Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, published in 1906, was an expose of Chicago’s stockyards and the meat-packing industry, in general. The Jungle revealed unsanitary conditions and what was really in the meat that was being eaten, like rats being swept up and dumped into sausage-making machines.

The book made such bold statements that no publisher would touch it. Sinclair published it himself and The Jungle became a best seller, resulting in laws being passed to ensure pure and safe food products.

What became of Upton Sinclair? He became a vegetarian and used the profits from The Jungle to found a cooperative community in New Jersey. He also wrote about the Teapot Dome scandal in Oil, the Sacco and Vanzetti case in Boston and he penned a Pulitzer Prize-winner, Dragon’s Teeth, an antifascist novel, in 1943. Sometimes it pays to fight your way out of the jungle.