Showing results by author "Upton Sinclair" in All Categories

What if you ventured into the world clinging to the simple truths you were taught in your youth? In Samuel the Seeker, we explore this question through the eyes of the renowned novelist, journalist, and activist Upton Sinclair. Set against the backdrop of a century ago in the capitalist microcosm of Lockmanville, upstate New York, this narrative follows young Samuel Prescott, who, after being robbed of everything, encounters a vivid cast of characters. From the cunning capitalists to the idealistic socialists, and the self-righteous religious figures to the corrupt politicians and police, ...

As he did so masterfully in The Jungle, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Upton Sinclair interweaves social criticism with human tragedy to create an unforgettable portrait of Southern California's early oil industry. Enraged by the oil scandals of the Harding administration in the 1920s, Sinclair tells a gripping tale of avarice, corruption, and class warfare, featuring a cavalcade of characters, including senators, oil magnates, Hollywood film starlets, and a crusading evangelist.

Few books have so affected radical social changes as The Jungle, first published serially in 1906. Exposing unsanitary conditions in the meat-packing industry in Chicago, Sinclair's novel gripped Americans by the stomach, contributing to the passage of the first Food and Drug Act. If you’ve never read this classic novel, don't be put off by its gruesome reputation. Upton Sinclair was a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who could turn even an exposé into a tender and moving novel.

In the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, Lanny Budd’s financial acumen and his marriage into great wealth enable him to continue the lifestyle he has always enjoyed. But the devastation the collapse has wrought on ordinary citizens has only strengthened Lanny’s socialist ideals. In Germany to visit relatives, Lanny encounters a disturbing atmosphere of hatred and jingoism. But Lanny’s gravest fear is the threat a national socialist government poses to the German Jewish family of Hansi, the musician husband of Lanny’s sister, Bess.

"The Fasting Cure" by Upton Sinclair is an intriguing exploration into the health benefits of fasting, first published in 1911. In this work, Sinclair diverges from his better-known investigative and fictional writings to delve into personal health and wellness.

A Signature Performance: Oscar nominee and passionate vegan Casey Affleck highlights the more-relevant-than-ever issues of business ethics and food production in Upton Sinclair’s meatpacking industry bombshell.

Upton Sinclair was a man in search of truth, in search of knowledge, in search of a good story, and forever in search of good health. Sinclair had many chronic ailments during his life and was always looking for new ways to improve his wellbeing. He experimented with and explored all the trends and new ideas of the early 20th century. Sinclair spent years as a vegetarian after researching the meat packing industry for his bestselling 1906 exposé, The Jungle. He learned about fasting to improve digestion and a host of other maladies.

Lanning “Lanny” Budd spends his first 13 years in Europe, living at the center of his mother’s glamourous circle of friends on the French Riviera. In 1913, he enters a prestigious Swiss boarding school and befriends Rick, an English boy, and Kurt, a German. The three schoolmates are privileged, happy, and precocious - but their world is about to come to an abrupt and violent end. When the gathering storm clouds of war finally burst, raining chaos and death over the continent, Lanny must put the innocence of youth behind him.

Wide Is the Gate followed the 1943 Pulitzer Prize-winning Dragon’s Teeth and introduces Lanny as a secret double agent fighting the Nazis as a supporter of the resistance in Germany. Lanny is living in England with his wife of almost five years, Irma Barnes, the twenty-three-million-dollar heiress. But Lanny is conflicted continuously in his heart and soul for the workers and social justice. He attempts to commit to Irma, to “behave” himself and lead a normal aristocratic life.

The Jungle is the story of Jurgis Rudkus, a Slavic immigrant who marries frail Ona Lukoszaite and seeks security and happiness as a workman in the Chicago stockyards. Once there, he is abused by foremen, his meager savings are filched by real estate sharks, and at every turn he is plagued by the misfortunes arising from poverty, poor working conditions, and disease. Finally, in accordance with Sinclair’s own creed, Rudkus turns to socialism as a way out.

Europe, 1940. As war rages across the continent, America watches anxiously from the sidelines. And President Franklin Roosevelt has been keeping an even closer eye on developments in the Third Reich. At the president’s personal request, Lanny Budd gained the confidence of the Nazi high command and began transmitting valuable information back to the White House. Espionage is a dangerous game, however, and Presidential Agent 103 soon finds himself a target of the French Resistance fighters he is attempting to assist.

The year 1942 marked the turning point of World War II. The Americans destroyed the Japanese Battle Fleet in the decisive engagements of Midway and the Coral Sea. General Montgomery defeated General Rommel at El Alamein. But for President Roosevelt, 1942 was the darkest hour of the war. He knew the Germans were developing the atomic bomb. Our victories would be meaningless if the Nazis perfected the “A” bomb first. There was only one man who could find out the biggest Nazi secret of the war: Lanny Budd.

The First World War brought an abrupt end to Lanny Budd’s idyllic youth. Now, in the wake of the Treaty of Versailles, he barely recognizes the beloved Europe of his boyhood. At the start of his career as an international art dealer, Lanny travels to Italy and witnesses the brutal charisma of Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Meanwhile, in Germany, the failed Beer Hall Putsch led by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party strikes an ominous note foreshadowing the devastation to come.

From the author of the landmark book of investigative “muckraking” journalism, The Jungle comes only the second book by Sinclair to be produced as an audiobook for commercial distribution: The Brass Check. Upton Sinclair turns his critical eye and his sharp pen on the corruption and lies of the media that ruled the day 100 years ago - the newspapers, the magazines, and the wire services. He lays bare their pervasive collusion with big industrial, financial, and political interests.

In 1943, the once-unstoppable Nazi war machine is starting to falter. For a decade and a half, Lanny Budd’s cover as a fine-art dealer and Fascist sympathizer has held firm, earning him the confidence of Hermann Göring and other top officials, including Adolf Hitler himself. With the Allies preparing to retake Europe, Lanny must make certain that the location of the invasion remains hidden from the Nazi high command. But his mission is compromised and his life endangered when Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s feared Gestapo chief, uncovers Lanny’s true loyalties.

This 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair emphasizes the predicament of the working class and illustrates the corruption of the American meatpacking industry in the early-20th century. The story sets off with a dramatic portrayal of a Lithuanian wedding feast, which introduces the listener to all of the major and secondary characters.

Dive into the gripping narrative of 100% The Story of a Patriot, where a poor, uneducated young man navigates the tumultuous waters of political struggle, driven by his instincts and cunning. As he becomes embroiled in the often violent clash between American patriots and Reds, his journey unfolds in a way that is both thrilling and thought-provoking. The author notes in the Appendix, absent from this recording, that Everything that has social significance is truth and that nearly all characters in 100% are based on real individuals. Published in 1920, this provocative novel by Upton ...

Step into the world of the late 19th century, where the Rudkus family embarks on a journey from Lithuania to America, driven by the hope of a brighter future. As they settle in the gritty Packingtown neighborhood of Chicago, their dreams quickly dissolve into a harsh reality. Jurgis, the protagonist, along with his father Antanas, fiancée Ona, her stepmother Teta Elzbieta, her brother Jonas, six children, and cousin Marija Berczynskas, find themselves ensnared by deceit and making choices that lead them into the depths of poverty and despair. Faced with brutal working conditions in their ...

King Coal, penned by Upton Sinclair and first published in 1917, shines a stark light on the grim working conditions faced by coal miners in the western United States during the 1910s. Like his earlier masterpiece, The Jungle, Sinclair articulates his socialist beliefs through the eyes of Hal Warner, a protagonist ensnared in the relentless machinations of an oppressive capitalist system. This compelling narrative draws inspiration from the real-life Colorado coal strikes of 1914-1915, revealing the harsh realities of labor struggles and the fight for justice. (Summary by Wikipedia) Readers ...

Set in the vibrant yet tumultuous backdrop of Western City in the 1920s, They Call Me Carpenter unfolds the gripping tale of Billy, a man who finds himself fleeing a mob of ex-servicemen after watching a provocative German film. Seeking refuge in a church, he encounters Carpenter—an embodiment of Jesus—who emerges from the stained glass. Shocked by the rampant greed, selfishness, and division he witnesses, Carpenter reflects on the human condition, paralleling the profound journey of Jesus ministry. This thought-provoking narrative invites listeners to explore themes of morality, ...