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American author, journalist, and social activist Jack London is best known for his stories set during the Klondike gold rush. During the late 19th century London traveled to the Klondike region of the Yukon in northwestern Canada to strike it rich. While he didn’t find a great fortune in gold he came away with the experiences that would inspire some of his greatest writing. Set in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon territory, “The Call of the Wild” is a story embodied with a realism indicative of London’s prospecting experience. The tale follows the struggle of Buck, the domesticated pet of Judge Miller and his family, who is snatched from a pampered lifestyle in California’s Santa Clara Valley. When Buck is stolen by the gardener’s assistant, Manuel, who sells him to finance his gambling addiction, he faces an arduous journey to the Yukon territory where he must adapt to the brutal reality of life as a sled dog. One of the finest examples of London’s literary talent, “The Call of the Wild” exhibits why he would become one of the most popular writers of his day. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Born into poverty in San Francisco in 1876, Jack London is one of the most well-known and beloved of all American authors, as well as one of the first Americans to become world famous and wealthy from his literary career. London lived a colorful and adventurous life as a young man, working as a sailor and then living as a hobo, all before starting high school. After dropping out of college at Berkeley, London joined the Klondike Gold Rush, an experience which would form the basis of many of his most famous works. After returning sick and weakened from his time in Alaska, he turned to writing full time. Contained in this volume are many of his most famous and well-loved short stories, including the powerful “To Build a Fire,” a story based on his own experiences as a young and inexperienced man in the harsh Alaskan wilderness. London seized on the new popularity of magazines and short stories and delighted readers with his mastery of language and amazing ability to capture places and dramatic events. This collection showcases many of his best and most thrilling tales and demonstrates why London remains one of America’s best writers. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Jack London’s 1904 novel “The Sea Wolf” is the story of Humphrey van Weyden, an effete gentleman who finds himself shipwrecked when the San Francisco ferry his is aboard collides with another ship in the fog. Adrift in the bay, Humphrey is rescued by Wolf Larsen, the brutish captain of a seal-hunting schooner, the “Ghost”. However his relief in being saved is short-lived, for he is soon put to work, essentially enslaved as a cabin boy forced to do menial work aboard the “Ghost” by Larsen. Humphrey finds that he must quickly adapt to the harsh environment of the vessel and over the course of the novel becomes toughened up by the strenuous work aboard the ship and in defending himself against other brutal members of the crew. Reportedly based on the real life sailor Captain Alexander MacLean, it is the characterization of Wolf Larsen that is the standout of the novel. A primitive, animalistic force, Captain Larsen is depicted as a perfect specimen of masculinity, a man with no moral compass, who values only his own survival and pleasure. “The Sea Wolf” is a thrilling tale of maritime adventure which stands as one of London’s finest literary achievements. This edition includes an introduction by Lewis Gannett and a biographical afterword.

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American author, journalist, and social activist Jack London is best known for his stories set during the Klondike gold rush. Drawing upon his own personal experiences in the Klondike, London’s stories are embodied with a realism indicative of that experience. This volume brings together two of his most famous novellas, “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”. “The Call of the Wild” follows the struggle of Buck, a domesticated dog, who is snatched from a pastoral ranch in California and is sold into a brutal life as a sled dog in the Yukon. “White Fang”, described as a mirror to “The Call of the Wild”, conversely details a wild wolfdog’s journey to domestication. By telling these stories through the viewpoint of the animals London explores the struggle of humankind between its wild nature and the demands of civilization. “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang” are two of the finest examples of London’s literary talent and exhibit why he would become one of the most popular writers of his day. This edition is illustrated by Philip R. Goodwin and Charles Livingston Bull. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Most people think of The Call of the Wild or White Fang when Jack London's name comes up – and rightfully so, for these are his two most famous works, and both are classics. It's an interesting but far less well known fact that London also wrote a substantial body of science fiction and fantasy (before the term «science fiction» had even been coined!) including The Scarlet Plague, The Iron Heel, and The Star Rover, and many more. Almost 900 pages of great reading!<P> Included are:<P> THE REJUVENATION OF MAJOR RATHBONE<BR> THE MAN WITH THE GASH<BR> A RELIC OF THE PLIOCENE<BR> THE SHADOW AND THE FLASH<BR> PLANCHETTE<BR> BEFORE ADAM<BR> THE IRON HEEL<BR> A CURIOUS FRAGMENT<BR> GOLIAH<BR> THE SCARLET PLAGUE<BR> WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG<BR> THE UNPARALLELED INVASION<BR> THE STRENGTH OF THE STRONG<BR> THE STAR-ROVER<BR> THE RED ONE<P> And if you enjoy this volume, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for «Wildside Press Megapack» to see all the other entries in this great series, covering science fiction, fantasy, horror, mysteries, westerns, classics – and much, much more!

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The Iron Heel treads upon the faces of the poor. Determined to crush the working class at any cost, the brutal dictatorship incites a paranoid atmosphere of witch-hunting hysteria, employing gangs of thugs to stifle free speech. Avis Everhard, wife of a labor leader, narrates this gripping novel. In moving terms, she reveals the wretched poverty that props up aristocratic wealth and recounts the desperate struggles of revolutionaries against the insidious rise of the Iron Heel. George Orwell hailed this prescient tale as «a truer prophecy of the future than either Brave New World or The Shape of Things to Come.» Written more than a century ago, Jack London's harrowing vision of class warfare and a totalitarian state anticipates the development of fascism, the spread of terrorism, and the oppressive forces of government surveillance and authority. A short novel with remarkable depth, it continues to resonate with modern readers as both a satire and a warning.

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When White Fang was first published in 1906, Jack London was well on his way to becoming one of the most famous, popular, and highly paid writers in the world. White Fang stands out as one of his finest achievements, a spellbinding novel of life in the northern wilds.In gripping detail, London bares the savage realities of the battle for survival among all species in a harsh, unyielding environment. White Fang is part wolf, part dog, a ferocious and magnificent creature through whose experiences we see and feel essential rhythms and patterns of life in the animal kingdom and among mankind as well.It is, above all, a novel that keenly observes the extraordinary working of one of nature's greatest gifts to its creatures: the power to adapt. Focusing on this wondrous process, London created in White Fang a classic adventure story as fresh and appealing for today's audiences as for those who made him among the bestselling novelists of his day.

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Born into poverty, Jack London led a knockabout existence before achieving success as one of the most popular authors of his era. In the course of his brief but active life, he sought adventure &#8212; as a hobo, prospector, sailor, and a dozen other occupations &#8212; along with self-education from the works of Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche, and Jung. The vitality and variety of London's experiences&nbsp;are reflected in his stories, which range from earthy accounts of survival in the Arctic and the South Sea Islands to gripping tales of political upheaval&nbsp;and drama within the boxing ring.The short story format offers an ideal showcase for London's narrative genius, providing a focus for the great power and fluency of his language. This collection features 13 of London's best works in the genre, including his most acclaimed short story, «To Build a Fire,» in which a new arrival to the Klondike stubbornly ignores warnings about the folly of traveling alone. Additional tales include «A Piece of Steak,» «The Mexican,» «The Law of Life,» «All Gold Canyon,» and&nbsp;eight others.

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Hailed by critics as one of the greatest sea stories ever written, this rousing adventure offers a fascinating combination of gritty realism and sublime lyricism in its portrayal of an elemental conflict. Jack London began his career at sea, and his shipboard experiences imbue The Sea-Wolf with flavorful authenticity.In the story, the gentleman narrator, Humphrey Van Weyden, is pitted against an amoral sea captain, Wolf Larsen, in a clash of idealism with materialism. The novel begins when Van Weyden is swept overboard into San Francisco Bay, and plucked from the sea by Larsen's seal-hunting vessel, the Ghost. Pressed into service as a cabin boy by the ruthless captain, Van Weyden becomes an unwilling participant in a brutal shipboard drama. Larsen's increasingly violent abuse of the crew fuels a mounting tension that ultimately boils into mutiny, shipwreck, and a desperate confrontation.Read and loved around the world, this 1904 maritime classic has influenced such writers as Hemingway, Orwell, and Kerouac.

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Jack London's novels and ruggedly individual life seemed to embody American hopes, frustrations, and romantic longings in the turbulent first years of the twentieth century, years infused with the wonder and excitement of great technological and historic change. The author's restless spirit, taste for a life of excitement, and probing mind led him on a series of hard-edged adventures from the Klondike to the South Seas. Out of these sometimes harrowing experiences &#8212; and his fascination with the theories of such thinkers as Darwin, Spencer, and Marx &#8212; came the inspiration for novels of adventure that would make him one of America&#8217;s most popular writers.The Call of the Wild, considered by many London's greatest novel, is a gripping tale of a heroic dog that, thrust into the brutal life of the Alaska Gold Rush, ultimately faces a choice between living in man's world and returning to nature. Adventure and dog-story enthusiasts as well as students and devotees of American literature will find this classic work a thrilling, memorable reading experience.

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