Jack London Books

Jack London is the author that I admire the most among the American authors and this memoir, like his other works I read, gave me great reading pleasure. His life started in poverty, he lived a life of struggle and adventure, alcohol was always present as he grew up, and he felt obliged to drink to fit in the macho social environment, eventually developing a heavy drinking habit. In John Barleycorn he tells his story honestly, he describes the surroundings and characters around him beautifully, and especially his psychological descriptions are superb. In one part, while he was drunk and going by himself on a sloop at night, he falls in the water and he describes how all of a sudden he found himself thinking about committing suicide:

"Thoughts of suicide had never entered my head. And now that they entered, I thought it fine, a splendid culmination, a perfect rounding off of my short but exciting career. I, who had never known a girl's love, nor woman's love, nor the love of children; who had never played in the wide joy-fields of art, nor climbed the star-cool heights of philosophy, nor seen with my eyes more than a pin-point's surface of the gorgeous world; I decided that this was all, that I had seen all, lived all, been all, that was worth while, and that now was the time to cease.....The water was delicious. It was a man's way to die. It was a hero's death, and by the hero's own hand and will."

Such is the depth of his character descriptions, such is the way he reflects the mood beautifully. A "must read".

Since there is no product description, here are the stories included:

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson,
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe,
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane,
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift,
Time Machine and The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells, and
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

Very good book - and typically for Jack London it is about strong people and strong feelings.

A deeply historicized, wry, and often funny look at the process by which London fashioned a model of US masculine selfhood and expanded territories of (barely sublimated) territorial/regional conquest. One of the best books I know on a single-author study of a Pacific author from imperial era of national expansion, then or now [sic].

Of Jack London's many short story collections, Moon Face is one of the best I've read. The stories vary widely in style and subject, and, for the most part, you won't find the wilderness adventure stories for which London was famous (There is one, out of eight). London liked to experiment with diverse subject matter and literary techniques, often with mixed results. In this collection, originally published in 1906, he is successful on all counts. These eight stories are well-crafted, vividly descriptive, and suspenseful. A few of the stories explore the psychology of murder, and show the influence of Edgar Allen Poe, as does the closing novella "Planchette", which deals with the supernatural. "The Minions of Midas" is a tale of terrorism that's years ahead of its time. "The Shadow and the Flash" is pure science fiction, incredibly imaginative for its time and still exciting 100 years later. The only wilderness adventure story in this book, "All Gold Canyon", is one of London's absolute best. It contains some of his most beautiful descriptions of the natural environment, and a detailed nuts-and-bolts description of the process of gold prospecting. If you're familiar with London's work, you'll love this book. If you only know him from his sled dog stories, give this collection a try and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

In 1897, when gold was discovered in the Yukon Territory, Jack London traveled to the northwest to strike it rich. Upon his return, he wrote The Call of the Wild, his famous classic that critics consider the best dog story every told. I loved reading this sad, yet gripping story about the sled dog named Buck and his strong will to survive under the harsh conditions of the Canadian wilderness. I highly recommend that everyone read this popular classic to experience life during the Klondike as both dog and man struggled to survive in the quest for gold. Throughout the story, you will probably be inspired by Buck's fighting spirit and strong will to live as he faces brutality, neglect, love, loyalty, and even his own wolf instincts.

Jack London travelled extensively through the Southern Seas, living exciting but often frightening adventures that he later reflected on his short stories. London, a troubled adventurer who committed suicide, had a special sensibility to perceive, mix and express the juxtaposure of beauty and horror which reigned in non- or semi-civilized islands of the South Pacific. Frequently, his tales talk about the brutal confrontation between the white people and the aborigines, sometimes taking one side, sometimes the other, but most often simply depicting the sad consequences of the relationship. One exception to this is the tale that gives its name to this collection: "On the Makaloa Mat" is an extremely beautiful story about two Hawaiian sisters of mixed descent (3/4 white, 1/4 indigenous), from a very wealthy and noble family. Bella, the elder sister, tells the story of her one and only love, of course an unfortunate one. The story abounds in depictions of the lush landscapes of the Hawaiian islands, and of the strange social life of mid-XIX century. It is tragic but sweet, and I'd be surprised if someone hated it. Other tales are not sweet at all, like "The Chinago", about the absurd execution of a Chinese laborer; "The Terrible Solomon Islands", about a cruel joke played on a naïve Englishman by brutal colonists; "Koolua the leper", a short but epic story about man's indomitable lust for freedom, even in the most adverse and tragic circumstances; and "The inevitable white man", a bloody, horrific and dark tale of adventures.

The stories abound with murders, blood and cruelness, but they're never cheap or vulgar. In fact, I give them five stars because I consider them to be masterpieces of storytelling. London has no mercy, but beneath the surface his characters are full of life, that plenty, wild life embedded in the white men who conquered the world, and the aborigines which suffered the conquest. Extremely recommended.

if you think you have it bad, READ THIS!!

thinking of doing the same myself soon.

This is a rather short book by London, but it provides the reader with a a first-hand account of the hundreds of thousands of "working poor" in London at the beginning of the 20th century. As a subtext, the book provides an interesting perspective on the British class system and shows no matter how hard a person worked, it was nearly impossible to move from a lower class to a higher one....a concept that is foreign to modern Americans.

Gold was found in Alaska, the rush to obtain it required a strong constitution and many dogs to do the work that horses usually did in the states. The environment bread harsh attitudes. Also in the testing of ones mettle one finds their true potential.

Buck (a dog that is half St Bernard and half Shepherd) goes through many lives, trials, and tribulations finally realizing his potential. On the way he learns many concepts from surprise, to deceit, and cunning; he also learns loyalty, devotion, and love. As he is growing he feels the call of the wild.

This book is well written. There is not a wasted word or thought and the story while building on its self has purpose and direction. The descriptions may be a tad graphic for the squeamish and a tad sentimental for the romantic. You see the world through Buck's eyes and understand it through his perspective until you also feel the call of the wild.