Drive-Thru Dreams

A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom

By: Adam Chandler

Narrated by: Adam Chandler

"Adam Chandler delivers his tribute to fast food with affection, zeal, and some humor... Mostly an enthusiast, he narrates his burger-infused stories energetically and persuasively." (AudioFile magazine)

This program is read by the author.

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.

Praise for Drive-Thru Dreams:

"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)

©2019 Adam Chandler (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

Amazon.com Best Books of the Year

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

Mostly interesting....

There was a lot of good research and excellent storytelling. And then there were the times when the author was trying to be too cool for school. You're very clever, now hush and get back to the really good stuff.

Fast-food history of fast-food

Drive-Thru Dreams is an enjoyable part love letter and part light history of the fast-food industry. There are interesting and humorous nuggets of this history of fast-food establishments and their founders. Kind of like fast food itself, as long as you appreciate Drive-Thru Dreams for what it is, a quick and enjoyable survey without much depth in any one area, you'll enjoy the book. If you're expecting deep examinations into fast food operations or any single company, a comprehensive history of all establishments, or a condemnation of the industry, you'll be disappointed.

Road Trip Audio!

Adam Chandler's "Drive-Thru Dreams" is by turns funny, inspirational, clear-eyed, and sweet. I tore through it in two full days.

Drive-thru Dreams is Grade A!

Loved it! Probably not something that I would ever choose to read (read for school assignment), but I guess that's why they say "never judge a book by its cover". Very informative, interesting, and heartfelt. Caught myself smiling as I listened. Would recommend!

Not as Fun as Expected

I thought this would be a great book about fast food history. While there are stories about the early days of fast food and the evolution and changes, there is too much side economic and political discussion that bogs the book down. I had read another book that was a perfect mix of stories and details about the era. Watch the History Channel shows of the Food that Built America for fun. The author read the book and it sounded like a monotone diatribe. Should have had a professional narrator to read it.