as a great, fun read with a thoughtful writing style that is witty without being unserious. The pacing is described as captivating and delightful.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

18 customers mention "Informational"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and interesting. They say it provides a fascinating look into the world of fast food, using food as a great way to discuss history and culture. The book is well-written and engaging, with fresh insights and familiar observations. It offers a scholarly yet affectionate look at American history told through fast food chains.

"...artfully defy my dispositions, presenting a broad and balanced view of the fast-food landscape, and more crucially its relevance in our national..." Read more

"Good stories about fast food and drive thru icons and how they got started...." Read more

"This book is a joy to read. This is a fascinating dive into the world of fast food, and I've enjoyed every page of it...." Read more

"...away by the way Mr. Chandler is able to not only share incredibly interesting stories and tie it back into the social fabric of the country and it's..." Read more

17 customers mention "Readability"17 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read. They describe it as a great summer read with an engaging writing style and delightful pace.

"...Damn fine book. Highly recommended." Read more

"This book is a joy to read. This is a fascinating dive into the world of fast food, and I've enjoyed every page of it...." Read more

"...country and it's history but do so in a way that is captivating, entertaining, and incredibly funny." Read more

"...John Grisham 3)Adam Chandler This is a great book and Mr. Chandler’s witty and thoughtful writing style lend to a superb and..." Read more

6 customers mention "Humor"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor. They find the writing style witty and thoughtful, making it funny without being unserious or too clever. The personal and poetic tone runs through the book.

"...ease between modes historical, anthropological, personal, and poetic- with his waggish humor running through it all. Damn fine book...." Read more

"...history but do so in a way that is captivating, entertaining, and incredibly funny." Read more

"...Adam Chandler This is a great book and Mr. Chandler’s witty and thoughtful writing style lend to a superb and delightful pace...." Read more

"...Funny without being unserious, smart without being too clever, Drive-Thru Dreams is one of the better nonfiction books I've read in recent years...." Read more

5 customers mention "Pacing"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's pacing engaging. They describe it as an informative and entertaining look at the fast food empire. The author provides a unique perspective on compelling figures who helped transform fast food. The writing is described as lively, with wit and fresh insights.

"...But this book managed to artfully defy my dispositions, presenting a broad and balanced view of the fast-food landscape, and more crucially its..." Read more

"...fabric of the country and it's history but do so in a way that is captivating, entertaining, and incredibly funny." Read more

"A scholarly but affectionate look at America's -- and by extension the world's -- favourite treat. (But I feel the book could have been longer.)" Read more

"Drive-Thru Dreams is a terrific book. It's an informative and entertaining look at the empire of Fast Food which, despite its international reach,..." Read more

YUMMY BOOK❣️📚
5 out of 5 stars
YUMMY BOOK❣️📚
Delightful, surprising Details about nearly EVERYTHING Fast Food here in the good old USA …. And beyond❣️😊
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2019
    I've never been particularly attracted to fast-food, either as the focus of books and documentaries, or as a dietary staple (readers inclined in any of the above directions will be richly rewarded.) But this book managed to artfully defy my dispositions, presenting a broad and balanced view of the fast-food landscape, and more crucially its relevance in our national fabric- for eaters of all culinary stripes. And I may never have bought in to the subject matter in the hands of another author. Chandler's writing sizzles with wit, verve, fresh insights, and familiar observations freshly turned. He shifts with stylistic ease between modes historical, anthropological, personal, and poetic- with his waggish humor running through it all. Damn fine book. Highly recommended.
    20 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2023
    Good stories about fast food and drive thru icons and how they got started. Follow these iconic joints through the years and across the world and learn the impact they have on all.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2023
    This book is a joy to read. This is a fascinating dive into the world of fast food, and I've enjoyed every page of it.

    I'm just sad that the book ends.
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024
    The fast food part was great but the leftist ideology and negative American tone should have been left out.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2019
    Great summer read! Came in with mixed expectations but was absolutely blown away by the way Mr. Chandler is able to not only share incredibly interesting stories and tie it back into the social fabric of the country and it's history but do so in a way that is captivating, entertaining, and incredibly funny.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2022
    For me, the ultimate treat as a kid was a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Even for my children, the ultimate treat is a McDonald’s Happy Meal.

    Toy aside, the allure of McDonald’s was its consistency. No matter where you went, it tasted the same. It was always delicious.

    Now, is it good for me? Absolutely not. But that’s kind of the point. It’s a guilty pleasure. If you want something healthy, you do not get fast food.

    This book not only recounts the history of America’s greatest fast food chains, it also conveys how fast food shaped America and how America shaped fast food.

    Fast food history is unquestionably American history. Fast food is more American than apple pie (unless it’s one of those apple pies from McDonald’s).

    I wish the book took a more linear approach instead of bouncing between corporations, but it is clear that fast food did not originate from a single place. It was created throughout the country. Over time, with the interstate highways connecting the country, fast food connected us all.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2019
    1)Danielle Steele
    2)C.S. Lewis
    3)John Grisham
    3)Adam Chandler

    This is a great book and Mr. Chandler’s witty and thoughtful writing style lend to a superb and delightful pace. Fast food unites Americans in a special way, with fond childhood memories of Big Macs, Whoppers and french fries - and Adam captures that (and the history behind it) brilliantly in Drive Thru Dreams. Grab a milkshake (or Frosty), put on a baseball game, and read this book.
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2020
    I love food history and this quickly became one of my favorites on the topic. It talked about the influence society had on the fast food industry as well as provided detailed information on the founders of popular chains and how they got started. It covers a lot but is presented in a way that you don't feel overwhelmed with information. great book