The Portable Jack London

by Jack London, Earle Labor (Editor)

Alfred Kazin has aptly remarked that "the greatest story Jack London ever wrote was the story he lived." Newsboy, factory "work beast," gang member, hobo, sailor, Klondike argonaut, socialist crusader, war correspondent, utopian farmer, and world-famous adventurer: London is the closest thing America has had to a literary folk hero. His writing itself is concerned with nothing less than the largest questions and the grandest themes: What does it mean to be a human being in the natural world? What debts do human beings owe each other - and to all their fellow creatures? This collection places London, at last, securely within the American literary pantheon. It includes the complete novel The Call of the Wild; such famous stories as "Love of Life," "To Build a Fire," and "All Gold Canyon"; journalism, political writings, literary criticism, and selected letters.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories

563 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

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

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as these portable volumes of great American authors go, this is quite a variety grab bag. You got wooly mammoths, accounts of earthquakes and typhoons, literary manifestos, defenses of socialism, depressing slave executions on tropical islands, the Yukon, tours of London's East End, tales from the perspective of canines, even a little mild science fiction. My favorite part about this series is the letters. It's great to read these literary legends writing in familiar and affectionate tones. Sure, London loved his hyperbole and extreme personalities, but that's what he's read for.

[C. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love his wit, story, and politics. Master of allegory. I was still thinking about many of these short stories weeks after reading them. In the past few months I’ve read this, “John Barleycorn,” “the road,” and lots of other research into his life - I feel like I almost knew him (and miss him).

His books “the iron heel” & “people of the abyss” are up next for me - the latter of which supposedly inspired Orwell’s amazing “Wigan pier” and “down & out in Paris & London.”

[Walton C. Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently my favorite American writer.

[H.Friedmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having strong ties to Alaska means that at some point or another it was inevitable that I become enamored of Jack London. I had already read some of his stories when I was in High School, but coming at it as an adult brings an entirely new perspective.

This book contains a good range of his writing, and I think it's safe to say that as long as it's a narrative, it will be outrageously entertaining. Some of the novels sort of hit you over the head with their point, but it doesn't matter, because the action will overtake it.

A compilation like this has almost too many things to talk about. From his Alaska Stories to his Hawaiian ones and all the political writings in between. He takes the child's adventure story and adds a depth, breadth and meaning to them that sparks the intellect. To anyone who says Call of the Wild is just a story of a dog, I say you need to learn to think.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had this with me on a month of trekking in Alaska. Great stories of pain, deception, and endurance. I particularly enjoyed reading the socialist non-fiction included in the collection and some of London's own letters that delved into his own past - I had never known much about his socio-economic origins. His writing resonates even more knowing even the little glimpse he provides.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portable readers are hard to rate by the simple fact that they include such broad ranges of a writer's or genre's works. This was a decent collection of his writings. In fact, it got more stars than I thought it would (I'm not a London fan), because it had some interesting things that don't normally make it into London anthologies.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

London takes the grotesque and turns it into something that dances on the page. I truly love his prose.

If you're looking for something that captures the "terrible and tragic" with frank and lovely language, London is for you.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories of cold places.