Jack London: The Greatest Short Stories

by Jack London

Poetic, swift with violence and action.1 An Odyssey of the North2 The Son of the Wolf3 Law of Life4 To Build a Fire5 Love of Life6 A Piece of Steak7 Lost Face8 The Heathen9 The Wit of Porportuk10 The Pearls of Parlay

Genres: Classics

121 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 15, 2017

About the author

John 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".

Reviews

[Bruce Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Tales

Jack London was an amazing story teller. Some of the impolitic language and content is hard to take in this day and age, but his stories are powerful nonetheless.

[Tom Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the blurb puts it, "poetic, swift, violence and action". I'm sure I had read one of these and/or one of London's famous novels in grade school, but I couldn't tell you for sure.

These are excellent stories, with many haunting images and themes. The most vivid were his stories of Canada and Alaska, the cold, the frozen landscape and the relentless power of nature.

While some of his phrases are no longer 'politically correct' in his descriptions of the native inhabitants of the areas, his writing style is easy, crisp and enjoyable.

If, like me, you enjoy reading, take a few minutes and enjoy a step back into a different time, where self reliance was mandatory in these parts of the world, where technology was almost nonexistent and you survived by knowledge, wit and determination.

Enjoy!

[Mojoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing works by an American master storyteller. I read slowly and enjoyed each story.

[Phillip Mariscal · Rating 1 out of 5]

To Build a Fire the only worthwhile story. But, it’s a great one.