The Autobiography of Upton Sinclair

by Upton Sinclair

This book "" The Autobiography of Upton Sinclair "" has been considered important throughout the human history. It has been out of print for decades.So that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.

Genres: Biography

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

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

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think most people, if they know who Upton Sinclair was, know of him through his early muckraking novels such as The Jungle and Oil. After years of hand-to-mouth living and writing, The Jungle was his breakthrough. Decrying the wretched conditions for both animals and people in Chicago's meatpacking industry, the book captured the attention of Teddy Roosevelt, President at the time, and resulted in legislation which made the meat we eat safer and gave the workers some rights. Upton Sinclair, as is evident in his autobiography, dedicated his life to balancing unfairness in human society.

I came to know of him in a different way. When I started My Big Fat Reading Project, I found him on the Pulitzer Prize lists. He won that prize in 1943 for his novel Dragon's Teeth, in which he tells about the rise of Hitler and his persecution of Jews.

Eventually I read all 10 books of his Lanny Budd series, published once a year from 1940-1949. Quite a writing and publishing feat, as each book is 600-700 pages long! In the Autobiography I learned that he had always written at that pace and continued to do so for decades.

Anyway those 10 books gave me an education on Europe and American in the first half of the 20th century that I never got in school. So when The Autobiography came up on my 1962 list, I just had to read it and find out how he was able to penetrate the history of those times and ferret out the truths behind the two World Wars that defined the period. And find that out I did!

Upton was kind of a goofy guy-a teetotaler for his entire life and somewhat of a prude when it came to sex. I found out why. He mostly learned everything the hardest way possible. But his drive to give the underdog a fair chance; to right the wrongs of greedy industrialists, capitalists, bankers, and arms dealers; and, perhaps a bit too innocently, to make a difference in the world, makes him a hero to me.

His writing in this volume continues in the voice I got to know in those thousands of pages about Lanny Budd. He actually had a pretty good sense of humor about himself, but he just never backed down.

It is my opinion that he, along with many others, did make a difference. The Autobiography reads like a history of what he called Democratic Socialism in the United States. It is a rocky, dirty, demoralizing history that is still ongoing, based on the idea that a democracy is meant to be "of the people, by the people, for the people" (Abraham Lincoln)

[Mike Zickar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upton Sinclair led an inspiring life and while he is remembered these days for writing a single novel, The Jungle, his influence on the public dialogue on a diverse range of topic over his long life is unparalleled by other literary figures. He wrote a lot of varying quality in wide range of formats (novels, plays, investigative reporting, political tracts, a children's story). This autobiography is reflective, mostly honest, and at nearly all times enjoyable to read.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am embarked on a Sinclair pursuit.
My next adventure will be The Brass Check, about the media, which I have already drawn from the PCL LIbrary at UT. Sinclair has also led me to decide to undertake Jack London in earnest.

[Kim Wingerei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating insights into an extraordinary man

I generally prefer biographies to autobiographies, the latter risk being self serving and boring. There is nothing boring about Upton Sinclair’s life, and although he was, of course, rather fond of himself, he was also undoubtedly an interesting man with a vast network and that gift of keen observation (and retention) that all good writers have. A big fan of the Lanny Budd series, it was great to get insights into how and from whom he got so much insight into everything from art to music to people and spies. A most enjoyable read.

[Deborah Emin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest American Authors

Upton Sinclair, had he only written the Lanny Budd series would be one of our best writers. But he wrote so much more. Read as much as you can and then read his autobiography. It is a wonderful addition to the primary reading.

[Maddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sinclair likes to talk himself up a lot (so discount maybe 30-50% of his claims) but the book is set in a pretty interesting time in American history. Interesting that he wrote it in the 60s and feels really good about himself for getting the union movement off the ground (well, that didn't stick). He was also apparently not particularly interested in the civil rights movement, and though claims to be a feminist, seems like he kind of treated 2/3 wives like shit. Oh well, nobody's perfect.