Written in 1974 about the period of early 1900s and in some ways pertinent today. I actually highlighted portions.
"The laboring man would be protected and cared for not by the labor agitators, said one wealthy man, but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom had given the control of the property interests of this country."
Doctorow, E.L. Ragtime: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels) (p. 40). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
"For several years the Association of Police Chiefs of the State of New York has passed a resolution calling for the licensing of automobiles and automobilists. If that were the law today we could track the brute down. The Chief as he spoke emptied the drawers of his desk. He puffed a cigar. He walked out with the reporters. The next day a bill to license automobiles was introduced in the State Legislature."
Doctorow, E.L. Ragtime: A Novel (Modern Library 100 Best Novels) (p. 170). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The first quote is apropos of recent debates about raising the minimum wage and providing health care. The second may provide context for why automobiles are regulated and registered and guns sales & ownership don't have to meet the standards imposed for autos.
There is always a strong valid reason for why certain books and/or authors become classics, and the timeliness of the messages is certainly a measure. In the pre-publication (1974) years among the most discussed issues were whether women could be fired for becoming pregnant (employers still routinely asked women about plans for a family), maternity benefits, and birth control and family planning because of issues of overpopulation leading to today's debates on the impact of the migration of whole populations due to wars and climate change.
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