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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52
EAN num: 9781884365300
ISBN number: 1884365302
Label: See Sharp Press
Manufacturer: See Sharp Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: April 01, 2003
Publishing house: See Sharp Press
Sale Popularity Level: 9802
Studio: See Sharp Press
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Product Description:
For nearly a century, the original version of Upton Sinclair's classic novel has remained almost entirely unknown. When it was published in serial form in 1905, it was a full third longer than the censored, commercial edition published in book form the following year. That expurgated commercial edition edited out much of the ethnic flavor of the original, as well as some of the goriest descriptions of the meat-packing industry and much of Sinclair's most pointed social and political commentary. The text of this new edition is as it appeared in the original uncensored edition of 1905. It contains the full 36 chapters as originally published, rather than the 31 of the expurgated edition. A new foreword describes the discovery in the 1980s of the original edition and its subsequent suppression, and a new introduction places the novel in historical context by explaining the pattern of censorship in the shorter commercial edition.
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Rated by buyers 
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I bought this as a gift for a family member who is a devotee of "Fast Food Nation."
I read this very first when I was a teenager, at the urging of my father.
This book never disappoints, and is as fresh yesterday as it was when it was published.
Always a muckraker, Sinclair delivers.
It is helpful to have the book in its uncensored version.
Rated by buyers 
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But the ending is absurd considering that the "capitalist industrialists" are in fact socialists themselves (Carnegie, Morgan, Rothschild, Roosevelt, etc.) and that dehumanizing factories were not built until the era of socialist control over politics, economics, education, etc. (easily the Gilded Age but honestly back to the French Revolution).
Traditional, conservative economies had citizens who provided for themselves from the land or in the towns from an established craft whereas the machine-driven modern economy not only employs fewer individuals in any real meaningful labor but also deprives most people of the means for taking care of their families (landless wage slaves who know nothing of traditional life).
Rated by buyers -
Haven't had a chance to read much of the book, but what I have read indicated the writer (Upton Sinclair) was truly a man with a attitude towards the society in which he lived. Don't think he liked his life. Realistic and hard hitting...yet those were the times in which he lived.
Rated by buyers -
Living in a right-to-work state, you forget why we have unions. As a teenager, I read this book for school and fell in love with it. My parents and family were all union backers (teachers, firefighters, etc.), but I did not understand why we had unions. Then I read this book and ever since I have paid my union dues. Sinclair is an outstanding writer and I think everyone should read this book to understand where we have been and where we are now in labor. So read this book and cherish the life we have today.
Rated by buyers -
I was very surprised to find myself enjoying this book. I was nervous that the language would be dated to a point of difficulty, or that it would be slower than a snail. But this is far from the truth. The writing is easy to follow and the characters very believable. Given that Sinclair based this novel on events and people he actually witnessed in the meat packing industry of Chicago more than 100 years ago, it only makes sense that the characters seem real. And just when you think this can't possibly get worse....yeah, it just did.
The only reason why I didn't give this novel 5 stars was how the story falls flat towards the end when Sinclair lapses into a Socialist manifesto. I didn't feel that it was being preachy, but rather the Socialist information was meant to be just that: information. Perhaps it could be argued that it is propaganda, given that this was originally written for a Socialist paper, and then put together as a novel to reach "the masses". Regardless, this can be overlooked because overall the story moves along nicely.
I found it very interesting, on the other hand, that Sinclair's writing had some racist leanings. For instance, his description of the southern grey men that were recruited to work as scabs and his mention of big grey men with daggers in their shoes standing subsequent to young white women during the rowdy prize-fighting made me raise an eyebrow given the author's Socialist leanings. Perhaps I misunderstand what socialism is, but don't they support equality in society?
I do recommend that you read this book. It is a timeless piece of literature, and a reminder that these industries have not changed that much in our country. There are likely families living the modern day version of this.
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