It is exhilarating to have available reprints of the entire Lanny Budd series of books by Upton Sinclair, although each of the eleven volumes has now been cut into two parts.

After a four year hiatus, the last of the series, alternatively known as the World's End series after the title of the initial volume published in 1940, Sinclair has his continuing character Lanny Budd return.

Sinclair intended to have the series end with 'O Shepherd, Speak!', published in 1949. This volume contained an index indicating in which of the ten original volumes each character, both fictional and historic, appeared. For example, FDR was introduced in Volume III, page 305. 'The Return of Lanny Budd', although published in 1953, takes up the continuing story of the Budds and colleagues in October of 1946. This time, the Soviet Union is the enemy, not Imperial Germany and the Third Reich. The USSR (and Mao's Communist Chinese) were treated with, in the least, empathy in the original series. In 'The Return', these regimes are recognized as being as much a threat to world peace as the Nazis were before them.

Whether Sinclair wrote 'The Return' out of genuine contrition for the praise heaped upon the USSR in the earlier volumes, or whether thr writer was pressured to recant under the threat of McCarthyism, is open to conjecture.

But, regardless of motive, it is glorious to have Lanny, Laurel, Rick, Nina, Bernhardt Monck, and yes, even Kurt Meissner, return to my nightstand. The 'World's End' series is 20th century history in easy doses, albeit being the world according to Upton Sinclair.

Sinclair's hero, an art dealer with family connections on all sides of the Second World War, is the ultimate insider. Albert Einstein suggests on the bookjacket that this is the book to read if you really want to understand what went on behind the scenes during the war. The thinking person's Forrest Gump ...

Sinclair writes an extremely interesting historical novel about the start of the Ford Automobile Company. The story is told from the perspective of Abner Shutt, one of Ford's first employees. Abner lives in the times where Henry Ford began his auto design humbly in the early 1900's till the mid 30's when Ford was known as the richest man in the world.

The story's focus, however, is on the treatment of the workers. When Ford started his factory, he cared a great deal about his employees, but as time went on he became obsessed with speeding up the manufacturing process and increasing his profits. By streamlining the process and making people work harder, his profits grew while his workers received the same pay. When the workers tried to form unions Ford's "hidden spies" crushed any attempt of congregation, even resorting to violence.

This book was like reading a detailed piece of history. Ford's anti-Semitic feelings are revealed through his little-known Dearborn Chronicle Magazine and how the Klan was active in the Detroit area. Also, Ford company initiatives are accounted for as well (such as moral families received a substantial bonus - if they allowed themselves to be investigated.) The historical scope of the novel is fascinating and I found it compelling, rich, and hard to put down. It is similar to the Sinclair's Jungle (an account on the conditions of the meat packing plants). The book was instrumental in the formation of the United Auto Worker's Union.

Sinclair, known mainly for The Jungle, has created a masterpiece of proletarit literature. As in The Jungle Sinclair uses the guise of a storyteller to warn the working population that where there is a false idol created by gold there is a hell on earth as a result. Sinclair's overriding message is simple: where there is the extremely rich, there is the extremely poor. Unlike Karl Marx or others like Marx, Sinclair doesn't force the message down the readers throats, he slips a little of the message into our drink and before we know it we are inebriated with his viewpoint. The book is about 120 pages but in those short few pages you meet and come to care about characters like Abner Shutt, Tom Shutt, and even the antagonist Henry Ford, the Flivver King himself. Sinclairs greatest gift as a storyteller is his ability to make us empathize, not just sympathize, with the characters. By the end of the story we don't just know what it might have been like to be those people, we know exactly what it was like because for a few moments Sinclair made us become those people. Not only does this book give us tangible characters, it also gives us a tangible atmosphere of early 20th Century America. This book was instrumental in the founding of the union movement that swept America for a very good reason. Read it and find out why it is as important now as it was then. Read it and find a cure for apathy.

The first chapter was a little boring as the first chapter of most books are, but then it got a lot more interesting. It was very interesting, but also quite depressing because of the hopelessness of their lives and so many people die. It gets really boring at the end, though, when all it talks about for several chapters is how wonderful socialism is and how terrible capitalism is. These last few chapters are the reason I didn't give this book 5 stars.

Nothing beats reading the original works by the literary masters, but when a kid is required to read 10 novels, each spanning 400+ pages for ONE class, something's gotta give! During my senior year in high school, this copy of Cliff's Notes saved me from certain doom. Good old Mrs. Hedberg was as serious as a heart attack when it came to Shakespeare and other literary delights. Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" was on her list of yummies for her defenseless seniors. At the time "Cliff-Notes" were the quick-fix for kids who just couldn't "curl up" with yet another classic, thus giving up a more entertaining Sunday Evening with Alice Hyatt, Archie Bunker and The Jeffersons (they ran back to back on CBS). -- If you want the facts, along with brief (but not too brief) plot summaries and a few great thoughts about the meaning of it all, this publication will "clue you in" on "The Jungle". I have used several "Cliff-Notes" in my day, and I can say with confidence that this particular one is the very best! -- My high school days were long ago, and I will never forget the lessons I learned from Mrs. Hedberg. I think she really knew about my passion for "Cliff-Notes" all along. As the years passed, not just for her, but for myself, I have read every single one of the classics I didn't make time for in high school. So if you're not in a rush, get the real thing (Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"); this one is worth the effort and you will not be disappointed!

This book was wonderful. I was forced to read it for my Sociology class at Michigan State University. The first chapter dragged on, and I was wondering what I was forced into. Then as the chapters ran on, they became more and more interesting. I didn't want to put it down! Review: gorry, mind-opening, fantastic, almost unbelievable as to what those people had to endure at the turn of the century in Industrial America

Given Sinclair's reputation as a muckracker extraordinaire, I was disappointed in this book. Or, on the other hand, maybe "Oil!" proves he was good at muckracking, just not at fiction.

On the negative side, the book struck me as trite, bloated (rambling and repetitive) and extremely dated in tone and style. Sinclair resorts to the amateur's trick of ending almost every other quote with an exclamation point to convey a sense of the speaker's urgency. The book has the subtletly of a sledgehammer.

On the plus side, Sinclair definitely raises some worthwhile social and political issues. Considering his era (he wrote the book in the mid-20s), I found it especially noteworthy that he raised concerns about such lightning-rod issues as monopolization; corporate greed; media propaganda; religious movements; sexual double standards; and birth control and abortion.

Maybe for Sinclair's contemporaries of that era, getting information in the overly broad cartoonish format that he offers was the most palatable alternative. However, as for myself, after sticking it out through 300-plus of the book's 500-odd pages, I can safely safe I'd rather bone up on the issues of that era by rereading my old collection of essays by anarchist Emma Goldman or turning to another, as yet unsampled work, by a writer *other than* Sinclair -- perhaps a historian particularly versed in California politics and/or labor history (among other issues).

Unlike Sinclair's best-known novel, "The Jungle," with its bleak story and gloomy characters, "Oil!" is a fast-paced, lively and colorful story. Although Sinclair uses it to preach his political views, it is nevertheless a good piece of literature and an interesting historical testimony to the era in which it was written. Another striking thing is how Sinclair's descriptions of corporate manipulations tend to mirror very recent events. Interesting also is that Sinclair uses one of the oldest cliches in American literature, the coming-of-age story, as the vehicle for this epic; at the same time, there are indications that Sinclair seems to mock this manner of story-telling - from the main character's rather silly nick-name, "Bunny" to his perennial inability to make up his mind about where he wants to go with his life, i.e. he never really 'comes of age.' Other reviewers have noted Sinclair's apparently naive promotion of socialism/communism/the Bolsheviks, which is a valid criticism, although to me it seemed more a case of the author throwing out ideas to provoke readers into thinking rather than an attempt to persuade them. In this sense, his use of the family of a wealthy California oil baron as the main protagonists is quite telling: although Sinclair does take the opportunity to highlight the hypocrisy and greed of the moneyed classes, he also makes a genuine attempt to portray them as real people rather than just grotesque caricatures. I also noticed that many of his characterizations of the working class/poor are often less than flattering. Regardless, this is a really entertaining novel, probably Sinclair's best.

Aside from all all the politics and Ideals, it tells a very good story of how Oil was drilled for in those days, Sinclair had seen it done or had some very good editors that had

In 1934, veteran muckraker and socialist Upton Sinclair managed to win the Democratic nomination to run for Governor of California. Running on a blatantly Marxist platform, Sinclair through a scare into the rich and powerful of America who, in the view of this book's author, united together to unfairly slander Sinclair and rob him of victory. Campaign of the Century provides a heavily detailed, anecdote-filled accounts of the campaign and manages to weave in a fascinating social history featuring the most revered figures of recent American history. Over the course of the campaign we get fascinating portraits of Will Rogers, Aimee Semple MacPhearson, Louis B. Mayer, and Franklin D. Roosevelt amongst others.

The book's main flaw is the idealization of Sinclair. While Marshall is honest enough to admit that the man could be a flake, his platform is never really examined in any great detail. Nor does Marshall give any real evidence as to why Sinclair would have been a better governor than his opponent or even why he seems so convinced Sinclair would have won if not for the convenient boogeyman of Big Business. Instead, Marshall seems to simply assume that all readers will naturally agree that Sinclair was an angel and anyone opposed to him was the devil.

This being said, this is still a wonderful social and political history of the not-so-distant past. It should definitely be read by anyone who considers himself to be a political junkie or is just interested in history. Just remember to keep an open mind and not always automatically believe everything you read.

The author's obvious sympathy for Sinclair interferes with his telling of the monumental 1934 governor's race in California. Given the depths of the country's turmoil in 1934, it is doubtful is so wacky a candidate (although a brilliant and sincere one) ever was taken so seriously for such a major office.

The book is not so much about the campaign for Governor as it is about the negative campaign run against him -- 90% of the book focuses on people who opposed Sinclair and their tactics. In addition to employers bullying their workers to kick back contributions to the anti-Sinclair effort and scurrilous attempts to intimidate Sinclair supporters from turning out to vote, the author lavishes attention on the fact that mailings were sent out against Sinclair in huge quantities; that newspapers and other foes used his long record of incendiary quotes, outside of the mainstream by virtually any standard, against him. One presumes the author believes we'll be shocked that the Merriam campaign is campaigning.

Sinclair's opponent, the incumbent Governor Merriam, is portrayed as an imbecile, a non-entity who the author labels early on as "reactionary" (and re-labels him with the derogitory term dozens and dozens of times, as though it were informative rather than namecalling.) Merriam's support of the Townsend Plan and other "progressive" measures is dismissed out-of-hand as laughably and obviously insincere -- so insincere the author feels no need to burden himself with supporting his accusations. While it may be news to the author, it's a widely accepted historical fact that after Merriam trounced Sinclair, he endured the scorn of anti-New Dealers for pushing for the progressive policies he campaigned on, a fact which compromised his re-election effort in 1938.

Just as can be expected of a book that focuses so exclusively on the negative side one campaign ran against the other, that campaign comes across as morally flawed while the other is virtuous. The author acknowledges Sinclair's demagogery (he claims "208" New York mobsters have been sent by capitalists to undo his campaign, just as Joe McCarthy said, "I hold in my hand a list of 205 communists...") shameless pandering (claiming belief in God in the closing weeks in the face of decades of loud, principled agnosticism) and smear campaigning of his own (Sinclair's orgainization runs an "expose" on Merriam's KKK background, a complete falsehood) yet these instances cover several sentences while the anti-Sinclair excesses are covered in several hundred pages.

Nonetheless, this was a largely enjoyable read, despite being somewhat tedious in detail at times. The story is riveting, it is eloquently (although not objectively) told, and performs it's greatest service in reminding fat, happy modern day America where prosperity is considered a fact of life that this country was a far different place not so long ago.

Greg Mitchell provides an absorbing account of one of America's most fascinating gubernatorial campaigns, the titantic 1934 California struggle between famed novelist and muckraker Upton Sinclair, who exposed the Chicago meatpacking business in his epic work, "The Jungle," and Lieutenant Governor Frank Merriam, hand-picked candidate of the powerful monied interests who kept their candidate carefully under wraps in a manner reminiscent of the later candidaces of Californian Ronald Reagan and Texan George Bush the Younger.

The race is fascinating in a current context for being the first instance where the ferocious impact of corporate public relations spin control dominated. A smear was launched against Sinclair based on his socialist roots. What was termed socialist in those days, as evidenced later by perennial Socialist presidential candidate Norman Thomas, was a strong desire for regulation, better working conditions, and greater security for the citizenry in the retirement and medical care areas. While Sinclair, due to his Socialist background and controversy over his End Poverty in California program, failed to receive the endorsement as Democratic Party nominee from an apprehensive Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he obtained financial assistance from wealthy Los Angeles socialist property magnate Gaylord Wilshire and many grassroots volunteers seeking security and justice during the ravages of the Great Depression.

Louis B. Mayer, William Randolph Hearst and other powerful monied interests fought hard to prevent Sinclair from winning, or having his platform properly debated. Mayer had MGM make and release so-called documentaries which were shown in his studio's movie houses revealing scores of impoverished people coming to California to get in on Sinclair's largesse and take advantage of his promise to end poverty in the state. One controversial segment showed a man with a thick Russian accent exclaiming soothly, "Well, Sinclair's ideas worked in Russia. I don't see why they won't work here."

These were blatant propaganda films purported to reveal spontaneous behavior which were actually rehearsed efforts with actors performing their intended roles. They worked all the same. The fact that Sinclair's socialism was rooted in humanism and not Marxism was deliberately overlooked as distortion and fearmongering prevailed.

Despite these efforts, and being hopelessly outspent, Sinclair ran a spirited campaign based on ideas and ran a strong if unsuccessful race. After it was all over he took it all philosophically, exclaiming that, "If I'd been elected governor I wouldn't be able to continue sleeping with my bedroom window open."

This mammoth book covers the Sacco / Vanzetti trial - probably the most tumultuous trial in the early part of last century. Sacco and Vanzetti were two Italian workers who were accused of murdering and stealing money from two payroll carriers in suburban Boston. The story is told through the use of a fictional character named Cornelia, who had lived a life with the rich and elite of Boston. After her husband dies, she wants to live life and takes a tough job in a rope factory. In seeking room and board, she meets and befriends Vanzetti. Experiencing the poor working conditions and associating with Vanzetti, she sees the abuse of the workers by the rich owners and becomes sympathetic to social change.

The story turns tragic, though, when the good-natured Vanzetti and his friend Sacco, are implicated in a burglary. The police seeking a guilty party intimidate and coerce Irish witnesses into telling lies about the pair. The Italians have very little hope once they reach the courtroom, when they learn that the judge is clearly against them. Being poor, they are unable to pay the necessary and customary bribe.

When they are found guilty, other countries and labor leaders throughout the world became angry with Boston. Freedom and the United States' justice system becomes a laughing matter. Ultimately, the police were called in to handle the riots that almost ensued in Boston when the pair of activists was put to death. Even today, there are shadows of doubt over Boston as a result of this trial.

Using part fiction and part history, Upton Sinclair paints a grim portrait of American justice gone awry. Over and over, Sinclair points out where the plaintiff's case was based on non-credible witnesses, a biased judge and jury, hatred of the defendants' socialistic and anarchistic beliefs, and prejudice. While the book was interesting, especially in illuminating the reader of how the system "really" works, I did find it tiring. The book was long and there were a ton of witnesses and characters that the reader had to remember. Sometimes, the same points and facts were repeated two or three times and the story had a tendency to jump around in time. Overall, though, I found the book interesting and absorbing - like all of Sinclair's works that I have read.

Boston, a novel in two volumes by Upton Sinclair, was first published by Albert & Charles Boni in 1928 and is an historical novel about the well documented Sacco-Vanzetti trials. Written in typical Sinclair fashion, the story weaves through the personal lives and motivations of Sacco and Vanzetti. In his continual search for social justice, this event gives Sinclair another opportunity to decry the social conservatism of the day. The novel presents the reader with a different perspective of this milestone in American jurisprudence.

This book provides an interesting perspective of the justice system. It compares the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, two poor, italian, anachists, to a trial of some of Boston's Blue Blooded elite (fictionalization of a true story). Sinclair never goes so far as to claim Sacco and Vanzetti are innocent (actually one of his biographers claimed that he had his own doubts), only to show that the trial was biased by their social and political views.

For those who follow the World's End series, this book needs little introduction. It begins the second novel of Sinclair's magnum opus (9000 pages, give or take), starting at the end of the Paris Peace Conference and following the hero through the next 4 yars. Lanny takes a lover, and Beauty stays with hers. We are witness to Europe's postwar economic woes, the rise of Italian fascism, and its conflict with the worker's movement, the book ending in the death of the liberal Matteotti, despite Lanny's attempt to save him. The hero becomes an art dealer, while his father trades the arms industry for oil. Although the prose will seem stilted to the modern reader, the characters are compelling and one who is lookikng for a historical novel of the 20th century can do no better. Romantic fluff for sure, but the dramatic backdrop of Europe in the 20's makes it worthwhile. Certainly start with the first in the series (World's End) if you are new to the work, as the author does not waste the reader's time with a synopsis of the previous plot. Upton Sinclair has endured as the author of The Jungle, but the Lanny Budd novels were enormously popular in their time, and earned him a Pulitzer. They are especially recommended for those who are addicted to series, and looking for a wordy challenge.

This book describes the trials and tribulations that a mislead family faced upon coming to the USA. The family of 11 (give or take) falls for all the traps that the manipulating meatpacking town laid out for them and all their fellow immigrants. Not only does this book tell in great detail the grotesque practices that occur in the meat backing industry (some of which still continue today by the way), but tugs on your heartstrings as the innocent family falls apart... and becomes victim to Social Darwinism. Simply put- I really liked this book and feel that it is worth wile reading.

This is perfect if you want to learn about the trials of immigrant families, the operations of the meat-packing industry, or need an example of a work by a muckraker in the early 20th C. The writing is very detailed and very graphic. Don't eat meat while reading, but it's well worth it.

I think that The Jungle is an excellent book. Though it is very attentive to detail, it is this information which creates the feeling of involvement that is necessary to enjoy this book. The story line is wonderful in that it gives you a glimpse of every socio-economic aspect of American life during this period in history. I strongly recommend it to those who wallow in self-pity because this book is an actual depiction of the horrible reality in which some of our ancestors once lived.

The Jungle is not only an excellent work of fiction, but also a historical monument. Sinclair uses graphic and depicting methods to grasp his reader and make them think about the hardships his fictional characters are undergoing. I found that his using of a fictional family to accurately show the corrupt meat industry and working class was an excellent way to appeal to readers of all ages. While his book started out on solid ground as it progressed I felt that it was starting to sink, and by the end it was well past sunk. I think that if Sinclair hadn't tried to switch to socialism, which he had so much opposed in the previous pages of his book, his novel would have been much better. However, I don't think that Sinclair's intention was to write an excellent novel and a superb ending, but simply to write a novel that got a point across. That point being that change was necessary, and I think he successfully got that point across. Overall I felt that Sinclair did a very good job of depicting the hardships of his time, and I'd recommend to everyone to go out and read his book; if not for the historical value, just for the fact of reading something different and unique.

The Jungle is a hearbreaking story of an immigrant family's struggle to survive in America. The family of Jurgis and Ona came from Lithuina in hopes of a better life. However, after months in America, their faith in America was torn to little pieces. Ona and Jurgis's lives as a married couple was nothing like expected. The pressure of work, poverty, and illness stilfled their spirits. This book also accurately revealed a sound historical document of the life and suffering of factory workers during the early years of this century. Antanas had to shovel the residues of chemically treated meat onto a truck headed for the cannery. Jurgis saw pregnant cows butchered and their unborn calves illegally mixed with other carcasses. Jurgis began to see how the packer operate. They sold spoiled or adulterated meat without qualms. Their workers were exposed to awful occupational diseases, yet the packers took no steps to protect the employees. They stole water from the city and polluted Chicago, and the city government turned their heads. After the death of Antanas, Ona, his two sons, and the lost of the house the family had struggled so hard to keep, Jurgis entered the world of crimes. He learned how Chicago's criminal underworld helped to corrupt the city's government.

Upton Sinclair's the Jungle is a distressing and touching story of the immigrant life in America during the early years of this century. Jurgis, Ona, and their families came to America from Lithuania to live a better life. After some time, reality set it. Their faith in America remained though. America was not what they had expected, especially once Ona and Jurgis were married. There was a constant pressure to work, but no matter where they turned they were poverty-stricken. Jurgis insisted Ona not work, but their financial situation demanded her to. This historically accurate book displays and reveals the horrific factory work and the workers suffering. Jurgis job descriptions were unbelievable. He was asked to stay after one day from work to butcher pregnant cows and cows that had gone down or ones that were sick and had boils all over them. Their meat was then mixed with all the uncontaminated meat. Jurgis then realized how the packers operated. They sold this spoiled, contaminated, or adulterated meat without thinking twice. The workers were exposed to horrible diseases, had to work harsh working condition, were not paid for days off. The employers did not care because if they quit or would not do the work, there were plenty of people who would do the work and needed a job. Throughout the novel, it seems no matter where the family turns they cannot get ahead. After Antanas, wife Ona, and his two sons die, and Jurgis is forced to give up the house, he enters crime with a friend he met in jail. Jurgis found out quickly just how corrupt Chicago and city government was.