Upton Sinclair Presents William Fox

by Upton Sinclair

This antiquarian volume contains Upton Sinclair's uniquely insightful and veritably thrilling biography of one of the most important and influential figures in motion picture history - the founder Fox Film Corporation, William Fox. Written at a time when there was considerable controversy and turmoil between the financiers and organisers in the film industry, this sensational account of William Fox's life offers a fascinating story of immense human interest packed with crimes and betrayals, perils and escapes. The chapters of this book 'A Feature Picture of Wall Street and High Finance', 'Floyd Dell Reports to a New York Publisher', 'Prologue', 'Close Up', 'Shoe-Blacking and Lozengers', 'Pretzels and Buffalo Pans', 'Nickelodeons and Common Shows', 'The Road to Fortune', 'Over The Hill', and more. We are republishing this antiquarian book now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a new prefatory biography of the author.

618 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle (1906). To gather information for the novel, Sinclair spent seven weeks undercover working in the meat packing plants of Chicago. These direct experiences exposed the horrific conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that contributed in part to the passage a few months later of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. The Jungle has remained continuously in print since its initial publication. In 1919, he published The Brass Check, a muckraking exposé of American journalism that publicized the issue of yellow journalism and the limitations of the “free press” in the United States. Four years after the initial publication of The Brass Check, the first code of ethics for journalists was created. Time magazine called him "a man with every gift except humor and silence." In 1943, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Sinclair also ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Socialist, and was the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of California in 1934, though his highly progressive campaign was defeated.

Reviews

[Lisa of Troy]

A Book Owned by F. Scott Fitzgerald: https://static-prod.lib.princeton.edu...

[Buckey Grimm · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most difficult read I have had in long while. Overall an attempts by Fox and Sinclair to in his own way "Clear up" Misconceptions of what led to Fox's Downfall in the Motion Picture Business. Lots of detail concerning the financial operations and Mis-operations of those involved with the one time Fox Empire. Can't say that some parts weren't interesting , but overall heavy handed in Fox's attampt to "set the record straight"