Great book! I got through it in 30 minutes and basically couldn't stop smiling. I knew most of the things in there, but there was a bit more substance to them. A great read that I'll pass around to all my friends!

This book is concise but a must
I loved it
It is a good reference
It is a quick guide to goodness

did not find that the content of the book was worth the effort of pubishing. would hve done just as well in a enewsletter

This is a terrific little book. Basically it is a concise guide based on Pollan's "Omnivores Dilemma". Good to have if you want a quick reference to the topics covered in "Omnivores Dilemma".

I really appreciated this book. It is filled with nuggets that help give guidelines about how to make healthy lifestyle changes and choices. They are so simple and convicting that they are easy to remember. For example, only eat sweets you make yourself and don't eat anything your grandma wouldn't recognize as food. Michael Pollan's information has helped our family make many positive changes to our health and diet. The great thing is my husband has read these books and been impressed by their information that he is totally on board. That is HUGE!

Omnivore Michael Pollan restates many of the key points of his recent books in a compact paperback titled, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. In this simple little book that can be read in less than an hour, Pollan translates the seven summary words from In Defense of Food ("Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.") into 64 rules that he calls personal policies. Unlike the rules of say the 10 commandments, these are common sense approaches to choices about what, when and how to eat. It's worth the purchase price of five bucks if a reader adopts one or more of these rules and winds up eating a healthier diet.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

I like Michael Pollan. I like this book.
I can see why some reviewers are disappointed in it, stating that it's just a watered-down version of "In Defense of Food". I can see how some people who have never read Micheal Pollan don't understand a lot of the intracicies and see this as a book of unsupported platitudes. It does say right in the description of the book "A pocket compendium of food wisdom-from the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food."
That's exactly what it is. It doesn't pretend to be any more or any less. It's a nice quick read to remind me of what I read in "In Defense of Food." If you are looking this as a replacement for, or to read instead of "In Defense of Food" spend your money else-where. If you would like a reminder of the "Food Rules", then this book is for you. Don't blame the author or the publisher if you were expecting more from this book than the description offered.

Food Inc inspired me to read Food Rules. It is a great manual to keep on hand and share with others.

What is beautiful about this simple book is just that. Not a lot of technical jargon...just a common sense, practical approach on how to make healthy choices. I love the book so much I purchased a copy for my sister!

Its a common sense book really, but its what is needed. Food Science has become an art of deciphering the latest research, some of which is contradictory. This is a simple go to book by people who just want to eat healthywithout too many bells and whistles.

The information in Pollan's book is simple, funny, and neatly organized. Perfect for a quick read and to hear some sound advice on food. I bought this book for my office waiting room because I wanted to share this insightful book with my patients. Many of our patients have given us good feedback and have been sharing the practical tips they've learned from Food Rules. In many cases information is more powerful when it's simple and concise. This book fits the bill.

Love, love Michael Pollan, but what I especially love about this book, is that it takes his nutritional wisdom off the top shelf and puts it at eye level for the masses. Jam packed and nutrient dense. Highly recommended.

If you eat, then read anything and everything by Michael Pollan. He is not only informative, he is amusing and lighthearted as well, never condescending, fair and curious. But if you don't have time to read everything, then read this one breeze-through book. In fact, keep it near you. Give it to everyone you know. And the most important point of all: DO the things he so wisely suggests. For yourself, for your children and grandchildren, for the planet.

This book was a nice book to read but was not as educational as I thought it was going to be. It was more of old wives tales then anything I could actually use in real life.

The information in this book is common sense that in the back of your mind you always knew was true, but seeing it all in one place and written in this style, makes it stick. I find the little sayings easy to remember and applicable to my every day life. I haven't eaten white bread or anything in celophane since I read the book :) and my blood pressure has decreased.

I love this book! It has really helped me rethink how I want to feed my family (I have 2 young boys). I guess I knew in general that certain foods weren't great, but to really think about whole foods vs. foods made by scientists in factories, really hit home and I'm now making different choices. The rules that have probably changed our eating the most is to buy foods that don't have sugar in the first 3 ingredients and have ingredients you would actually keep in your pantry. Do you know how hard that is, especially for breakfast? It eliminates almost all cereals and yogurts. I've taken a lot of time to read labels in the last couple weeks and really there are only about 3 cereals at Trader Joes and 3 cereals at Safeway that meet this criteria, that my family would actually eat. These same stores had no yogurt that fit this bill, but Whole Foods did. We've also been following the rule that says if you're going to eat treats, make them yourself. This rule may actually be backfiring on us since the kids love to bake and we're eating way more treats. I think my own rule of, "if you don't want to eat a lot of it, don't keep it in the house" may supercede Pollan's. But all other rules are really working for us!

If you want to know how to eat, in this book Michael Pollan expands on his mantra- "Eat food. not too much. Mostly Plants. A guide to eating actual food in today's world. Very simple but very informative.

Michael Pollan took the best from "In Defense of Food" and distilled it down to a quick read. A good book for your teen or friend who doesn't read.

Simple book of rules. You can read it in 10 to 15 minutes. Not a lot of content.

I mistakenly bought this book, thinking that it constituted original work only to find that it consists of very brief extracts from Pollan's In Defense of Food. It was there a waste of money for me. Pollan's nutritional advice is sound, but you should skip this and buy In Defense of Food instead.

This book is a quick and easy read and something you could read again and again. Michael Pollan's "Food Rules" make a lot of sense, but a lot of points he makes are things I never thought of before. I think twice before I put food in my mouth after commiting myself to following these rules.

In all this book is about 20 pages worth of words. Everything he said in this book I saw him say on Oprah. Not sure about his other books, but this one I was not happy with. Should have just went to the library and read it cover to cover in 30mins.

An easy to read little guide to modern eating. I enjoyed this book as a finale to Michael Pollan's other books: "Omnivores Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food". A very easy read!

Food Rules is a simple book, short, easily read, and readily digested. Its simplicity is deceptive, as it represents a marvelous distillation of Michael Pollan's far more detailed other books on food The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

As a family physician, I have to counsel people with diabetes, obesity, and hypertension every day. On financial grounds, I should be opposed to people reading Food Rules on the grounds that if everyone read and followed the recommendations of Food Rules it would threaten my job security.

Though the brevity of this book will not give the reader the full pleasure of the Michael Pollan wit, energy, humor, and breadth of knowledge found in his other books, it does indeed give the heart of the matter: how a particular type of primate (we humans) will want to eat if we want to thrive.

Filled with pithy comments that readily become mental post-its when trying to decide what to eat, Pollan combines a wry sense of humor with extensive research to come up with some gems: "Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third grader cannot pronounce", or "Don't eat anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food (e.g. Cheetos)."

If you love to read fine science writing, and have time, go with the richer experience of Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. If you are in the more typical 21st century mode of feeling lucky when you can find time to brush your teeth, Food Rules is a terrific choice. In one hour of reading you'll absorb memorable rubrics that DON'T fade into oblivion the day after you've read the book. And you'll significantly reduce your chances of helping fund the college education of your physician's children!

Normally I love Pollan's books, but this was short and boiled down to the point of feeling condescending. What I normally enjoy about Pollan is how in depth his writing is. This one read like a children's book. Part of my disappointment comes from the fact that my boyfriend got it for me on the kindle, so having no expectations, I kept waiting for the real part of the book to start.
I also think that this book is preaching to the converted. I would guess that most people that read this did not find any revelatory information, as his audience is most likely interested in healthy eating, and have probably read his previous work.
At least for myself, it feels like a repeat of the majority of information about healthy eating that is already floating around. I think someone out of his core audience who picked this up also wouldn't find it convincing since no real effort is made to convince the reader why they should follow these rules.

This was a straight forward and simple book to read. The information is very important and easy to implement. Our health is so compromised by mass production and over-processing. This book gives a concise guideline for improving our overall health.

This was great. I actually bought more than one copy and shared it with family members. Some of the rules are just plain funny while others are more serious, but all of them make sense.

Mr. Pollan,...you had me at the dedication (butter over margarine!)

This is an essential book, and will enter my pantheon of classics for living. It simply cuts through all the verbiage (and profit!) around food today, and gives us clear, concise rules for choosing our food, with a dash of humor! I will feature this in the Tea Room at the Inn, and make it required reading for the kids.

Regarding other reviews.....I didn't expect a groundbreaking treatise, rather a portable, palatable manual accessible to all levels of readers.

Great job! hopefully this will result in a sea change in our perception of a 'nutritional diet'.

This book is written in an easy read style with short chapters to illustrate various points about diet, nutrition, and what our science actually knows. It is very interesting how a journalist can point out that nutritional science currently is an emperor with few clothes.

As I was taught in statistics class, stats can lie, and in the interest of good science more people need to question what is put out to the public as established fact.

Good book, brings together some of what I knew already. Makes good points of things I never put much thought to and simplifies helpful points to eating better and healthier. The simplicity makes it easier to put the advice into action.

I just finished reading Food Rules by Michael Pollan. It took a mere half hour and was packed with simple, clear ideas about how to lead a more healthy life with food. Americans can indeed benefit in so many ways from reading this small book. It was delicious!

useful information but a bit more context and depth would have added more value to the book.

This book is a fast read (really a coffee table book) that is a nice concise and memorable summary of Pollan's other books. It is a collection of 60 rules that summarize points that he elaborates on and explores in books like the Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. Each rule has a short explanation. I consider it a good reference of his other work or even a good introduction. The rules are all pretty sensible and you will find several worth implementing in your diet.

The most valuable info is in the first few pages. I have not read his previous book, Defense of Food, so I cannot compare it, like so many other reviewers have. It was quick, informative, good advice. I liked it! I'm currently reading his Omnivore's Dilemma and love it. Very 'eye opening'!!

For any who have read Omnivore's Dilemma, this is its companion. It gives a nice set of guidelines for anyone wishing to manage the way they eat.
A very nice little book.

This book has so much good information, it's hard to put down. As a nutritionist, I'm so grateful for people like Michael Pollan. He helps me do a good job. Thank you.

Michael Pollan has written extensively on the whole food issue and his books and articles are always well researched and imminently readable. This latest small tome by him helps us to whittle the vast amount of information and do's and don'ts into a set of simple rules that are easy to follow and even more important, easy to remember.

It is amazing how complicated we have allowed our diets to change in the last 200 years. Is this book necessary? The answer is: yes, this book is necessary. I purchased it with the Perfect 10 Diet and found them to giving the case about how our diet changed; corn, margarine, and lobbyists fueling the lies.
It is a story telling, but not a guidance book.

and so perfect...got it in the mail yesterday and already read it - couldn't put it down..haven't read a book this quickly since i bought the inspirational Live Like A Fruit Fly - also on amazon..

A quick read with only 64 rules and about a paragraph explanation on each. If you want some food inspiration, then this book is great for you! His main point: Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not Too Much.

I read Pollan's "Botany of Desire" book several years ago, so I knew that I liked his writing.

This book is thin, a quick read and perfect for all of us who know we need to eat healthier but are confused as to where to begin. The book is comprised of common-sense 64 'rules', broken into three logical sections. I read it in about an hour. I liked it so much, I bought three more for family members to promote their eating healthier. I strongly encourage you to buy this book!

Postscript: These are common-sense rules. If you want more nutritional science, read another of Pollan's books, "In Defense of Food."

I really enjoyed reading it, it was quite amusing but at the same time quite an eye opener... I felt at times the author was trying to justify the profession but apart from that it gave quite a good insight into the girls behing the massage palour image. Quite humourous at times too; but also showed a darker side.

In short, if your after an eye opening, honest, amusing, easy read then this is the book for you... its quite addictive once you start reading it.

1) If you pick a book up at the Airport, don't expect it to be great.

2) If the author has written a book on the same subject that weighs thirty times as much (see the Omnivore's dilemma), don't expect much fresh insight from the lightweight version.

3) If a book is 137 pages, half of them are blank or just have a picture of a vegetable, and the other half have more white space than text, the book will not be enough to occupy you even for a short plane trip.

4) You are unlikely to learn a great deal from a manual that does not take even a short plane trip to read (twice).

5) If you want advice like "Buy your snacks at a Farmer's Market" (essentially all of pp. 34-35) or "Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk" (pp.78-79), then this is the book for you.

Seriously, if this book were $1.50, it would be worth it. At $11.00, his advice to "pay more and eat less" is translated to "pay more and read less." To be fair, the rules are fun and breezy and many will stick in your head, but be forewarned, if you follow food issues at all, you are very unlikely to learn from this book.

I bought this book because I was interested in the subject matter, but also because it was very much on sale. It was a quick read; I finished it in one sitting. It has, for better or worse, changed the way I view food. Basically now I just feel guilty constantly unless I'm eating organic lettuce.

Michael Pollan's Food Rules is a page turner, a delightful way to laugh and learn!
Will re-read often. More.....more!

If, like me, you have read Pollan's other books on food, you likely won't see anything really new or surprising here. This little book (less than an hour to read) summarizes much of what Pollan said in his other books, particularly "In Defense of Food". If that bothers you, consider yourself warned.

Unlike other reviewers who basically said what I did above and then give this book one or two stars, I loved it. I laughed at comments I had heard and forgotten (it isn't food if it comes through your car window, don't get your fuel the same place your car does) and was surprised at how many I did remember.

Pollan's approach to food and eating makes sense to me. I find his skepticism of both the established diet industry, as well as the nutrition industry/food pyramid/supplement hawkers refreshing.

I'm giving this book to my wife, who refused to read Pollan's other books. I'm giving it to my teenage son, who thinks nutrition is putting protein powder in an energy drink with his cheeseburger(s). I'm giving it to my mom, who bless he heart fed me margarine, Cambpell's soup, and Hamburger Helper the entire time I was growing up. Many people (not on amazon.com, but other people) are unwilling to read a book as long as "In Defense of Food". I think of this as an on-ramp to Pollan's food philosophy.

This was my first Kindle version of a book I have bought for my iPhone. Very disappointing. The formatting was horrendous. Words were stuck together, there were crazy breaks, and sometimes I was left with just a word or two on a page due to the crazy page breaks. I like Michael Pollan and have read "In Defense of Food" and I think the information he provides there and in this book is quite valuable, but you might be better off getting a hard copy this time. I hope all Kindle versions of books are not this bad.

Food Rules is a terrific little guide to help you eat better. Most of us probably know on an intellectual level all Pollan says makes sense, but sometimes we need to see something in print to really have that "Ah ha!" moment. The little tips are easy to remember and I know I'll be referencing this book for some time.

A note on Kindle formatting. This Kindle download was very clean and free from editing errors, but it was also clearly put together as an afterthought. The most annoying issue were all the useless pages between 'rules'. I counted 52 'pages' dedicated to drawings of vegetables, etc. They added nothing to the book, IMO, and just plain irritated me. Considering how short the book is, a great percentage was taken up with these uninformative drawings.

The other issue I had with the formatting was that in several chapters, Pollan referenced future or past rules by number, yet they weren't linked to the rule in question. He frequently mentions 'Rule 60' - how difficult would it have been to link to it? Thankfully, the TOC is linked, so you can go there and page through to the rule you want to read to get there, but the teensiest bit of forethought would have made this a much more useful resource on the Kindle. Honestly, this might be one occasion where the DTB version could be more useful.

I thought Michael Pollan's "Food Rules" was perfect (for what it was): a short, to-the-point, list of simple adjustments we can make to eat better. Not to be bogged down with too much chemistry, Pollan delivers easy to remember tips. For example: "If an ingredient cannot be pronounced by a third-grader, don't eat it," that's simple enough. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who's been thinking of overhauling their diet without falling into the black and white/cut and dry world of fad diets themselves. "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants"

No one's a perfect eater, but if you want to do a little better, this small book is a big help.

Yes, if you've read In Defense of Food, this book is mostly repetition. However, the information is presented in a much more atomic form, as individual guidelines instead of prose.

As in In Defense of Food, there are three sections adhering to the three rules of healthy eating: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants. Instead of extensive description, validated research, and such, this book has suggestions and guidelines for how to follow these three global rules. Most have a little description, explanation, or justification, but some are so simple that they stand alone.

Some of the guidelines are incredibly easy to follow (Get Smaller Plates and Bowls, since plate size affects portion size, and portion size affects how much we eat). Some are a little tougher and require ongoing effort on your part (Eat Your Colors, since different colored foods have different nutrients). Some are, well, hard (for either of two reasons: don't eat food with health claims is hard because nearly everything has health claims, and stop eating when you're 80% full is hard because most of us are trained to eat to and past satiation).

This small book is presented in a take-what-you-can fashion. Pollan doesn't demand that you adopt and perfectly follow every rule. He acknowledges that some are hard. He suggests that you read through, adopt what you can, and at least try to pick up a few more.