About very good except for: coffee splash on top of text block, not affecting the text; first blank page (front free endpaper) cut out; small shallow puncture on rear cover which does not penetrate the cover.
In this systematic critique of the structural basis of U.S. media -- arguably the first one ever published -- Upton Sinclair writes that "American journalism is a class institution serving the rich and spurning the poor."
Likening journalists to prostitutes, the title of the book refers to a chit that was issued to patrons of urban brothels of the era. Fueled by mounting disdain for newspapers run by business tycoons and conservative editors, Sinclair self-published The Brass Check in the years after The Jungle had made him a household name.
Despite Sinclair's claim that this was his most important book, it was dismissed by critics and shunned by reviewers. Yet it sold over 150,000 copies and enjoyed numerous printings. A substantial introduction to this paperback edition by Robert W. McChesney and Ben Scott asserts the book's importance as a cornerstone critique of commercial journalism and a priceless resource for understanding the political turbulence of the Progressive Era.
"This unruly classic, originally published by the author in 1919 and
last reprinted fifty-seven years ago by Haldeman-Julius, the old
socialist publishing house, has now been trotted out into the light of
the twenty-first century. ... No writer on the press has ever matched
the old muckraker Sinclair (1878-1968) for exuberance and abundance. He
is always personal, but always reaching beyond the personal; he did not
fear to use his own divorce to illustrate newspaper malice and
malfeasance. His portrait of the press of his era (and in particular The
Associated Press) is thoroughly disheartening -- an institution in
thrall to corporate policy and publishers' whims, using untruths, dirty
tricks, and blackouts to serve political ends. . . . [In their new
introduction, Robert W. McChesney and Ben Scott] contend, with good
reason, that Sinclair's thesis is still valid -- that America lacks a
press worthy of a democracy." -- James Boylan, Columbia Journalism Review