Colonel Sanders and the American Dream

Discovering America, Book 3

By: Josh Ozersky

Narrated by: Kirk Winkler

Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben to the Jolly Green Giant and Ronald McDonald, corporate icons sell billions of dollars’ worth of products. But only one of them was ever a real person—Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken/KFC. From a 1930s roadside café in Corbin, Kentucky, Harland Sanders launched a fried chicken business that now circles the globe, serving “finger lickin’ good” chicken to more than 12 million people every day. But to get there, he had to give up control of his company and even his own image, becoming a mere symbol to people today who don’t know that Colonel Sanders was a very real human being. This book tells his story—the story of a dirt-poor striver with unlimited ambition who personified the American Dream.

Acclaimed cultural historian Josh Ozersky defines the American Dream as being able to transcend your roots and create yourself as you see fit. Harland Sanders did exactly that. Forced at age ten to go to work to help support his widowed mother and sisters, he failed at job after job until he went into business for himself as a gas station/café/motel owner and finally achieved a comfortable, middle-class life. But then the interstate bypassed his business and, at 65, Sanders went broke again. Packing his car with a pressure cooker and his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices, he began peddling the recipe for “Colonel Sanders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken” to small-town diners in exchange for a nickel for each chicken they sold. Ozersky traces the rise of Kentucky Fried Chicken from this unlikely beginning, telling the dramatic story of Sanders’ self-transformation into “The Colonel,” his truculent relationship with KFC management as their often-disregarded goodwill ambassador, and his equally turbulent afterlife as the world’s most recognizable commercial icon.

The book is published by University of Texas Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2012 University of Texas Press (P)2022 Redwood Audiobooks

Ok story. Not profound version

It was good but got too much into modern day kfc politics. Also made some comments about how guilty we should feel for using fried chicken and not giving Africans credit for its invention. Just takes away from the kfc story. First couple of chapters were good. Then slumps off.

A detailed look at the history of KFC

Josh Ozersky provides a throughout biography of the man that become familiar to fans of his original fried chicken, Colonel Harland Sanders. As clearly demonstrated in "Colonel Sanders and the American Dream," Colonel Sanders was a natural salesman. When his career didn't flourish practicing law or in the Army, Sanders would grow a fast food empire from a humble start selling his home style cooking in a cafe.

Sanders seemed destined from an early age to prove his mother wrong, who once remarked that he would never amount to anything. Sander's developed his well guarded secret receipt of 11 herbs and spices, and mastered the art of using a pressure cooker to bring his signature chicken to the masses. When his chicken became popular, Sanders adopted the white suite, and become the face of the franchise.

As the author points out, his daughter is credited with the idea for the trademarked bucket of chicken and came up with the catchy "It's finger lickin' good" slogan. The Colonel became a stickler for the franchise stores, often visiting them for inspection. After selling Kentucky Fried Chicken, Sanders severed of the board of directors. However, Sanders never minced words, and caused friction with his criticisms of the way the company operated. He finally accepted a one million dollar agreement to remain silent.

Ozersky brilliantly documents the different ownership group and marketing ploys used the attract new customers. The R. J. Reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate and PepsiCo took the chicken famed franchise in different directions, often away from the Colonel's vision . The author also makes a compelling case that the secret recipe used today is different that the original recipe. Ozersky also explores the urban legend that Sanders was a member of the Klu Klux Klan.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Colonel Sanders and the American Dream," and highly recommend it. Additionally, Kirk Winkler provides solid commentary, as he did for "The Detroit Riot of 1967."