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"John Barleycorn", which draws its name from an old English folksong, is as close to an autobiography that Jack London ever wrote. London's love of alcohol is professed quite profusely in this work, however that love is tempered by the recognition of the toll that alcohol bears. As he writes, «This strength John Barleycorn gives is not fictitious strength. It is real strength.... But it is manufactured out of the sources of strength, and it must ultimately be paid for, and with interest.» A telling memoir, «John Barleycorn» provides a captivating insight into the life of the author.

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"Martin Eden" is Jack London's classic and tragic tale of its title character. Martin is in love with Ruth Morse, however as a common sailor from a working-class background, he feels that he is not good enough to win the hand of Ruth, who comes from a bourgeois family. Martin seeks to educate himself as a writer and lift up his status so that he may one day have his true love. Rich with the social theme of class struggle, «Martin Eden» is one of Jack London's best-loved works.

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Jack London was born into abject poverty in the slums of San Francisco during the winter of 1876. His writing was to reflect the hard life he lived, perpetually chronicling men facing the wild as he did throughout his life. After his eighth grade year, poverty forced London to leave school. This did not stop him, as he furthered his literary knowledge and skill at the Oakland Public Library, borrowing books and educating himself. London faced great obstacles, even landing himself in a Niagara Falls prison as a vagrant just shortly after winning a prize from a newspaper for his piece on a Typhoon near Japan. Once he was released, London decided to go back to high school, finishing his education in just a year and got into the University of California. He left after only one semester and began his prolific writing career. «The Star Rover», also published as «The Jacket» tells a tale of torture at San Quentin State Prison, where a man is left no choice but to resort to mental tactics to endure physical pain.

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Jack London was born into abject poverty in the slums of San Francisco during the winter of 1876. His writing was to reflect the hard life he lived, perpetually chronicling men facing the wild as he did throughout his life. After his eighth grade year, poverty forced London to leave school. This did not stop him, as he furthered his literary knowledge and skill at the Oakland Public Library, borrowing books and educating himself. London faced great obstacles, even landing himself in a Niagara Falls prison as a vagrant just shortly after winning a prize from a newspaper for his piece on a Typhoon near Japan. Once he was released, London decided to go back to high school, finishing his education in just a year and got into the University of California. He left after only one semester and began his prolific writing career. «The God of His Fathers and Other Stories» includes: «The God of His Fathers,» «The Great Interrogation,» «Which Make Men Remember,» «Siwash,» «The Man With The Gash,» «Jan,» «The Unrepentant,» «Grit of Women,» «Where The Trail Forks,» «A Daughter of the Aurora,» «At the Rainbow's End,» and «The Scorn of Women.»

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Jack London (1876-1916) was born in squalor and rose to become one of the most recognized names in American literature. London's travel and adventure stories have made him a favorite not only among young American boys, but also among scholars and authors like George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway because of his ability to infuse his writing with his own unique philosophical beliefs. As an ardent Socialist, London's views were an often overwhelming mix of Nietzsche, Marx and Darwin's theories on evolution and society, in whom he was thoroughly well-read. His 1913 novel, «The Valley of the Moon», chronicles the journey of a working-class couple, Billy and Saxon, who leave Oakland, CA in the midst of labor strife to search for suitable farmland farther north. They find what they're looking for in the Valley of the Moon, a Native American name for the Sonoma Valley, where Jack London lived on his ranch for the last part of his life.

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Jack London's «The Sea Wolf» is the story of Humphrey van Weyden. While onboard a San Francisco ferry which collides with another ship in the fog and sinks, Humphrey is picked up by Wolf Larsen, the captain of the seal-hunting schooner the «Ghost». A brutal ship master, Wolf rules over his ship with an iron hand. Forced to be a cabin boy and do menial work, Humphrey is forced to toughen up quick in this thrilling nautical adventure.

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Jack London was born into abject poverty in the slums of San Francisco during the winter of 1876. His writing was to reflect the hard life he lived, perpetually chronicling men facing the wild as he did throughout his life. After his eighth grade year, poverty forced London to leave school. This did not stop him, as he furthered his literary knowledge and skill at the Oakland Public Library, borrowing books and educating himself. London faced great obstacles, even landing himself in a Niagara Falls prison as a vagrant just shortly after winning a prize from a newspaper for his piece on a Typhoon near Japan. Once he was released, London decided to go back to high school, finishing his education in just a year and got into the University of California. He left after only one semester and began his prolific writing career. «The Son of the Wolf and Other Stories» includes: «The White Silence,» «The Son of the Wolf,» «The Men of Forty Mile,» «In A Far Country,» «To The Man On The Trail,» «The Priestly Prerogative,» «The Wisdom of The Trail,» «The Wife Of A King,» and «An Odyssey Of The North.»

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First serialized in 1908, “Martin Eden” is Jack London’s classic and tragic tale of its title character and his struggle to become a writer. Martin Eden is an idealistic and self-educated young man who struggles to overcome poverty and a lack of opportunities in a quest to become an educated and successful artist. He hopes to find acceptance in the world of the wealthy and refined, though he finds it hard to shake off his coarse working-class background. Eden falls in love with Ruth Morse, but he feels that he is not good enough to win her hand, as she comes from a bourgeois family. Eden hopes that she will wait for him while he seeks to establish himself as a successful writer and improve his social status so that he may one day feel worthy of his true love. The novel is heartbreaking, tragic, and rich with the themes of class struggle and prejudice. It is also hopeful in its faith in art to transform lives and has inspired countless young writers and artists to follow their dreams. “Martin Eden” remains one of Jack London’s best-loved works. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1907, “The Iron Heel” is Jack London’s dystopian novel about the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. Displaying the socialist views that were held by London himself and that were prevalent at the beginning of the 20th century, “The Iron Heel” tells the story of events far in the future when a small, wealthy class squeezes out the middle class and effectively rules with brutality for three centuries until a revolution ushers in a new era called the “Brotherhood of Man”. The novel is set primarily around the San Francisco Bay Area and is told in the form of a rediscovered long-lost manuscript written by a woman named Avis Everhard, who gives up her privileged life to join the resistance and overthrow the repressive regime. As important a commentary today as when it was first written, London’s novel was far ahead of its time and is largely credited with inspiring George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. “The Iron Heel” is a chilling depiction of a possible future world and an excellent exposition on the class struggle which has dominated most of human history. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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