100%: The Story of a Patriot

by Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair, the prolific socialist author who is best-remembered for his groundbreaking 1906 fictional expose of labor abuses and the American meat-packing industry, The Jungle, began by writing jokes and juvenile adventure stories to finance his education at the City College of New York. Although born to an aristocratic Southern family, Sinclair's father was an alcoholic, so the family's fortunes varied wildly during his youth. A remarkably successful socialist candidate for Governor of California in the 1930s, many of Sinclair's novels revolved around his social concerns. Just as The Jungle was a masterpiece of "muckraking" journalism that led to initial regulation of food safety in the United States, novels like 100%: The Story of a Patriot were fictional responses to Sinclair's real-life social and economic concerns. 100% tells the story of Peter Gudge, a poor young man who becomes embroiled in industrial spying and sabotage.

Fiction, Classics, Literary

Genres: Classics, American, Politics, Fiction

220 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1920

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

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Entertaining, but my mind wandered, then returned and found I didn’t miss any key things.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the perspective of a 21st century reader, this novel is an interesting observation of the political machines and big business influences that pervaded urban centers in the early 20th century. It is an enjoyable read to say the least.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at a flee market, in a state as if it had been 100 years old. anyway it kept fascinating me, thought maybe it is actually more of a 3,5 than a 4, but the thing that keeps on my mind from this book is that you always expect something to happen, that... - better read it yourself!

[Dave Skiffington · Rating 3 out of 5]

ideas and themes become repetitive but an easy, entertaining read

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nationalism starts out innocently enough, but in the minds of the powerful or the ignorant, it becomes seriously dangerous. It isn't even about Socialism.

[Fanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

😟😟

[Al Mahbub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice book. Very informative

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

an enjoyable novel (I'm still no voting for Bernie)

Americans react to pre, post and during WW1. Of course a little far fetched, it's still an important novel by Upton Sinclair, a prolific story teller.

[Don Crow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good story, if a bit dated. But another good look into the life at the turn of the 20th century. Gosh life was hard then.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

A forgettable book.

[Luís Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

(lido em Chengdu, China)