“Kolata lays out the case against the nation's multibillion-dollar weight-loss industry with compelling clarity.” —The New York Sun

“An incisive, thought-provoking examination of a subject that concerns us all. This book will educate and illuminate those seeking solid information about the struggle to lose weight.” —Jerome Groopman, M.D., author of How Doctors Think

“[Kolata] questions the current chest-beating in this sobering examination of why diets fail.” —People (four stars, critic's choice)

“[Kolata] punctuates her eight chapters with the voices of a cluster of dieters, [and] their stories add human consequence to the universal findings.” —The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“A first-rate author . . . Readers who care about the searing obesity debate will want to read this book.” —Houston Chronicle

“[Kolata's] report reveals well-documented intelligence certain to annoy those segments of society and commerce that stubbornly cling to the ignis fatuus that all one needs to be thin is willpower.” —Booklist

“This book will make you think differently about obesity and perhaps make the obese think more realistically about themselves.” —The Arizona Republic