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: #20875 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.

Timely now
Although this book was written long ago, the message remains timely now and should be read by everyone.