Prime Cut: Livestock Raising and Meatpacking in the United States, 1607-1983 [Hardcover]

Jimmy M. Skaggs (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JIMMY M. SKAGGS is a professor of American studies and economics at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. He is the author of The Cattle Trailing Industry: Between Supply and Demand, 1866-1890 and the co-author of Broadcloth and Britches: The Santa Fe Trade, as well as numerous articles and several other works on western history and business.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Texas a & M Univ Pr; 1 edition (June 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890962499
• ISBN-13: 978-0890962497
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,995,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The history of the meat industry in America., August 16, 2000

By 

Damon Jasperson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prime Cut: Livestock Raising and Meatpacking in the United States, 1607-1983 (Paperback)

Skaggs's book is an excellent synthesis of the history of American meat production from earliest times to the present. Skaggs covers the early days, the rise of the trailing industry, the growth of big packing towns like Chicago and Kansas City, scandals like "embalmed beef" in the war with Spain and the "beef trust", and all the twists and turns that have led to the way things are produced today. Full of interesting facts and details, this book also tells the story of the lifecycle of an important American industry that still looms large in our imaginations. As Skaggs shows, however, imagination tends to run away from reality. For all you romantics out there, just remember that even at the height of the cattle trail days, most cattle were raised by farmers. (I bet you won't be seeing that coming out of Hollywood anytime soon.) I highly recommend reading this book in conjunction with Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle".