You know how some people complain that American corporations are taking over and kind of ruining the world? And you know how other people insist that it can't be all that bad, if only because fiercely nationalistic countries like France and Japan would never give up their unique culinary heritage for generic American fast food? Well, it is that bad.

In France, the decline of traditional Gallic cuisine has opened a breach through which McDonald's has been more than happy to rush. Mike Steinberger's new book details how the French have been conquered by the most ostentatiously American of our fast food exports. As of 1999, McDonald's had over eleven hundred restaurants in the country and only a decade later, France is second only to America as a market for the corporation.