Product Description

The Jungle was written about the corruption of the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century. Although Sinclair originally intended to focus on industrial labor and working conditions, food safety became the most pressing issue. Sinclair's account of workers' falling into rendering tanks and being ground, along with animal parts, into "Durham's Pure Leaf Lard", gripped public attention. The morbidity of the working conditions, as well as the exploitation of children and women alike that Sinclair exposed showed the corruption taking place inside the meat packing factories. Foreign sales of American meat fell by one-half. Considered a classic and important example of the muckraking tradition of journalism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18087 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-28
• Binding: Paperback
• 202 pages

Customer Reviews

CreateSpace edition of "The Jungle: The Uncensored Original Edition
The CreateSpace version of "The Jungle: The Uncensored Original Edition" is a knockoff of the See Sharp Press edition. But there are major differences between the two:

1) The See Sharp Press edition contains a lengthy introduction and a lengthy foreword explaining the genesis and history of the book. The CreateSpace edition has no introductory matter.

2) The See Sharp Press edition contains numerous explanatory footnotes. The CreateSpace edition doesn't.

3) The CreateSpace edition is set in considerably smaller type than the See Sharp Press edition.

4) CreateSpace falsely claims copyright over this book, which is in the public domain. The See Sharp Press edition does not make this false claim.

Academicians, Go Away!
Some years ago I subscribed to the "Biblical Archeology Review" hoping to find out what has been dug up in the Holy Land. What a dissapointment that was. The articles consisted of various scholars spewing venom at each other over their interpretations of archeological history without bothering to show any pictures. The last few reviews of The Jungle are of the same ilk. Give us a break.

Sinclair was an unabashed Socialist, but I have yet to hear anyone tell us that he was lying about the conditions in the Chicago stock yards. In what pidgeon hole would you guys place Charles Dickens? He told the truth about living in poverty in England in the 19th century and was a crusader against child labor. Should the same epithets be levied against him?

I was raised in an upper middle class WASP environment and had no idea how our beaten down and helpless citizens lived. When I was 17 and 18 I read The Jungle at least five times and was shocked to the point I couldn't sleep. I imagined living that way - helpless, hopeless and exploited to the point of death. It was economic slavery. And those conditions came to exist as the result of the same unbridled greed that resulted in the anti-trust laws, laws protecting workers who dared to form unions and, now, the ruination of our economy at the expense of people who need to rely on others to make a living. Now, 401(k)s are worthless and executives give themselves billions in bonuses from insolvent companies. What's the difference between now and the Chicago meat packing industry in the early 20th century other than the fact that the exploited workers don't come home filthy and odiferous?

So what if Sinclair first published his book in serial form in a socialist newspaper? Do you think that Knoph or Harper & Rowe would have picked it up?

Sinclair's book is a diatribe against greed and the only way out for workers were unions and unconventional social organizations. Life would be the same today were it not for unions, wage-hour laws and the minimum wage. And the unbridled greed of today will end up affecting the poor and wealty alike. Rather than spend time taking pot-shots at Sinclair, let's think about how the forms of greed he campaigned against have driven our entire country into insolvency.

Great story, strong characters and a plea for social justice. Absolutely amazing!
Published in 1906, this book is famous for exposing the unsanitary and disgusting practices of the meat processing industry in Chicago. I chose to read the original uncensored edition because I didn't want a whitewashed version. I was not disappointed. I got it all, in all its grisly details. Processed meat and sausages included diseased animal meat, rats, the filth on the floor and even the bodies of human workers who got sucked into the lard vats. Yes, these abuses were shocking and resulted in reform and new standards for the industry, but that was only one aspect of the book.

Central to the story is the plight of the workers and, indeed, that was Upton Sinclair's purpose as he went to Chicago on a stipend from a socialist newspaper to expose the exploitation of the factory workers. That is the central theme of the book and I found myself wincing throughout, not only because of the tubercular beef being sold to the public, but mostly because of the degradation of the human beings who were just cogs in the wheels of production.

The story is about a family of Lithuanian immigrants who came to America for a better life. From the very beginning, they were cheated. They were sold a substandard house and never told about the extra taxes, fees and clauses that would cause them to lose the house if they were late with their payments. They had to to walk several miles to work in the stockyards in the dead of winter with inadequate clothing. Children were forced to work too and one little boy lost some fingers from frostbite. Their wages didn't meet their needs and there were times there was no food at all. They could never afford doctors or medicine and if a member of a family was sick or injured that person lost his or her job.

I'll never forget the characters in the book. Ona and Jurgis are a young married couple who we meet at their wedding in the beginning of the book. They are young and they have hope. Jurgis is big and strong and easily gets a job. At first all seems well. But as the book progresses, we see how everyone in the family has no choice but to work. This includes the elderly father and the children. Later, when Jurgis hurts his foot in an accident, he is out of work for months and the family suffers. But even more horror is in store of the family. Mainly, we follow what happens to Jurgis as he loses his job, and circumstances spiral out of control. I felt real emotion for him and his family, amazed at out anyone could endure the hardships they had to face. Eventually the book winds up as the writer wanted it, with anger at the exploitation of the workers.

I loved this book. I read it all at once, starting it at three o'clock one afternoon and reading through most of the night until I finished it. I identified with each of the characters and was amazed at their forbearance and strength through all their adversity. Of course I had heard about these horrible conditions throughout my lifetime. But I never realized how bad they really were. This book opened my eyes. I don't know if I will ever be the same again.

I give this book my highest recommendation. It's not only a great story with great characters, it's a plea for social justice. And its impact can still be felt today.