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The Turtles of Tasman
An eclectic collection, this book contains eight stories:
- By the Turtles of Tasman
- The Eternity of Forms
- Told in the Drooling Ward
- The Hobo and the Fairy
- The Prodigal Father
- The First Poet
- Finis
- The End of the Story
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience.
- By the Turtles of Tasman
- The Eternity of Forms
- Told in the Drooling Ward
- The Hobo and the Fairy
- The Prodigal Father
- The First Poet
- Finis
- The End of the Story
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience.
134 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1916
13 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Jack London
7,711 books7,711 followersJohn Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 5, 2023
"A niech to żółwie Tasmana" to historia dwóch braci, którzy są różni chyba w każdej dziedzinie życia. Fryderyk Travers jest bogaty, ale nie epatuje swoim majątkiem oraz jest przedsiębiorczy i pracowity. Natomiast jego brat, Tom Travers, często porywa się z motyką na słońce i cechuje go spontaniczność. Kontakt między braćmi urwał się na kilka lat, ale nadszedł moment, kiedy ich drogi się znowu zeszły i można zaobserwować jak każdy z nich sobie to życie ułożył.
To była ciekawa i pouczająca opowieść o tym, że pieniądze szczęścia nie dają, bo nie wszystko jesteśmy w stanie za nie kupić. Fryderyk jest postacią, której w zasadzie z pozoru nic do szczęścia nie brakuje, ale jak się zacznie zadawać odpowiednie pytania to widać, że to człowiek bez przyjaciół, ukochanej, a nawet małżeństwo, które zawarł, było wyłącznie z rozsądku. Tom nie jest lepszy, bo szybciej traci pieniądze niż je zyskuje, ale równocześnie otrzymuje od życia to czego nie otrzymał jego brat - przyjaźń, miłość, uczucia.
Przyjemna opowieść, zmusza do refleksji. Cztery gwiazdki.
To była ciekawa i pouczająca opowieść o tym, że pieniądze szczęścia nie dają, bo nie wszystko jesteśmy w stanie za nie kupić. Fryderyk jest postacią, której w zasadzie z pozoru nic do szczęścia nie brakuje, ale jak się zacznie zadawać odpowiednie pytania to widać, że to człowiek bez przyjaciół, ukochanej, a nawet małżeństwo, które zawarł, było wyłącznie z rozsądku. Tom nie jest lepszy, bo szybciej traci pieniądze niż je zyskuje, ale równocześnie otrzymuje od życia to czego nie otrzymał jego brat - przyjaźń, miłość, uczucia.
Przyjemna opowieść, zmusza do refleksji. Cztery gwiazdki.
June 1, 2017
This short story written by Jack London is a study in contrast between two men who embody opposing aspects of London's character. One is a successful workaholic Frederick Travers a man of high standing vs his brother Tom a wondering adventurer who is dying. London gives us a powerful short story into the insightful life of both of these people and a little insight into his own life seen through these two people.
November 5, 2025
A properly produced edition of short stories can make all the difference. It does with these Jack London stories first published in 1916. The selection and placement of each one creates an overall reading experience where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The title story, which is the first in collection is interesting enough as a stand alone piece. It's the story of two brothers, Frederick and Tom Travers. In late middle age, Frederick has everything, political, social, and economic success, along with a properly behaved daughter, a big house, and the sort of health that makes him expect to live another thirty years. Into his life arrives brother Tom, long estranged from Frederick, an adventurer who has traveled the world and has now come home to die, accompanied by his bright almost gypsy like daughter. While counting down towards the end, scores of people arrive at the Travers's house, all to visit with Tom. And they all come from his times in the South Seas, Australia, the Yukon and elsewhere. It's then that Frederick deep down begins realize what little he actually enjoys. Things, possessions, property, they don't mean as much as what you will to look back on at the end of life, along with who cares about you.
This story sets the stage for all that follows, each of which examines that initial thesis. Sedley Crayden, in "The Eternity of Forms," is an exemplar of Frederick Travers life taken to the extreme. He becomes a murderous madman whose scholarly life eventually leads him to spending the last two years of his life sitting in the same chair and never moving, haunted by the ghost of his missing brother. Next up is "Told in the Drooling Ward," where only a madhouse provides sufficient security for those who fear to search for adventure too far from home. With "The Hobo and the Fairy," London wants to demonstrate the power of redemption and the unrealized value of a life of experience. The hobo in this case encounters an eight year old girl. Her trust in him, a scraggly, dirty, transient, causes him to correct his path and take on a job that needs his prior experience as a cowboy. Frankly, there is a creepy feel to this story, too, as thoughts arise in the hobo's mind of how easy it would be for his strong hands to crush those of the fairy girl and her skull as well. Dark thoughts that London intentionally incorporates into the story. Why? Perhaps to illustrate the very thin dividing line over which redemption would have been impossible. Then there is "The Prodigal Father," in which Josiah Childs leaves for the West and California. He creates a fortune with only three pennies in his pocket. Eventually, guilt gets the better of him and he returns back East to see the son and wife whom he has provided for from afar. Getting home, Josiah is enraptured by the son he's never seen. But once his wife emerges, he remembers her nagging, piercing, complaints and the reasons he left her in the first place. Grabbing the boy, he heads for the hills once more. A life of adventure makes for betterment, no matter how much the haze of nostalgia may lay over the truth. The same trajectory continues in "The First Poet," which, of all things, is a short story about cavemen, and "the first poet" who upsets tradition among the tribe and learns a lesson in the dangers of standing out from the crowd. The last two stories, "Finis" and "The End of the Story," take place in the Yukon. Paired together, one illustrates the desperation to survive at all costs, while the last is a love story in the unique Jack London sort of way, which illustrates that love might mean not getting what you desire most but care about more than anything in the world.
Even among cozy settings and comfortable towns and cities, London takes his heroes to the edge of experience. Frankly, I enjoy his South Seas stories more than the ones in the Yukon. But the nature of people in both places is the same: do you want safety and security or experience and adventure. London always opted for the latter.
This story sets the stage for all that follows, each of which examines that initial thesis. Sedley Crayden, in "The Eternity of Forms," is an exemplar of Frederick Travers life taken to the extreme. He becomes a murderous madman whose scholarly life eventually leads him to spending the last two years of his life sitting in the same chair and never moving, haunted by the ghost of his missing brother. Next up is "Told in the Drooling Ward," where only a madhouse provides sufficient security for those who fear to search for adventure too far from home. With "The Hobo and the Fairy," London wants to demonstrate the power of redemption and the unrealized value of a life of experience. The hobo in this case encounters an eight year old girl. Her trust in him, a scraggly, dirty, transient, causes him to correct his path and take on a job that needs his prior experience as a cowboy. Frankly, there is a creepy feel to this story, too, as thoughts arise in the hobo's mind of how easy it would be for his strong hands to crush those of the fairy girl and her skull as well. Dark thoughts that London intentionally incorporates into the story. Why? Perhaps to illustrate the very thin dividing line over which redemption would have been impossible. Then there is "The Prodigal Father," in which Josiah Childs leaves for the West and California. He creates a fortune with only three pennies in his pocket. Eventually, guilt gets the better of him and he returns back East to see the son and wife whom he has provided for from afar. Getting home, Josiah is enraptured by the son he's never seen. But once his wife emerges, he remembers her nagging, piercing, complaints and the reasons he left her in the first place. Grabbing the boy, he heads for the hills once more. A life of adventure makes for betterment, no matter how much the haze of nostalgia may lay over the truth. The same trajectory continues in "The First Poet," which, of all things, is a short story about cavemen, and "the first poet" who upsets tradition among the tribe and learns a lesson in the dangers of standing out from the crowd. The last two stories, "Finis" and "The End of the Story," take place in the Yukon. Paired together, one illustrates the desperation to survive at all costs, while the last is a love story in the unique Jack London sort of way, which illustrates that love might mean not getting what you desire most but care about more than anything in the world.
Even among cozy settings and comfortable towns and cities, London takes his heroes to the edge of experience. Frankly, I enjoy his South Seas stories more than the ones in the Yukon. But the nature of people in both places is the same: do you want safety and security or experience and adventure. London always opted for the latter.
March 5, 2020
I read a first edition of this book. It was in bad condition, with some of the pages cut from it. I didn’t realize it was a collection of short stories.
While the stories did grab my attention and were not boring, I found them very outdated (what else to expect from a book well over a hundred years old?) I would not read it again, and don’t feel I got much from the stories other than entertainment for a few minutes.
While the stories did grab my attention and were not boring, I found them very outdated (what else to expect from a book well over a hundred years old?) I would not read it again, and don’t feel I got much from the stories other than entertainment for a few minutes.
July 2, 2023
Сборник рассказов, 8 штук, дающий некоторый поперечный срез творчества ДжекЛондона. Капитаны и калифорнийские землевладельцы, безумные учёные, просто безумные, каторжники и девочки, успешные дельцы, дикари, золотоискатели с Юкона разной степени заморозки, а также их собаки. ДжЛ каким его знают и любят. Самой лучшей историей мне, оглядываясь назад, показался "Finis", есть тут такая характерная джеклондоновская "жажда к жизни".
May 7, 2020
Beatifully written stories with a lot of heart and soul.
March 30, 2024
As much as I like Jack London this was a bit of a mixed bag. As is often true of London, the Alaska goldrush stories are the best: man in the midst of a hostile wilderness.
October 15, 2015
Сборник «Черепахи Тэсмана» включает в себя, считая одноимённый, пять рассказов: «Гобо и фея», «Блудный отец», «Трагедия дальнего Северо-Запада» и «Конец сказки». Единой повествовательной линии между ними нет. Не стоит искать и какую-либо привязку рассказов друг к другу. Их объединяет только то, что они были включены в один сборник, а также такая незначительная деталь, как вера в разумность человечества. Не сказать, чтобы Лондон читал мораль. Но складывается впечатление, будто он это и пытался делать. Со страниц на читателя смотрят истории, так и желающие его подтолкнуть к благодетельной жизни. Ведь не зря живёт человек. Он, конечно, может бороздить моря и утонуть, ничего не дав миру. А может выжить и вернуться домой, осознав ошибки бурной молодости, ставшие причиной долгих странствий по заморским странам. Дома вдруг окажется, что родные тебе люди не просто ведут к процветанию город, а думают о благополучии его населения вообще. И если ты окажешься на улице, при имеющихся способностях быть нужным обществу, то всегда можешь рассчитывать на поддержку, даже от лица маленькой девочки, знающей о мире больше тебя, казалось бы всё повидавшего. Простых истин не существует. И Джек Лондон об этом лишний раз напоминает.
(c) Trounin
(c) Trounin
July 4, 2021
London's schizophrenic nature is realised in the two brothers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews