Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

great book
WOW...this is the first book i read on my kindle and the book was quite impressive.i was skeptical at first to read a book from a dog's/wolf's point of view but it was certainly worth it.Perhaps even will be added to my best books read list. at one point i was so emotional i had to fight back tears while reading on the subway.i developed my own relatioship with wite fang and was with him in all his experiences.5 stars all the way!

Nature versus Nature
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JQV2UM/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

Literature teachers will tell you that there are three forms of conflict that can be in a novel or short story: human vs. human, human vs. nature, and human vs. self. But there are more forms of conflict, and in White Fang we see them. We see nature vs. nature, and nature vs. nurture. We see a wolf-dog deliberately made mean, and we see that same wolf-dog, now a trained killer, become a trusted household pet. Jack London was a terrific writer, and any writer and any dog-lover can learn from this book. I highly recommend it.

Amazing
White Fang is a timeless classic that is easy to read over and over and over. I first picked up the book at the age of 11 in 2004 and it's still just as beautiful today as it was back then, even though I understand more of it now that I'm older.

White Fang primarily focuses on survival - What must be done to survive, and if you do survive, what kind of person/wolfdog have you become? At one stage Jack London sums up the Wild as "Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed." White Fang rises to the challenge, and after a lifetime of hardships has become a relentless killer, unlovable and unloving. However, his circumstances change rapidly, and White Fang must learn how to love or else he will perish. The book also focuses on cruelty, loyalty and the remarkable formation of the sled dog team in the sub-arctic temperature of Yukon Territory, Canada, in the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th century.

As it is a rather old book (1906 was the original publication, I believe, making this book 104 years old at the time of this review) some of the expressions and terms can be a little hard to understand - One that had me giggling like a little girl was "burning faggots". However, with the handy-dandy dictionary installed on your Kindle, enlightenment is only a few clicks away. The text is dense, so I don't suggest it to readers who have short attention spans or a low tolerance for classical literature. But if you're willing to give it a go you will be very pleased to have read this fantastic novel.

This book is great for wolf, dog or animal lovers, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has an appreciation for wild animals. There is a fair bit of violence in this novel (Ripping of throats and other such charming things), but once a reader overcomes this there is nothing in the way of enjoying the amazing, timeless journey of White Fang.

Not just another dog book!
There is a reason that we read dog books,I think dog people read this type of book because it gives us another dog to remember as we grow old.Ther will only be a few that we will live with so we can add a few more to remember when we grow old.I will remember White Fang forever just like he was my own dog.He has been added to the list .Great Book

A very good read!
I found myself unable to put this book down!It's the tale about a wolf/dog and his relationships between the Wild, between other animals, and most profoundly, between Man.For me, the beginning started off a little slow, but rapidly pickedup speed.In addition, the language was so descriptive that I had no problems visualizing the great wilderness.

A warning to some: there were some parts that were pretty graphic and violent but was necessary for the story.I highly recommend this book! ... Read more

Product Description
Graphic Classics: Jack London returns to print in a completely revised second edition, with over 50 pages of new material. New to this edition are adaptations of "The Red One" illustrated by Mark A. Nelson and "The Wit of Porportuk" by Arnold Arre. Plus a new comics adaptation of "To Kill a Man" by Kostas Aronis and a completely redrawn "That Spot" by Nick Miller. Returning from the previous edition are "A Thousand Deaths" by J.B. Bonivert, "Jan, the Unrepentant" by Hunt Emerson and six more thrilling stories. With a dramatic new cover by Jim Nelson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Adventure, excitement, and ripping yarns
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.

Weird and Wild tales from an American master
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 ... Read more

Product Description

First published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London's masterpiece. Based on London's experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival in the frozen Alaskan Klondike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (68)

Call of the Wild
The author of "Call of the Wild" is Jack London. I think the meaning of the title means that there is a voice inside, calling to us to go out and battle nature. The setting is Alaska in 1897 during the gold rush, and the story happens over 2 years. The significance of where it took place is huge, because Alaska was a hard place to live because it was primitive and didn't have nice things like running water or toilets. They had to get everywhere by dogsleds. It was hard to survive there. The protagonist is Buck and he is believable because he is this huge dog that turns from a spoiled dog to a wild animal. The antagonists were the people that were mean and would beat him when he didn't obey or did something wrong. These men are very believable because some men are just bad and don't treat animals well.

The major conflict was Buck battling to survive against bad men and nature. The rising action was when he was with the worst owner who almost beat him beat him to death. That's when the kind man found him and Buck's life changed and it was the first owner he had ever really loved. It was the turning point in his life, because he had a purpose and someone to protect. He spent a few years with him and saved his life twice. But in the end, his owner died from Indians even though Buck killed the chief and others during the battle. After the Indians left some wolves came and he earned their respect and joined their pack. He ended up in a really different environment than where he started from. In the middle, he was in really bad places and almost died. But Buck found out where he belonged and that was with the wolves. But I think he would have been the happiest if he could have stayed with the owner who loved him.

I really liked this book, that is why I gave it four stars, and I recommend it to everybody who has a little wild in them.

textbook
product was recieved when specified, in the condition expected and was exactly what I wanted. Haven't been able to read it yet it's for class I will be starting in august.

Growing Wild
Jack London takes the reader on a trip of personal discovery. We first meet Buck in California where he is satisfied and reasonably happy.Then we embark on a harrowing adventure that takes him to the deadly competition of a sled dog, following the dreams of his human users and abusers and ultimately abandons him to the reality of his ancestral place - "The Wild".

Mr. London successfully produces an anthropomorphism that delivers his story poignantly and with purpose.You will be caught up in the evolution of a dog that grows from man-dependent to independent.It does not take too much effort to relate a young person's development from child to self-sufficient adult in this story.Sadly, the disappointments and harshness of life shown in this tale are all too true in most lives.But the conquering of doubt, terror, and hurt are what make this story remarkable.

This is a "must read" for all young people.Most of Jack London's tales follow this theme of trial to personal achievement and a young person can find hope in his own life by following the exciting journeys he presents.

Wish I had read this sooner!
The language of this book is beautiful and amazing!When the main character is an animal, there is a danger of the story being "told" instead of "shown" to the reader, but London does an amazing job of keeping the action moving without it feeling contrived to be seeing the events from the dog's point of view.Yes, much of the story is sad and heart-breaking, but the story is engaging.One of my favorite stories!

Buck's Story: The Beauty & Brutality of Man & Nature.
Our beloved protagonist, the dog Buck, is kidnapped from a loving home and sold to serve as a sled dog in the brutal Yukon during the 1890's gold rush.
The story is expertly told from Buck's point of view, with a procession of cruel masters and savage fights with the other dogs on the team for position and survival just for starters.
This is not an easy book to read for an animal lover. There is suffering galore and heartache a-plenty along the way.About three fourths of the way through the storyI was able to literally take a deep breath and begin to relax - thank God; it was almost like "you-don't-know-how-rough-it-was-until-it's-over-experience".London sure had me in his grip with his writing, and it made me briefly wonder if this might not be too brutal for a seventh grader, however there isbeauty, redemption, love, and a powerful intimacy with nature here, too, that is quite unique. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Jack London's little-known short story classics
This collection of short stories contains the well-known classic, "To Build a Fire," and that story deserves its place at the summit of American short stories.What the collection Lost Face has, however, are several other Jack London short stories that are sure to hold your attention.The title story, "Lost Face," depicts how a man's ability to keep his head in a dire situation saves him from a fate worse than death.My personal favorite in this collection is "That Spot," a great story for anyone who has owned or had to deal with a difficult dog.The narrator of "That Spot" remarks that there was something about Spot that made him uneasy, and the reader soon understands what that meant.This is a great collection of short stories, one which I recommend to anyone who likes Jack London's writing. ... Read more

Product Description
A ship's captain, his vessel ready to explode from a fire within its cargo hold, desperately searches for a way to save his crew. A missionary in Fiji is clubbed to death by a cannibal chief to satisfy a debt of honor. A scientist agrees to have his head chopped off in return for a last glimpse of a huge alien object half-buried in the jungles of Guadalcanal. A Melanesian youth, sold into slavery, gains revenge against his sadistic white overseer. With unbridled barbarity, the crew of a European ship massacres scores of islanders.

These are some of the incidents in the action-filled short stories found in Jack London's Tales of Cannibals and Headhunters. Though London's bestsellers about the frozen Northland are known to most, few readers are familiar with his tales set in the romantic and dangerous South Seas - an area of the world with which Jack London became intimate while traveling aboard his yacht, The Snark, in the first decade of the twentieth century.

For the first time these stories are collected in a single volume with notes, an introduction, and an afterword that help to illuminate the racial tension of the colonial period in the Pacific. The stories are illustrated with the original artwork, several maps (including one of London's own), and photographs of the region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Cool stuff!
These guys do a great job of exploring these stories. If you are a fan of Haggard, REH or Burroughs... you love this stuff. The editors are way too apologetic and defensive of London's views in my opinion... I doubt anyone is going to pick this book up casually. Long live London!

Jack London comes alive
I have always been a Jack London fan.However, every one of his stories has long since been read and reread by me and millions of others out there.Now, we have something new to hold onto, even if it is for just a short time. Thank you Gary and Tom for giving me Jack London once again.Perhaps one of you could sign the book for me sometime.What a pleasure.Thank you for intriguing mind-blowing stories.Jack grabs you once again and throws you, (not takes you,) into the very heart of the story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book of stories by a great American author
"You cannot escape liking the climate....And I warn you, if you have some spot dear to you on earth, not to linger here too long, else you will find this dearer."
From The Sheriff of Kona

This is a terrific collection of short stories set in the Hawaiian Islands in the early years of the 20th century.London's stories are set pieces that capture a very specific time in the Hawaiian Islands, after the end of the monarchy and during the early years of American annexation.He writes with a vigor and directness that makes his stories engaging, enjoyable reading and his mastery of the short story structure is first rate.

I have one warning for modern readers with political or racial sensitivities, though.As a man of his time, London writes with a gentle but obvious racism that reflects his world view (and the common views of the era).People's characters are determined by their race, and race is often used as a shorthand stereotype to describe individuals.If seeing simple, sensual, superstitious Hawaiians, wily Asians, and rational, greedy (often heavy drinking) whites, you should avoid this book.It's never mean-spirited, but it is pervasive.

For those of us who appreciate good stories that capture a unique time and place and who are not offended by anachronistic views on race, these stories are real gems.I think they are better than most of London's more famous stories, myself.
... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Robust tales of perilous adventure and animal cunning

Includes Diable: A Dog, An Odyssey of the North, To the Man on the Trail, To Build a Fire, and Love of Life Out of the white wilderness, out of the Far North, Jack London, one of America's most popular authors, drew the inspiration for the novel and five short stories included here. Swiftly paced and vividly written, they capture the main theme of London's work: man's instinctive reversion to primitive behavior when pitted against the brute force of nature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Dog's Days
This is the first Jack London I have ever read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.The Call of the Wild has so much depth and intelligence to the writing that I can imagine books being written about it, and at the same time it's written in such a way that many elementary school children should be able to understand it (if standards are still up where they were when I was that age).
The various stories after The Call of the Wild are also interesting.They are all similarly themed, with the protagonist suffering through the tortures of the cold wilderness, freezing and starving to death, but each is unique, and Jack London's imagination is never in question to the reader.Overall, excellent writing.

The birth of the animal-rights movement
Long before TV, the written word was the wellstone of many political movements.This is as true in America as it is in Europe, and many modern American books are testament to this.Upton Sinclair's Jungle started the food safety movement, Nader's Unsafe at any Speed brought public and Congress's attention to car safety, and the Grapes of Wrath put white poverty into the attention of the mainstream media.This book, more than any other single work of American literature, can be argued as giving birth to the animal-rights movement; a very unique feature of American society as animals have almost no rights everywhere else in the world.This story itself is short and accessible to most elementary school students.What it does is create a parallel between human suffering and the suffering of animals; and in doing so, it puts a human face on animals.As such, it deserves to be on any list of great works of English literature, and as part of any middle school curriculum.

Review of The Call of the Wild and Selected Stories
I read three short stories from the book, "The Call of the Wild and Selected Stories", by Jack London. These stories include "To Build a Fire", "To the Man on Trail,", and "Diable the Dog."I recommend all three of these short stories to people who like descriptive short stories with exciting scenes and sad endings.

The story "To Build a Fire" is about a man who is heading up to camp, which is twelve hours away in seventy-five-degree below zero weather.This story is about man versus the cold, frigid, abilities of Mother Nature.The theme of this story seems to be about how challenging nature can be to humanity.

The second story, "To the Man on Trail," is about a band of men from many different lands celebrating Christmas when an under cover thief shows up.This is an exciting story that confuses the reader at times because you can't tell if he is good or bad until the end.The theme of this story is about man versus society.It makes one think that you can't judge a book by its cover.

The last story of the three, written by Jack London, is called "Diable - A Dog."This is about an evil dog who is owned by an evil owner.His owner beat him so much that he started to take revenge against his owner by trying to kill him.This story is a great example of the saying, "You reap what you sow."This story seems to be about the conflict of man versus nature, as well as man versus himself, since the dog had a natural evil temperament, which was worsened by the beatings he received from the man.Both of these factors created evil in this dog, which in the end defeated the man.

I had mixed feelings about these stories because I normally prefer science fiction novels.I also didn't like how the main character in two of the three short stories always perished.However, what I really like in the stories was the author's way of describing his characters and their conflicts.I t made me feel like I was a part of the story.I recommend these stories to anyone who enjoys rich, detailed, stories with exciting scenes.
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Powerful, gripping tales of nature and survival
I have to admit that I have not really given Jack London his proper due up to now.Perhaps it is because I don't by my nature like outdoor adventure type stories, or perhaps it is because I associate White Fang and "To Build a Fire" with my youth.The fact is that Jack London is a tremendously talented writer.His understanding of the basics of life matches his great knowledge of the snow-enshrouded world of the upper latitudes.The Call of the Wild, despite its relative brevity and the fact that it is (at least on its surface) a dog's story, contains as much truth and reality of man's own struggles as that which can be sifted from the life's work of many other respected authors.The story he tells is starkly real; as such, it is not pretty, and it is not elevating.As an animal lover, I found parts of this story heartbreaking: Buck's removal from the civilized Southland in which he reigned supreme among his animal kindred to the brutal cold and even more brutal machinations of hard, weathered men who literally beat him and whipped him full of lashes is supremely sad and bothersome.Even more sad are the stories of the dogs that fill the sled's traces around him.Poor good-spirited Curly never has a chance, while Dave's story is made the more unbearable by his brave, undying spirit.Even the harsh taskmaster Spitz has to be pitied, despite his harsh nature, for the reader knows full well that this harsh nature was forced upon him by man and his thirst for gold.Buck's travails are long and hard, but the nobility of his spirit makes of him a hero--this despite the fact that his primitive animal instincts and urges continually come to dominate him, pushing away the memory and reality of his younger, softer days among civilized man.Buck not only conquers all--the weather, the harshness of the men who harness his powers in turn, the other dogs and wolves he comes into contact with--he thrives.The redemption he seems to gain with the fortunate encounter with John Thornton is also dashed in the end, after which Buck finally gives in fully to "the call of the wild" and becomes a creature of nature only.While this is a sad ending of sorts, one also feels joy and satisfaction at Buck's refusal to surrender to nature's harsh trials and his ability to find his own kind of happiness in the transplanted world in which he was placed.This isn't a story to read when you are depressed.London's writing is beautiful, poignant, and powerful, but it is also somber, sometimes morose, infinitely real, and at times gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.

The other stories are also powerful tales of survival (or demise) in the face of nature's harshness.I feel I am not alone in saying that I cannot recall most of the stories I had to read in school in my younger years but I distinctly recall "To Build a Fire."London's real, visceral language and description is hard to forget, as is the human pride and stupidity that characterizes the protagonist--London seems to be saying that we must respect and understand nature in order to survive and prosper.The protagonist's demise is more comical than tragic because of his lack of understanding and appreciation for the harsh realities of his environment.All of the stories bear the same general themes as the two I have mentioned.In each, man or beast is forced to battle against nature; survival is largely determined by each one's willingness or freedom to recede into primitiveness and let the blood of his ancestors rise up within his veins.Those who refuse to give in to their lowest instincts and who do not truly respect nature do not survive.I feel that London sometimes went a little overboard in "The Call of the Wild" when describing Buck's visions and instinctual memories of his ancestors among the first men, but his writing certainly remains compelling and beautiful, an important reminder to those of us today who are soft and take nature for granted that nature must be respected and that even her harshest realities are in some ways beautiful and noble, and that the law of survival applies just as much to us as it does to the beasts of the field.

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs
Ok, this might just be me, but I found this book extremely boring.The author did an OK job on making it bearable for girls, yet I would definitely classify this as a "boy book."I found it impossibleto enjoy, although guys may like it.I don't like reading about animals. I like reading about people, and how they react to different situations, aposition no animal could fulfil.My favorite books are The Phantom of theOpera and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.If you like those books, you willprobably not like this one. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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With Illustrations by Frederick C. Yohn. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Visionary
This text is an interesting adventure for Jack London into futurism. Probably his only complete attempt at Science Fiction. He depicts the rise and struggles of Socialism against the Oligarchy in an eerily premonitory way. While this tale predates the Soviet and Chinese actions of the past century, it seems to not only predict them, it actually helps to explain them. I'm told that Jack, who was an avid Socialist for most of his life, actually resigned from the Party not long after finishing this work. In a way, he struggles to answer his own questions about the future of social systems here. After this work, he turns back to tales of adventure and finishes his days sailing the South Pacific. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great travel journal of the hobo life
Great refreshing read! Enjoyed all the stories of Jacks life as a tramp. Jack London has become my favorite author!

Charlie ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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An excerpt:

On every hand stretched the forest primeval,--the home of noisy comedy and silent tragedy. Here the struggle for survival continued to wage with all its ancient brutality. Briton and Russian were still to overlap in the Land of the Rainbow's End--and this was the very heart of it--nor had Yankee gold yet purchased its vast domain. The wolf-pack still clung to the flank of the cariboo-herd, singling out the weak and the big with calf, and pulling them down as remorselessly as were it a thousand, thousand generations into the past. The sparse aborigines still acknowledged the rule of their chiefs and medicine men, drove out bad spirits, burned their witches, fought their neighbors, and ate their enemies with a relish which spoke well of their bellies. But it was at the moment when the stone age was drawing to a close. Already, over unknown trails and chartless wildernesses, were the harbingers of the steel arriving,--fair-faced, blue-eyed, indomitable men, incarnations of the unrest of their race. By accident or design, single-handed and in twos and threes, they came from no one knew whither, and fought, or died, or passed on, no one knew whence. The priests raged against them, the chiefs called forth their fighting men, and stone clashed with steel; but to little purpose. Like water seeping from some mighty reservoir, they trickled through the dark forests and mountain passes, threading the highways in bark canoes, or with their moccasined feet breaking trail for the wolf-dogs. They came of a great breed, and their mothers were many; but the fur-clad denizens of the Northland had this yet to learn. So many an unsung wanderer fought his last and died under the cold fire of the aurora, as did his brothers in burning sands and reeking jungles, and as they shall continue to do till in the fulness of time the destiny of their race be achieved.

It was near twelve. Along the northern horizon a rosy glow, fading to the west and deepening to the east, marked the unseen dip of the midnight sun. The gloaming and the dawn were so commingled that there was no night,--simply a wedding of day with day, a scarcely perceptible blending of two circles of the sun. A kildee timidly chirped good-night; the full, rich throat of a robin proclaimed good-morrow. From an island on the breast of the Yukon a colony of wild fowl voiced its interminable wrongs, while a loon laughed mockingly back across a still stretch of river. ... Read more

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"Big things are happening secretly all around," says Jack London's prescient hero Ernest Everhard in the 1908 novel The Iron Heel, excerpted in this timely anthology of London's writings about war and revolution. Besides illuminating his surprising literary range, The Radical Jack London establishes the iconic American author as both a product of his own era and a significant voice for ours. The book features works by London that have been unavailable for decades. In his insightful introduction, editor Jonah Raskin lays out the social, economic, and political contexts for London's polemical writings and shows London to be America's leading revolutionary writer at the turn of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Raskin Does London To Perfection
Jonah Raskin has put together what's been missing for all of us Jack London readers: a magnificent selection of London's writings on war and revolution all in one place. Raskin shows the paradox and political sideof Jack London (who ran for Mayor of Oakland twice on the Socialist ticket) and gives introductions accessible both to people who have only read Jack's "dog books" and also to the expert on Jack London who is looking for an additional resource to expand his or her knowledge into a side of Jack we rarely see. I would highly recommend this book to the general reader who is into Jack London, the Jack London enthusiast (a must-have) and also to college instructors who teach Jack London's writings (or to professors who teach cultural studies courses on the America of London's time period). Bravo, to Raskin for having the boldness to show the real Jack London, a person of depth, thought and paradox.

Gripping structure and content
London is a giant whose life squeezed in 40 years is astounding. Raskin, like a perfect docent walks the reader through first a beautiful intro capturing the texture and issues of his subjects life related to his politics then introduces each subsequent anthologized writing providing a comfortable and antipated view of the London texts.It is wonderfully modular allowing start and stop in bites.The ennui is palpable.It is a joy to read and ponder given the haunting presience and utter relevance to today's agonizing realities.William Bronston, MD ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Subjects: Western storiesNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

great daylight
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.

What a good woman can do to a bad man.
"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 successfulentrepreneur during the Alaskan Gold Rush.However, after acheiving hisfame and fortune, he finds no more challenge in the north and heads to theStates for new worlds to conquer.But, first he is flim-flammed out of hisfortune by Wall Streeters.However, he learns the lesson of dog-eat-dogand becomes as much of a scoundrel as those who robbed him.He ventures toCalifornia and envisons the future success of Oakland, buys property, setsup utilities and public transportation systems through overbearing andshady tactics. He begins to drink, starts to go soft in the belly, loseshis good looks and vitality.And then, for the first time, he falls inlove.The last third of the book charmingly relates how a good woman turnsa now bad man around.It is a love story.A rousing adventure.A triesteon the ills of big business.All superbly written by Jack London.It'seasy to see why this book was so popular in London's day.If you can findit, read it.It will be time well spent. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (23)

Good Book, Wrong Price
I like the book, but I can't understand why anyone would pay $9.99 for a novel that is free on project Gutenberg???

Political London
In the Iron Heel London lays out something right in step with reality, past present and almost certainly the future. Jack London was a guy that had hobnobbed and interacted with the well to do (he was even a member of Bohemian Grove) but he had also seen the hard side of life, working on fishing boats and in various brutal exploitive labor jobs, doing time in jail, etc. So he had an insight that not many people have.

In this work he really lays out through fictional characters how many segments of society that claim to represent the downtrodden are bought and owned by the exploitive "oligarchs", especially the Christian church, the fantasy world of academia, and the crooked labor unions who often sell out the workers. Also your hypocritical well to do armchair liberals who like to pat themselves on the back for any charitable deed, but also (often unwittingly) have blood on their hands and almost always embrace and support the system when they feel their comfortable lifestyle may be threatened or they may have to make a stand.

He also shows how the big Capitalists destroy small and mid level business operators, how they run smear campaigns through the media against anybody within the system that speaks out against them, and the out and out brutality that they use against people that resist them. Its pretty easy to find multitudes of real examples of all these things, whether 100 years ago or in the here and now.

As far as how the revolutionary struggle is portrayed in The Iron Heel there are elements to it that I could see going down if a underground movement to topple the current oligarchs ever occured but there are also elements that I couldn't see working or even happening in a million years. Besides that at this point in time I don't think there are enough people out there with the fighting spirit or intelligence to see how they are being screwed over by the system for any mass movement of resistance. Just so long as people can stuff their face with junk food, watch tv, play video games, take mind control drugs like prozac, etc, the new world order doesn't have much to worry about.

One thing London doesn't do well in The Iron Heel is differentiate between the Oligarch controlled Orwellian branch of international socialism and national, localized or dare I say it, racial socialism, which the later three were much more what London was in tune to, not the globalist type of Fabian Socialism that people like H.G Wells promoted.

The Iron Heel Vs. The Iron Heart
The book has a simple idea behind it.The story is treated like a manuscript written by Avis Everhard, the wife to Ernest Everhard the American Revolutionary.Written in the early 20th Century is if found seven centuries later.
Jack London's insight in the workings of how those who have power keep it is amazing.The street fighting, the bombings, the use of military force, all happened in one form or another in the years following the book's publication in 1907.Before Facism, before thw world wars, he sees a class struggle for control of our machine civilization (a term other authors will pick up) and his vision is very, very crisp.
I find the fact that the American Oligarchy had a jail in Cuba kind of ironic.And that one of their great wonder cities, the one called Asgard, was completed in 1984 to be kind of funny in a way.
But Jack's picture of a socialist revolt and maybe future society is not very pleasing to the eye.As the conflict grows both sides become ruthless, heartless, clones of each other.They kill, bomb, spy and use people.They both use the lower class, those poor folks in the abyss, the very ones the socialists are trying to save.
In the fighting in Chicago Avis sometimes can't tell the difference between those comardes fighting on her side and the soldiers fighting for the government.When she sights a wounded man, a man from the bottom of the class system, a beast so low that he knows he will recieve no help from anybody, she does not even OFFER to help.Many of the female socialists, bomb tossing terrorists, refuse to have children because it would take them away from fighting for the cause.In other words having a family gets in the way of killing people.No wonder it took them three centuries to overthrow the Iron Heel.
The fact is both sides want the same thing - to rule the planet.By the end of the book I was not really cheering on either group.Also much of the book, when there isn't any action, is one large boring lecture.
In the end it was worth reading because of my interest in dystopia fiction but that is it.

Red in tooth and claw
London is best known for his outdoorsman stories, survival and death in the uncaring brutality of the wild. It may be surprising, if only for a moment, that he brought the same sensibility to this story of social change.

The story begins in London's actual "here-and-now," the US in 1907. It centers on a firebrand Socialist named Ernest Everhard (yes, that's really his name), as seen through the adoring eyes of the woman who eventually marries him. The early part of the story describes his harangues about the "scientific" superiority of socialism, supposedly founded in the facts of biology, and driven with the mechanistic inevitability of gravity.

Starting with some Kafka-esque legal attacks on Our Hero and his family, the story gradually escalates into open urban warfare. Attacker and defender alike gun each other down by the thousands. As the book ends, Chicago has been bombed to rubble, and the rubble burned. Some far-future commentator, the one who's been adding "historical" footnotes throughout, describes this as the first major battle in a civil war that runs on for centuries. He hints that those centuries will end in a flowering of wealth, art, and happiness under the benevolence of true Socialism (i.e., not that nasty Russian thing).

The rhetoric of "inevitability" sounds stale, now that so much of Eastern Europe has had its gentle revolution. The armed heroics of the firebrand look more like nihilist terrorism. "The People," in whose name the bombings and gunfire are launched, suffer as much from their self-styled saviors as from the evil stewards of the status quo.

It's a fair adventure story, set against a burning skyline, but I just can't see it as the triumph that London wants me to.

//wiredweird

The Iron Heel of the Plutocracy.
"This then is our answer . . . We will grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces."-Mr. Wickson from _The Iron Heel_

_The Iron Heel_ by American writer Jack London, first written in 1908, and republished by Lawrence Hill Books, is a profoundly philosophical work in the form of fiction advocating the alternative of radical socialism and revolution to the capitalist system.Jack London was a rugged adventurer and a novelist who was born into extreme poverty and became an idealistic proponent of socialism.London was influenced philosophically by such profound thinkers as Charles Darwin (whose concept of the "survival of the fittest" plays such a prevalent role in many of his stories as the "law of tooth and claw"), Herbert Spencer (social Darwinist philosopher), Friedrich Nietzsche (whose superman ideal plays a prominent role among London's ultra-masculine protagonists), and Karl Marx (whose economic theories and belief in the inevitability of proletarian revolution underlay many of London's socialist beliefs).Born into poverty, London had seen first hand the harmful effects of the plutocracy/oligarchy of elite capitalists on the poor and working class, and in this novel he puts the words of an indictment of the capitalist class into the mouth of his working class hero as having mismanaged society.London argues that there is no reason for anyone to be starving within society given the increased production capabilities of the modern age as compared with those of the stone age.

_The Iron Heel_ is supposedly a document left by one Avis Everhard, a female revolutionist in the earlier half of the twentieth century, extolling the heroism of her working class philosopher-socialist husband Ernest Everhard who fought the plutocracy.This document supposedly has been preserved to reflect the era in which the oligarchy took its most oppressive measures against the working class by forming the "Iron Heel" to crush the working class and the middle class together.However, according to the story the proletariat revolution eventually triumphed bringing about a new era in subsequent centuries.London believed this triumph was inevitable given the theories of Karl Marx which Ernest expounds upon within the story.

_The Iron Heel_ begins at the home of John Cunningham, Avis Everhard's father, where a group of Christian churchmen have met to discuss the problems of the working class.John Cunningham was a physicist, who has taken a particular interest in philosophy and economics.As part of their discussion, Ernest Everhard is invited to represent the working class.London's description of the thrust and parry of verbal sparing is very effective.Ernest effectively defeats in argument all the men and shows them the philosophy of the working class.Later one of the Christian churchmen, Bishop Morehouse, will come to embrace socialism himself, but will be dismissed as "overworked" and "insane" by the ruling oligarchy.Avis Everhard, who eventually falls in love with and marries Ernest, described as a Nietzschean "blond beast" - an ultra-masculine heroic muscle man from the working class, and her father will also come to embrace socialism.Ernest eventually must confront the oligarchs in their natural environment.London's description of this confrontation at an elite club resembles his descriptions of dog fights from some of his other stories and is very effective.Ernest also confronts a group of middle class businessmen who propose to "bust the trusts" and who Ernest dismisses as "machine breakers".Eventually the oligarchy comes to make war against labor through the formation of the "Iron Heel".London describes the militia of the oligarchy as similar to the Black Hundreds of Russia who actively opposed the revolution.The story traces the development of the opposition and the working class revolt as they seek to fight against the capitalist oppressors.

London's socialism is highly idiosyncratic.On the one hand, he advocates collectivism, and yet his chief protagonists are all powerful individualists.This conflict between the brute Darwinistic struggle for survival and his socialistic ideals is seen in all of his stories.While London's socialism is certainly overly idealistic, he could not have foreseen the terrors that developed within the Soviet experiment.One could just as well imagine the lone right wing hero going up against the left wing oligarchy and the media in today's world.It is certainly possible to imagine that had London lived longer he would have come to reject this naïve sort of socialism and may have become a powerful force for the reaction.Some have also suggested that _The Iron Heel_ is highly prophetic in that it foretells the creation of fascism in which an alliance between the labor castes and the capitalists developed.Like all London's stories though, _The Iron Heel_ is expertly crafted with superb imagery and London's social conscience is revealed throughout.
... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

An Amazing Book
This was my first book by Jack London.He had an amazing gift of painting a picture of the dog world.I don't know for sure what dogs think or feel, but Jack London apparently did, and what he wrote is believable.Buck is the "Rocky" of the dog world, and this is a very inspiring book that reads like it really happened this way.Some of what Buck experienced is not an easy read, but I recommend this for anyone -- like me -- who is new to the genre.

joe w
loved this book as a boy. still reads well today. i want buck as my dog.

Literary genius
I see the literary genius of the book, the writers ability to get into the head of a dog and portray all his experiences from its's perspective. The harshness, starvation, brutality, and death were difficult to listen to and I kept expecting Buck to crook, but there were moments of kindness and warmth that made this not quite as sad.

great read
If you haven't read this in a while - or never - please do. Wonderful, insightful. Even though written sometime ago the story line is here and now - in the papers and tv often. You read it and see if you agree!

Literary Gem
I had to read this book during the summer for school and was not looking forward to it. But the more I got into the book, I started to enjoy it. It's not exactly my kind of book, but it has a great story and amazing descriptions. A great classic! ... Read more

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