Jack London

[Onikeflava]

First off, I'll start by saying I've only read Call of the Wild and I'm currently 150 pages into White Fang - so I've clearly only read London's Disney fringe. With that said, I loved Call of the Wild but I'm currently finding White Fang to be a bit indulgent. I do want to pursue this author more, so what other books of his do you recommend? I would prefer to depart from his dog stories at this point.

[dfloyd]

Try the Sea Wolf. In this case, the sea wolf is not a quadruped, but Wolf Larsen, a very vicious sea captain.

[Voivod30]

I have a book of his short stories. I haven't read many of them but one or two that I have read have been terrific. From what I recall there was even one that had cannibalism involved (not graphically) so they definitely aren't all "disney" oriented. I read White Fang and Call of the Wild a long time ago but I recall them being great stories regardless of any movie adaptions.

[Modest Proposal]

'The Sea Wolf' is definitely worthwhile, especially the first half. And as someone recommended, the short stories are very good. Maybe start with the famous, "To Build a Fire".

[sixsmith]

If you can stand London's heavy handed, sandbox philosophy then Martin Eden is worth a read.

[Mariamosis]

I really enjoyed London's dystopian novel 'The Iron Heel'

[Dirtbag]

Currently, I've been reading The Cruise of the Snark. It's been pretty good so far and I haven't come across any dogs yet. It's a non-fiction if you're into those.

[LuKim]

I've read a lot of books by London and so I would advise his best work "Martin Eden". It really impressed me and even changed my life. Some people are sure that Martin Eden is a prototype of London.

[dfloyd]

It was made in the 30s with Clark Gable and Loretta Young. It is a b&w movie which was highly rated in its day. Gable and Young had an affair during the filming. In the 30s, their affair would have ruined both their careers. Pleading exhaustion, Young took an extended trip to Europe where she had her child, a daughter. When she cam back to Hollywood, she introduced her daughter as a newly adopted daughter. The child grew up, never knowing that Young was her real mother. Gable died around 1961 of a heart attack suffered when he mad the Misfits with Marilyn Monroe. He never knew he had a daughter. Young told her daughter the truth when she reached her majority. It could only happen in Hollywood.

[dfloyd]

It was made in the 30s with Clark Gable and Loretta Young. It is a b&w movie which was highly rated in its day. Gable and Young had an affair during the filming. In the 30s, their affair would have ruined both their careers. Pleading exhaustion, Young took an extended trip to Europe where she had her child, a daughter. When she came back to Hollywood, she introduced her daughter as a newly adopted daughter. The child grew up, never knowing that Young was her real mother. Gable died around 1961 of a heart attack suffered when he mad the Misfits with Marilyn Monroe. He never knew he had a daughter. Young told her daughter the truth when she reached her majority. It could only happen in Hollywood.

[Chris Morey]

I found White Fang on a table on someone's lawn with "FREE BOOKS" written on it. To be honest (don't hit me) I didn't even know who Jack London was. I'm intending on starting on White Fang very soon.

[dfloyd]

as children's books, but as many others, such as Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, they are not. My mother bought them for me when I was in about the seond grade. I read them shortly after, but I didn't come to a full aprreciation of these classics until a great deal of time had passed.

It's no sin to be unfamiliar with an author, but now you can realize the talent of this American writer who wrote several books considered classics.

[hellsapoppin]

One of the single most eye opening readings I have ever done in my life is the three volume Letters of Jack London:

http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=2837


You cannot believe how much you are going to learn from reading these incredible writings. Prepare for a few shockers.

Here's what I mean: I am a longstanding member of a historical society which is comprised of several scholars. And trust me, these people are extremely gifted in many ways. Like many other scholars, each has his or her view as to the nature and origin of socialism. As usual, much of it defined by what they learn in school or from propaganda pieces they see on TV. However, Jack London had a completely different vision. One that will shock and dismay a great many people. You will find that vision in his 1899 letters to his protoge' Cloudsley Johns.

If you want to know what London was really all about, begin there.