The book has obvious agendas, and trying to make these work the author sacrifices the story to them. Obviously, Robin Cook has a beef with the beef industry and the managed care systems. While his criticisms may be valid, they are so overblown that the reader is initially scared silly by the conditions, then finally turned off to the book which seems to be just a propaganda piece written for Dr. Cook's beliefs. While I suspect the conditions he writes about might actually occur, hopefully very rarely, the way it is done is so disgusting that one can't possibly enjoy the book. Do yourself a favor and don't even start the book.