The French Fry Connection Response

I thought it was clever how the author of The French Fry Connection used the potato industry to track the larger issue of the Economic Crisis in Asia and it's effects in the United States.  I think Richard Read effectively illustrated how complex the production and maintenance of this product is and how there is an entire international force behind each batch of fried spuds.  Having visited McDonald's restaurants in both China and Japan, it was interesting learning about the context and history of french fries in these countries.  One difference that I noticed with the french fries and other McDonald's food items in Eastern countries is that they tend to take on an Asian twist.  For example, I've seen french fries and burgers accompanied by soy and sesame products instead of ketchup and mustard.  It would have been neat to have Read identify some of these differences and talk about how a product as generic and "American" as a french fry can take on distinct cultural characteristics and appeal to people around the world.

I thought it was also interesting that Read decided to make The French Fry Connection a three-part series.  After reading all three sections, I wondered if it wasn't a bit long and, at times, repetitive.  I almost feel like he could have combined the pieces into one longer narrative.  That way, the author wouldn't have to assume that the reader has certain background knowledge when reading each section and he wouldn't have to make his writing repetitive.  Overall, I really enjoyed reading this series and thought the author had an insightful, creative approach to narrating and analyzing the french fry industry both domestically and abroad.