The Jungle

Written by Upton Sinclair

Narrated by George Guidall

Few books have so affected radical social changes as The Jungle, first published serially in 1906. Exposing unsanitary conditions in the meat-packing industry in Chicago, Sinclair's novel gripped Americans by the stomach, contributing to the passage of the first Food and Drug Act. If you've never read this classic novel, don't be put off by its gruesome reputation. Upton Sinclair was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who could turn even an exposE into a tender and moving novel. Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant, comes to America in search of a fortune for his family. He accepts the harsh realities of a working man's lot, laboring with naive vigor-until, his health and family sacrificed, he understands how the heavy wheels of the industrial machine can crush the strongest spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781461812364

Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning author, activist, and politician whose novel The Jungle (1906) led to the passage of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. Born into an impoverished family in Baltimore, Maryland, Sinclair entered City College of New York five days before his fourteenth birthday. He wrote dime novels and articles for pulp magazines to pay for his tuition, and continued his writing career as a graduate student at Columbia University. To research The Jungle, he spent seven weeks working undercover in Chicago’s meatpacking plants. The book received great critical and commercial success, and Sinclair used the proceeds to start a utopian community in New Jersey. In 1915, he moved to California, where he founded the state’s ACLU chapter and became an influential political figure, running for governor as the Democratic nominee in 1934. Sinclair wrote close to one hundred books during his lifetime, including Oil! (1927), the inspiration for the 2007 movie There Will Be Blood; Boston (1928), a documentary novel revolving around the Sacco and Vanzetti case; The Brass Check, a muckraking exposé of American journalism, and the eleven novels in Pulitzer Prize–winning Lanny Budd series.

Reviews for The Jungle

[John Leffler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rich & compelling story for the first 90%, then changes character to a somewhat dry exhortation about the wonders of socialism.

[Jonathan Michaels, LCSW · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How the meat packing industry was described. It was very gruesome.

[cesarvelasco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Moving tale of North America in the early 20th century. Social novel with a focus on socialist politics. (Translated from Spanish)

[Lectora empedernida · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

!!!! Magnificent the beginning of an exceptional saga that shows us the most important and memorable events of the early to mid-20th century, through the eyes of a carefree young man named Lanny Budd. He experiences countless adventures with a world war in the background, personal ups and downs, amazing characters, and pandemics on the horizon. It’s a must-read, I highly recommend it for this summer. (Translated from Spanish)

[Modestogarlito · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

1914. The cultured, rich, and entertaining Europe is about to collapse. Lanny Budd will be an exceptional witness. A rigorous history magnificently narrated by Upton Sinclair. (Translated from Spanish)

[urraca99 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A true snapshot of human exploitation. Capitalism in its harshest and most brutal expression. A shocking work from the nefarious individual responsible for ruining the work of Eisenstein that he had financed. (Translated from Spanish)