Customer Reviews

Upton Sinclair and the Other American Century

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Kevin Mattson's "Upton Sinclair and the Other American Century" is an important book to read in this Occupy moment of our history. There was a time, not very many generations ago, when being a socialist wasn't a source of ostracism or shame, when people stood up for the idea that the masses deserved a voice and people stepped up to be that voice.

Upton Sinclair's career was much longer and more comprehensive than The Jungle, the important novel that ushered in the Food and Drug Administration. He wrote several other well-read books of his time, such as Oil! and The Brass Check. The books were discussed, and Sinclair was an important figure. His run for governor of California was taken seriously as a threat to the corporate establishment, and the negative campaigning against him reads like it was taken from yesterday's headlines. He lost that election, but in many ways the rights he helped win for working people were a victory.

Mattson is a diligent biographer of Sinclair who is obviously sympathetic to the causes he championed. That is a strength of the book, but can also be a weakness, as I wondered at times whether the history being presented was for polemic purposes. A reasonably informed reader can get past that and greatly enjoy this book, which I recommend.