The January 1903 issue of McClure's Magazine was notable for including three crucial stories by investigative journalists — Ray Stannard Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and Ida Tarbell — who uncovered political and corporate corruption. These exposés directly lead to the Progressive Era in America. Ellen Fitzpatrick has collected these articles, plus an editorial from S. S. McClure, and written a narrative that promises to help any student of history understand the causes and consequences of "muckracking".

The three articles republishe dhere are: "The Right to Work" by Ray Stannard Baker on the coal strike, "The Shame of Minneapolis" by Lincoln Steffens on political corruption, and "The Oil War of 1872" by Ida Tarbell on corporate corruption.

This book reminds us that democracy is fragile and America could easily have succumbed to kleptocracy, oligarchy, and loss of democracy in 1903. These articles are a key part of the story of how the American people reasserted the rule of law.