Jack London Books

The content of the book may seem to be a re-tread, but it is in fact one of the very first post-apocalyptic plague stories. It set the mold for later versions, such as George R. Stewart's "Earth Abides," Pat Frank's "Alas, Babylon," Nevil Shute's "On the Beach," and of course, Stephen King's "The Stand," amongst others.

First off in this book, the world as we know it is already gone. Out of billions, there are now only a few *hundred* people left on the planet - all scattered, all isolated ...all neo-lithic. There were not enough people left with the know-how to restart society and at the story's opening, there is only one man alive that even remembers the old world.

Furthermore, this book is not the product of an "All are created equal" mentality. No, this is a book that reflects the thinking of a society that sharply divided between nobles and peasants: the former were as unto the gods, while the latter were barely rabble, just mangy curs that needed stay in their cages ...or, be mercifully put out of their misery altogether. It is to the utter horror of the narrator that the debased, pig-like lowborn eventually take rule over the corpse of high society and make it as fetid as themselves.

Most of the book reflects the narrator's callous, maliciously aristocratic view of the world, both past and present. Every low-born in this book is detestable; every high-born is beautiful, desirable and ultimately, profaned and desecrated. The book's characterizations are the stark, black-and-white depictions of a deeply autocratic mindset.

The narrator is disturbingly aghast at the thought of "the servants taking over" the world with their "grubby little hands." Every depiction of a non-noble seems to include words like "savage," "stupid," and "animal" in them. For a wearied, forlorn teller of ended glory, there is a frightening amount of venom streaking through his glorious recall of things past. The narrator's narrow-minded adoration of the high-born (and their lofty pursuits) contrasts with his horror and overwhelming disgust over "the great unwashed." Disturbing is not quite the word for the narrator's view of things.

While far from PC myself, some years ago I took Stewart to task for his dehumanizing descriptions of the mentally challenged; London's book here makes Stewart seem a gleaming saint by contrast. I realize both are products of their times; I do not so much decry that such thoughts were common - only that they were unnecessary, even in a world such as that.

Secondly, I've noticed this book's tone is quite a bit different than Stewart's "Earth Abides," (its closest, to me, subsequent corollary). London's book takes an extremely dim view of human beings in general, an attitude that gives even a dedicated cynic like me some pause.

This book is nothing like the noble, stoic (and *egalitarian*) characterizations of Shute's "On the Beach" or Frank's "Alas, Babylon." There is no final embrace of family in the defiance of looming death; no, here the children are cast into the gutters upon first sign of infection. Women are not prized and valued as mothers of a new Eden here (a limited view, but quite representative of its time); no, here they are subjugated, degraded, and beaten with vigorous, even joyful savagery... they are purely victims of brutish man-beasts.

Nobody dies peacefully here - there is no dignity or nobility or self-sacrifice at any point throughout; no, all persons here are frenzied, heartless carnivores sprinting about in a cyclone of cruelty and depredation... or, their helpless victims.

This is a far more frightful end to civilization than even Stephen King's (much) later interpretation. There's not one shred of beauty or kindness in it from start to finish. It's pure survivalism, dog-eat-dog, and the worst of the worst here live to spread their malignant existence to the rest of the world.

I mean, even in Shute's "On the Beach," where by the book's end every single person on earth is *dead*, even with Shute there was some beauty, some love, something hopeful ...even at the end. With this book, however, although humanity ultimately survives, it feels far darker, bleaker, and much more hopeless than even Shute's depiction of total nuclear armageddon.

As for the book itself, I was glad to finally read it after all these years of hearing about it. It's been out of print for almost a hundred years from what I can tell, and all I could ever find was its far briefer form as a magazine article.

Again, it is representative of its era and its culture and for this, I am quite glad to add it to my collection. While it may sound strange to say this, it is perhaps the bleakest post-apocalyptic tale I've ever read, and I've read dozens.

As for approach to the content itself, Stewart's "Earth Abides" decidedly ignores the fall of civilization itself, focusing instead upon its slow decay amidst a resurgent nature; in contrast, London focuses upon the days of society's fall, glances briefly upon the intervening years, and leaves an acrimonious bounty of reproach upon the depleted present.

Shute's "On the Beach" was compellingly lovely in its dark depiction of humanity's last, silent gasp amidst the void. Frank's "Alas, Babylon" was the defiant cry of life in the midst of great death. Stewart's "Earth Abides" was a beautiful dirge, eloquently mourning the passing of a once-glorious world amidst an ever-decaying and greatly-diminished present.

...but, "The Scarlet Plague" reads like a spit of contemptuous bile onto the ashen ground of civilization's humbled remains.

For me personally, it's a mixed read; it's likely that my years of anticipation for this book (and frequent study of its numerous descendants) have colored the experience for me, so I don't know how objective I can really be here. I suspect I will have to re-read this a few times before I can find its "voice." I suppose I'm just surprised to read a post-apocalyptic tale with such bile; maybe that's an odd thing to say, but it's how I feel about this book.

I found this book among my ninth birthay presents and loved it from the first page. what got to me was the description of a way in which everything we know could be destroyed in a few weeks. Also my boyish imagination and dark side were thrilled about the possibility of being left alone in a city, free to do anything i wanted. As the book advanced in explaining the effects of solitude and the need for information about what had happened I found myself questioning my readiness to face such a situation. I highly recommend this book as a way to introduce science fiction to new readers. You must be aware of several objectionable premises set by the author in terms of a racist future society but also a few "wish it were like that" plots which place as the highest paid occupations those like the ones performed by a junior poetry proffesor. My short review has to end by saying that this book has been a dear memory of mine for the past 29 years and writing about it and recommending it to others it's a way to say thank you to Mr. Jack London a great writer and a reason why today I rather read than almost anything else in my spare time. Thank you, and please forgive my primitive english. Milton Roussel, mroussel@david.intertel.hn

Sixty years after a plague killed billions of people, an old man tries to convey to his three grandchildren what the world was once like so long ago.

The cultured, civilized world of mass communication and technology abruptly gave way to a primitive, savage world of cruelty and barbarism. The survivors and their descendents now live like their stone-age forebears: wearing animal skins, hunting with bows and arrows and believing in superstition.

In describing the plague's onslaught, the old man tells his grandchildren of the chaos and degradation that wiped out civilization. Money became worthless, the streets of burning cities were littered with corpses, animals grew wild as mankind lost his supremacy over nature.

The three boys have a lot of trouble understanding the words "Granser" uses, due to their lack of education. (Even the word "education" is something the boys have never heard of.) Nevertheless, the old man does the best he can, in spite of the children's limited vocabulary.

It's interesting to compare "The Scarlet Plague", which was written in 1912, to the more widely-known "Earth Abides". Both books are set in the same place. They both contain that sense of nostalgia, where old men, left over from the "lost world" yearn for a past that was more attractive.

This could well be the blueprint for life-after-the-apocalypse stories. If this story hadn't been written, their would probably never have been such books as "Earth Abides", "The Day of the Triffids", "Empty World" or "The Stand."

burning daylight is a man of the wild, with a great sense of grandeur. when he does something, he wants to do it in a grand fashion. but he wants more. he wants to be part of a greater game, join an inner circle. a very interesting life story, but dwells at times. one of his best.

"Burning Daylight" was Jack London's best selling book during his lifetime, yet amazingly since his death, the book has been totally neglected except for an occassional reprint, and currently it is again out of print. The book begins as a two-fisted macho adventure on the Klondike, as the hero --nicknamed Burning Daylight -- becomes the most successful entrepreneur during the Alaskan Gold Rush. However, after acheiving his fame and fortune, he finds no more challenge in the north and heads to the States for new worlds to conquer. But, first he is flim-flammed out of his fortune by Wall Streeters. However, he learns the lesson of dog-eat-dog and becomes as much of a scoundrel as those who robbed him. He ventures to California and envisons the future success of Oakland, buys property, sets up utilities and public transportation systems through overbearing and shady tactics. He begins to drink, starts to go soft in the belly, loses his good looks and vitality. And then, for the first time, he falls in love. The last third of the book charmingly relates how a good woman turns a now bad man around. It is a love story. A rousing adventure. A trieste on the ills of big business. All superbly written by Jack London. It's easy to see why this book was so popular in London's day. If you can find it, read it. It will be time well spent.

I finally bought the thing. I've been stalling and stallingfor years. All I can say is, if you like Jack London, the set is worth it. It contains 197 stories (by my count; oddly enough I couldn't find this statistic in the blurb or the introduction). ...

I think Jack London is at his best in his short stories. NONE of his novels are QUITE first-rate, and as you explore beyond the famous ones the quality falls off rapidly. Most of his less-well-known novels are deservedly forgotten. ("The Little Lady of the Big Hous e-- EEeeeeeewwwww!")

This is not true of his stories. When you explore beyond the couple of dozen that are anthologized, you discover treasures. I am finding that many of the stories I don't know are every bit as good as those I know.

One of my recent "discoveries" is a story entitled "The Banks of the Sacramento." It's not deep, it's not portentous, it's not Great Literature--it's just a superbly constructed little gem of a suspense story* that concerns a fourteen-year-old boy who conducts a daring rescue of--well, read it. Aloud, in company, if possible.

There are, as you'd expect, some curiosities, some juvenalia, some outright bad stories, but not enough to dilute the collection. And of course even these have their interest. "The Handsome Cabin Boy" is not a very good story, but it certainly is another piece in the puzzle of Jack London's sexuality.

Look, if you've bought more than three collections of Jack London stories, you know you're going to buy them all eventually--so why mess around?

These are, as you'd darn well expect at the price, nicely printed, sturdy volumes. They are intended for, and meet, both the needs of general readers and scholars seeking accurate texts. One annoying peculiarity is that an alphabetical list of story titles appears only at the end of the third volume.

These volumes are, alas, priced on the self-fulfilling assumption that they will be bought only by libraries, and your library is probably where you will go for them. (Interlibrary loans are a wonderful thing; be sure to ask about them if your library does not have these volumes). .... END

Well - commanded "The complete short stories"; receved only 3th volume - Let me guess, what do you think about? - A swindle?

I remember when I was younger; I loved reading classic literature in comic form. It was often the impetus to get me to actually go out and find the book and read it so I could get the full benefit of all the things that were left out of the graphic version. However, I found that reading the graphic version often primed me to see the story in my head as I read based on the artist's vision. With Graphic Classics: Jack London instead of a novel you have eleven short stories each adapted and illustrated by various authors and artists. Some stories are heavily illustrated with the art work taking the weight of the storytelling others have one or two drawings to set the stage for the story.

In each case the artwork and narrative dovetail to set the scene and tell the story. The artwork differs for each story reflecting the 'feeling' of the tale -- rough, noir, light-hearted, polished, fantastical -- the art sets the stage for the story.

For myself, I liked some of the stories and others left me a bit upset with the author. That's, however, not a fault of the editor, the artists, or those who adapted the story -- it's the fault of Jack London. I've read most of his novels and as I get older I have less tolerance for his low opinion of women -- most of the time his male characters see women as a tool to be used rather than another human being. For example, "The Wit of Poportuk" is the story of a young native American girl who is raised and schooled at a convent who wishes to marry a man of her own choice. She escapes Porportuk's schemes to marry her several times -- outwitting him and running away. Although the main character is El-Soo, the story is named for Poportuk and his revenge after her last escape.

Otherwise, the stories are what you'd expect of Jack London -- adventure, comedy, observations on the human condition, and daring do. Included in this volume are "The Red One", adapted by Tom Pomplun and illustrated by Mark Nelson, about an adventurer who risks it all to find out what makes the bell-like sound that he hears coming from the interior of the land. "Jan the Unrepentant" drawn by Hunt Emerson is a comic tale of two men who are trying to hang a third for the murder of their friend -- only the friend may not actually be dead. Other stories are "To Kill A Man", "Just Meat", "The Handsome Cabin Boy", "That Spot", "War", "The Francis Spaight", "How I became a Socialist" which is really an essay but very interesting reading, "Moonface", and "A Thousand Deaths".

Overall, this is a great introduction to Jack London and his stories. While for all ages, it's a great way to get reluctant readers a taste of literature in a format they can appreciate.

Think of Jack London, and the image springs to mind of racing dog packs racing over icy Alaskan landscapes, fighting fang and fur in a primitive struggle for life. On the reading list of almost every American school system, "The Call of the Wild" is a classic of American literature.

And there it stops. Aside from "The Call of the Wild," I was totally ignorant of Jack London's works. I never knew his clever since of humor, or his ability to delve into mystery and unknown lands. He always seemed an author very much grounded in hard reality.

Graphic Classics has again taken a treasured author and produced some fantastic adaptions of his lesser-known yarns. Editor Tom Pomplun has a great eye at matching artistic style to the tone of the story that makes each collaboration a treat. He also picked a wide selection of London's stories, showing a breadth of talent that most readers were not aware of.

This collection features:

The Red One - A classic pulp adventure tale featuring head-hunters, native romance and a massive, unearthly artifact that pules with an ominous sound. This one would have been right at home in Weird Tales. Artists Mark A. Nelson keeps the art rough and realistic, just the way it should be.

Jan, the Unrepentant - A very funny little short story about a group of rascals, and frontier justice. Hunt Emerson gives it just the right comedic touch.

To Kill a Man - This one has almost a Sherlock Holmes feel to it, dealing with a thief and a woman who has to learn if she has what it takes to kill a man. Nice moody adaptation by Rod Lott.

Just Meat - The hard reality of what it means to be human, as a pair of thieves divvy up their loot. Onsmith Jeremy takes a cartoony approach that suits the tone.

The Wit of Poportuk - Now this feels like Jack London. A beautiful Indian maiden is desired by a poor man, whom she loves, and a rich man, whom she hates. Her will proves to be stronger than both of them, but there is a power that even she must bow to. Arnold Arre gives the yarn exactly the edge it needs.

The Handsome Cabin Boy - After the last hard-edge tale, this one is another comical piece, adapted from an old folk song about a cabin boy who is a girl who is a boy who is a...a good laugh at the end, with some good Victorian-style illustrations by Anne Timmons

That Spot - A dog story! Another funny piece about the toughest and laziest dog of the Yukon. Nick Miller draws a clever adaptation.

War - A text-and-pictures adaptation. Hard-edged and sorrowful, with lovely pictures by Peter Kuper.

The Francis Spaight - A true tale of the high seas, and what men are capable of when the chips are truly down. John W. Pierard gives it a taste of salty hell.

How I Became a Socialist - A personal essay on how Jack London became a socialist against his very will. Another text-and-pictures adaptation, with art by Spain Rodriguez

Moon Face - A dark and funny story about a man who is so happy that people want to kill him, because they just can't stand someone who smiles that much. Milton Knight brings his usual flair to this one, and it is just right for his talents.

A Thousand Deaths - A mad scientist tale of a man who kills his son over and over again, bringing him back to life each time all in the name of science. J. B. Bolivert's unique style is really great on this one, which is quirky and calm considering the subject matter

This Library of America edition contains some of the less well known works of Jack London. Many are autobigraphical in nature, others fictional self-portraitures, and all written in a very socialist bent. In these writing, Jack London clearly has a bone to pick with American Capitalism and the upper classes, no doubt from personal grudges stemming from his background and his struggle for success.

In "The People of the Abyss", Jack London goes undercover in the Whitechapel district of London, more than a decade after Jack the Ripper, to vividly describe the social degredation of the inhabitants of the East End. One can see a heavy influence of H.G. Wells in this lengthy essay that seems to be illustrating in non-fictional narrative the degeneration of the worker into the Morlock as described in Well's "Time Machine".

"The Road" is a quite interesting autobiographical narrative of Jack's life as a Hobo, while "John Barleycorn" is a non-fictional account of London's life using alcohol as a theme. The depressing "Martin Eden" is a quasi-fictional autobiography of London's struggles to become a successfull writer.

"The Iron Heel" is a novel of the future set in Berkeley. It bears resemblance to theme and style of Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" and is filled with Socialist drivel a la Berkeley. The climax, set in Chicago during massive riots of the proletariat, is a reworking of scenes from Well's "War of the Worlds."

While there is much of historic interest in these works, which is what attracted me to them since I am a resident of the S.F. Bay where much of these works take place, unless you are a student of London, you will probably find much of the socialist commentary and biographical repition a bit tiresome. Moreover, Jack London can be extremely depressing. I would not advise, for example, reading "Martin Eden" when you are already a sour frame of mind

This volume contains some of London's best writing, especially his fictional autobiography Martin Eden, which has given inspiration (and a little despair) to generations of amateur writers. This kind of concise, visceral prose would not be seen again until Hemingway came along in the 1920's. Although the times and conditions he writes about in these pages has changed, the concepts are still relevant today: the division between rich and poor is ever widening, a society based on competition favors that wealthy and connected, those with wealth and power are not always the most intelligent or enlightened people, the evils of drinking and a society who often measures manliness in one's ability to consume large ammounts of alcohol. The book is wonderfully bound, and a real bargin here on Amazon.com. A great addition to any personal library.

This book just misses the four star mark - The final factor in grading was the price. If a paperback copy comes along for under twenty dollars, I would push the book up to four stars. Don't get me wrong, this is a good book, but not good enough to merit the forty five dollar asking price. I was able to get a copy for twenty-five, and that was plenty to spend on this book. Alright, now that I've talked about the price, let me talk about the book. The title states " seventy persons CITED" - If you buy this book keep that in mind, because in many cases that's pretty much all you get. The book I feel could have been so much better. No pictures of any of the seventy persons to be found in the book, and please note there are extant pictures of some of these people. I'm afraid that a novice to the ripper murders will become confused, as the suspects are not treated with enough detail. Very brief on most subjects. This author certainly has gone to lengths in finding all the sources, and does a great job in listing them at the end of each suspect. The strength of the book lies in the fact that if a certain suspect interest you, you will know exactly where to go to find more information on the subject in question. The author also gives his opinion, and you are to treat it as fact, and not to question - He does have some good thoughts, and opinions, but it AIN'T the gospel. If your after a listing of suspects, and where to look for addiional informaton this book serves that purpose excellently and gets an A+ for that. However, if your looking for a book that goes into unbiased detail with an open mind, I'm afraid this book misses that mark. It is an interesting read, and I do recommend it for beginners and for well versed ripper reseachers. However, I don't recommend it, if it cost you over thirty dollars.

Excellent book, lists suspects not yet discussed, written in a totally unbiased opinion,direct an to the point, doesn't go over facts already known in boring detail, touches on what we already know without boring us half to death. I loved the book. Stan did a great job, he voiced his opinion on other author's suspects with tact . He did not only oppose other's opinions with the usual here's why not, he also listed the here's why this person should still be considered. A very professional writing with a down to earth opinion, for the pluses and the minuses. I would highly recommend this book for J the R fans as myself. Good job Stan great forward also Christopher.
Best regards judyjanes (ripper fan for years)

A good overview, but Rumbelow's book is better researched and more comprehensive.

Jack The Ripper has never seaced to fasinate me, the grossness of the whole thing has caught me up in a whirlwind of imagination. I have already devoted 16 precious years of my life following his ghost and reliving the amazing fantasy

A must read for owners of Irish Terriers. From the forward it's clear that the Londons owned one similar to Jerry.

For lovers of South Seas stories this is right up there with stories by Conrad and Stevenson as far as descriptions of the millieu. (The plot is more simplistic, but it is written from a dog's point of view.)

Jack London was already a successful author ("The Call of the Wild," "White Fang," "The Sea Wolf") when he "sat on the beach at Waikiki" to write a 'true' dog's tale. This book - like "The Call of the Wild" - examines a harsh life from a canine protagonist's point of view. Rather than Buck's ice and blizzards, Jerry deals with cannibals, south sea traders, and changing masters. There are clear racist overtones that may offend some today, but the story is well crafted and explores imperialism and a colonialist's perspective of the Solomon Islands. This is not a child's story but can be viewed as one of London's briskly told tales with memorable characters. The dog, Jerry, is the most developed character despite his limited cognitive abilities and, in a rather engaging manner, London uses him as an "everyman" observer of the world. Not London's best book, but it is a well-done look at the conflicts of colonialism.

If you're reading this, either you're a died-in-the-wool Jack London fan or you know little about his work.

To those who liked "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" and want to know what to read next: the short stories! And of the novels, "Martin Eden," "The Sea-Wolf." Among his LESS well-known works, I and others have a high regard for "John Barleycorn," "The Road," and "The Iron Heel," and many love "The Star-Rover" (although I don't care for it).

Now, as for those who just can't get enough Jack London and want to know what this book is like: it's not bad. It's readable. It is a Jack London account of a passage around Cape Horn in the last days of the sailing ship. It is based on a trip Jack and Charmian (and of course his valet Nakata) made in 1912.

Three-quarters of the way through this book I was almost ready to classify it as a hidden Jack London treasure but it really falls apart.

The problems? Well, loose construction and loose ends, common Jack London faults. He establishes an intriguing cast of grotesque characters and curious plot twists and then never resolves any of them. It builds up wonderfully, then it lets down miserably.

For example: the mutineers have a mysterious source of food which makes it hard for the officers to starve them into submission. Jack London elevates this to the status of a major riddle and refers to it again and again, until I reached the point of being really curious about what happened. And he never tells us!

Worse: what became of Mr. Pike and Mr. Mellaire? For two-thirds of the book he builds toward a confrontation between them. During the mutiny, Pike leaves the deck intending to find Mellaire--and, basically, both of them simply vanish!

Like many of his later tooks, this book contains the usual amount of racialist crappola, but not enough to ruin the book for me. The good guys win because "we, the fair-pigmented ones, by the seed of our ancestry rule in the high places and shall remain top dog over the rest of the dogs," etc. And there's the usual amount of what I can only call mushy stuff

"The Sea-Wolf," the protagonist earns his strength and self-reliance. In "Elsinore," he simply comes into it as his Aryan birthright.

This is a very exciting novel where the Nordics, Aryans, whatever you want to call them are the heroes, the officers of THE ELSINORE who are faced with mutiny by a crew made up of other races. It's inspiring to read a pro-WASP book that's well written. London was a great man of action and intellect who said these words at a Socialist Party conference: "I am a White Man first, and only then a Socialist." Words to inspire and ponder. I wonder what London would be saying today if he were here. I bet he'd know the score.

An interesting yet flawed account of Holmes tracking Jack The Ripper, with Ellery Queen added to the mix. Not a terrible pastiche, mind you, but it pales when compared to the wonderful non-Ellery Queen film version that stars John Neville as Holmes. So check out the film first, if you can track it down. And then, if you're so inclined, try the book.

In the year 1888, a surgeon's kit mysteriously arrive at Baker Street residence of Sherlock Holmes. Training his marvelous powers on it,Holmes set forth on one of his most fascinating adventures.

Three-quarters of a century later, an equally mystifying package is deliverd to Ellery Queen. It contains a manuscript purporting to be an unpublished Sherlock Holmes novel written byJohn Watson, M.D.-an exceptional tale revealing the long-revealed secret of how Holmes uncovered the identityof Jack The Ripper!

Tracing the origin of the manuscript, Ellerydiscovers a startling connection betweenthe past and the present. Irresistibly intrigued, he journeys back into time to join Holmes in pursuit of the Ripper.
Following the master step-by-thrilling step, Ellery's remarkable powers of deduction lead him to a stunning and ironic solution of his own!