Growing up in the Great Depression, serving in World War II, living through the rapidly changing times of our modern age - Ed Pendrys witnessed most of the twentieth century. Perhaps nothing so appropriately symbolized the quickening lifestyle of America as much as the rise of the fast food industry. Granting us a unique perspective, Pendrys' memoirs take us back to the industry's very beginnings. Owner of the very first Chicago area Burger King, and the second one in the world outside of Florida, Pendrys - youngest franchisee at just thirty-three years of age - was there at the start, when burgers and shakes cost 19¢ and a Whopper cost just 39¢. In 1965, even at those numbers, he was able to gross in excess of one-million dollars, just one of three franchisees in the nation to do so.Pure Americana, Memoirs of a Fast Food Man is more than history. It is a story of entrepreneurship, it is a story of business, it is a story of rags to riches. It is a story of America in the 20th century.Memoirs of a Fast Food Man is a story of our times.