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The Jungle

the Uncensored Original Edition
Feb 15, 2016Derringer rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Even though author Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle (which was published in 1906) as a work of fiction, his sole purpose for penning this often startlingly and horrific "real-life" story was to bring to the public's attention the truly appalling conditions that existed (at the time) in Chicago's meat-packing industry. And once Sinclair's book was published it certainly didn't take long for an official, full-length investigation to take place in this industry that eventually (due to public outcry) forced the U.S. Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act, as well as the Meat Inspection Act. Set in Packingtown, a fictitious district of Chicago, The Jungle's sordid story goes well out of its way to emphasize the day-to-day hardships and the horribly squalid conditions that faced many of the poor immigrants who struggled to earn a living working in what were clearly some of the most unsanitary and humanly degrading conditions imaginable. Viewed today as something of a historical document - I think that The Jungle is certainly well-worth a read for anyone who's interested in witnessing yet another prime example of man's inhumanity to man (all due to greed and for the sake of profit). *Note* - Be sure to watch the eye-opening video of activity at a slaughterhouse in 1949.