Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle:

[silvershadow]

The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair (1878–1968).[1] Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities.[2] However, most readers were more concerned with his exposure of health violations and unsanitary practices in the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century, greatly contributing to a public outcry which led to reforms including the Meat Inspection Act. Sinclair famously said of the public reaction "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach."

The book depicts working class poverty, the lack of social supports, harsh and unpleasant living and working conditions, and a hopelessness among many workers. These elements are contrasted with the deeply rooted corruption of people in power. A review by the writer Jack London called it "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery."[3]

Sinclair was considered a muckraker, or journalist who exposed corruption in government and business.[4] In 1904, Sinclair had spent seven weeks gathering information while working incognito in the meatpacking plants of the Chicago stockyards for the newspaper. He first published the novel in serial form in 1905 in the Socialist newspaper Appeal to Reason and it was published as a book by Doubleday in 1906.

more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle

[malaise]

1. It's a classic

Love that book

[silvershadow]

2. Yep. Me too! nt

[fasttense]

3. First published as a serial in Appeal to Reason, a Socialist newspaper

Those were the days when Americans were NOT afraid of Socialism. But did abuse their immigrants. Somethings change some not so much.

[silvershadow]

4. Well I shared for eyeballs after running across a post that the HC group got hidden yesterday for

no obvious reason I could see.

[fasttense]

6. I know, I get banned left and right for daring to dislike the Hillary.

I got banned from the AA group becuase I thought walking with MLK showed more solidarity then just talk. I got banned from the history of Feminism for not appreciating the Hillary enough. So this banning of Bernie supporters is rampant every where around here. And don't write that you will not vote for Hillary even if it means a Trump president. That is Not allowed on DU.

I guess Democrats are afraid of Socialists as much as RepubliCONS are. Who would have guessed, since if it were Not for DU, I never would have discovered Socialism.

Sorry for the rant but I'm tired of getting banned for not supporting the Hillary. Funny during 2008 we didn't get banned for Not supporting the Hillary.

[secondwind]

8. I've lost Facebook friends over this.. but that's ok, now I know who the real friends are. :-)

[silvershadow]

17. To be fair, they are rather apoplectic this cycle. Normally DU would have switched to

GE mode right now, and the longer we aren't able the more anxious they get.

[Doctor_J]

5. The conservatives in both parties secretly long for those days to return

Today's jobs are by and large not physically dangerous like that, but poverty wages, no healthcare, no security, etc. are perfect conditions for the ruling class

[Feeling the Bern]

7. It was an influential book, and Sinclair was a socialist too.

I normally assigned it in my history class when we did the Gilded Age, as well as primary source work on the Triangle Waistshirt Factory Fire.

[raging moderate]

9. Only a heart of stone would be unmoved by this book.

Upton Sinclair was brilliant and compassionate.

[Victor_c3]

10. I actually had to read it as a part of my highschool history class

Aside from the points it makes, I found it a very enjoyable book. It's one of the books I had to read for school that I would call a favorite.

[ensemble]

11. fascinating book...

I grew up in a meatpacking city (it was at one time), and many of my ancestors worked in the stockyards years ago. For whatever reason, the book was not assigned reading in HS; some classes read it, but more advanced students got stuck with English classics, which I had little interest in. I finally read it when in grad school on my own and was glued to it. It seemed a bit hyperbolic to me in some ways but is probably somewhat representative of many poor immigrants and their struggles in a sink or swim culture.

Remember that this was before Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, an expanded education system, 40 hour work week, etc:
The not-so-good ole days.

We might also have more vegetarians if everyone read the book.

[appalachiablue]

14. 'Thirty animals a year' is what Americans eat according to the president

of The Humane Society just on Bill Maher. I'm a vegetarian but was quite stunned by that remark.

[mountain grammy]

12. Great book. I first read it in 8th grade

I remember sitting in the living room reading "The Jungle" and smelling dinner cooking. When mom called me to the table, there was a beautiful pot roast, my favorite, and a real treat in our house. There was no way I was eating that meat and I announced I was now a vegetarian. Of course, my very practical mom understood, but made it a lesson in the importance of unions, worker safety and good government regulations. In 1960, and at all times, mom was the smartest person on the planet.

[Harcourdt Fenton Mud]

13. You can read it online here:

http://www.roggeman.com/jungle/

[GOPblows431]

15. A really great book

Very insightful. Many in the GOP would love to go back to those days.

[apnu]

16. It is difficult to motivate people to be concerned with others.

The Jungle's impact shows us that human beings will consider things through the lens of personal safety and need before the needs of others. Especially if the 'other' is outside the personal circle or community of the individual in question.

So to motivate people into action for the larger community or for some group that is not their own, the argument is best made when stating how the change in behavior helps the individual.

Its the old, 'what"s in it for me?' Argument. Convince how shattering wage slavery benefits the reader/listener/viewer has the best odds of winning the day.