Eric Schlosser

Infobox writer


imagesize = 150px
name = Eric Schlosser
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birthname = Eric Schlosser
birthdate = birth date and age|1959|8|17
birthplace = New York City
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occupation = Non-fiction writer, Journalist
nationality = American
period = 1995— present
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notableworks = "Fast Food Nation" (2000)
"Reefer Madness" (2003)
spouse = Shauna Redford
partner =
children =
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Eric Schlosser (born August 17, 1959) is an award-winning American journalist and author known for investigative or muckraking journalism. A number of critics have compared his work to the books and essays of Upton Sinclair [http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/booksellers/press_release/wilson/praise.shtml] .

Personal history

Schlosser was born in Manhattan, New York; he spent his childhood there and in Los Angeles, California. His father, Herbert Schlosser, a former Wall Street lawyer who turned to broadcasting later in his career, eventually became the President of NBC in 1974. Schlosser studied American History at Princeton University and earned a graduate degree in British Imperial History from Oxford.

Schlosser lives in California, and is working on a book about the prison system. He is married to Shauna Redford, daughter of Robert Redford, and has two children.

Work

Drama

As an aspiring playwright, Schlosser wrote the play "Americans" in 1985. It deals with the theme of American imperialism at the beginning of the 20th century, and features Leon Czolgosz, William McKinley's assassin, who shoots the President in anger over U.S. occupation of the Philippines. "Americans" was produced in 2003, but is not available in the United States. "We the People", another play drawing on American history—in this case, the events surrounding the writing of the United States Constitution—followed in 2007. [http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/docs/We%20the%20People%20press%20release.pdf]

Journalism

Schlosser started his career as a journalist with the "The Atlantic Monthly" in Boston, Massachusetts. He quickly gained recognition for his investigative pieces, earning two awards within his two years of joining the staff; he won the National Magazine Award for reporting for his two-part series “Reefer Madness” and “Marijuana and the Law” ("Atlantic Monthly", August and September, 1994), and he won the Sidney Hillman Foundation award for his article, “In the Strawberry Fields” ("Atlantic Monthly", November 19,1995). In addition to the "Atlantic Monthly", Schlosser's work has appeared in "Rolling Stone", "Vanity Fair" and "The Nation."

Books

Schlosser is known for his bestselling book, "Fast Food Nation", an exposé on the unsanitary and discriminatory practices of the fast food industry. "Fast Food Nation" evolved from a two-part article in "Rolling Stone". Schlosser helped adapt his book into a 2006 film directed by Richard Linklater. The film based opened November 19, 2006. Schlosser is credited as co-screenwriter and executive producer.

He has also written the 2003 book "Reefer Madness".

He is currently at work on a book about the American prison system.

Schlosser's work is difficult to label politically. William F. Buckley gave "Reefer Madness" a positive review [http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley061003.asp] , as did "Business Week" [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_20/b3833046_mz005.htm] and the "Financial Times". "Fortune Magazine" called "Fast Food Nation" the "Best Business Book of the Year" in 2001. [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2001/12/24/315310/index.htm] Schlosser's work has been required reading for the entire incoming freshman class at Louisiana State University [http://appl003.lsu.edu/srp/srp-fastfood.nsf/$Content/FAQ?OpenDocument] and Holy Cross [http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2003-2004/fastfood_nation] , and he gave a strongly libertarian commencement speech to the graduating class at Depauw University. [http://www.ridge414.com/files/DEC_Schlosser_Depauw_2005.pdf]

Films

Schlosser appeared in an interview for the DVD of Morgan Spurlock's "Super Size Me", having a one-on-one discussion with the filmmaker about the fast-food industry. He declined to appear in the film itself and rarely makes appearances in public. fact|date=March 2007

However, he was interviewed by Franny Armstrong in 2005 and is a feature interviewee in her film McLibel.

Schlosser also served as an executive producer on the 2007 film There Will Be Blood.

Food industry's reaction to Schlosser's work

In May 2006, Schlosser and his co-author Charles Wilson released a children's book entitled "Chew On This." The book, along with increasing publicity for the Hollywood movie based on "Fast Food Nation", resulted in 18 food industry associations launching the [http://www.bestfoodnation.com www.bestfoodnation.com] website as part of a major public relations campaign. The site presents statements about health and labor practices in the American beef, pork, dairy, potato and other industries. One page includes two press releases accusing Schlosser of publishing misinformation. [ [http://www.bestfoodnation.com/what-others.asp Best Food Nation :: What Others Are Saying ] ]

References

*Janet Adamy and Richard Gibson, [http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114791345665656111-XmIEbGU58ayyaBWeUyRqHtc7_to_20060616.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top Flak Over 'Fast Food Nation' U.S. Food Manufacturers Rally To Oppose a Film and a Book That Blame Them for Obesity] , May 18, 2006.

*Crain's Chicago Business, [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=20844 Authors and McDonald's Exchange More Volleys] , June 2, 2006

* [http://www.bestfoodnation.com/what-others.asp Best Food Nation: What Others are Saying] (Accessed July 26, 2006)

* [http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=15899 Commencement address at DePauw University] , May 22, 2005

* [http://www.newnewjournalism.com/bio.php?last_name=schlosser The New New Journalism] August 12, 2006

ee also

*Healthy diet

External links

* [http://www.roycecarlton.com/pdf/Schlosser-Kit.pdf (pdf) Biography at Royce Carlton Publishers] , December 11, 2006
* [http://www.drury.edu/multinl/story.cfm?nlid=259&id=13729 Biography at Drury University] , December 11, 2006
* [http://www.lib.iup.edu/depts/libsci/cusp/bio/schlosser.doc (MS Word) Biography at Indiana University of Pennsylvania] , December 11, 2006
* [http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=13057 Ubben Lecture at DePauw University]
* [http://uc.princeton.edu/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1345&Itemid=20 Session I: "Moving Beyond Fast Food Nation"] (University Channel audio/video) This is the opening session of a Princeton University conference on "Food, Ethics and the Environment", with Peter Singer. Eric Schlosser is introduced at minute 30:30.