Product Description
Jack London (1876-1916), known for his naturalistic and mythic tales, remains among the most popular and influential American writers in the world. Jack London's Racial Lives offers the first full study of the enormously important issue of race in London's life and diverse works, whether set in the Klondike, Hawaii, or the South Seas or during the Russo-Japanese War, the Jack Johnson world heavyweight bouts, or the Mexican Revolution. Reesman explores his choices of genre by analyzing racial content and purpose and judges his literary artistry against a standard of racial tolerance. Although he promoted white superiority in novels and nonfiction, London sharply satirized racism and meaningfully portrayed racial others--most often as protagonists--in his short fiction.

Why the disparity? For London, racial and class identity were intertwined: his formation as an artist began with the mixed "heritage" of his family. His mother taught him racism, but he learned something different from his African American foster mother, Virginia Prentiss. Childhood poverty, shifting racial allegiances, and a "psychology of want" helped construct the many "houses" of race and identity he imagined. Reesman also examines London's socialism, his study of Darwin and Jung, and the illnesses he suffered in the South Seas.

With new readings of The Call of the Wild and Martin Eden, and many other works, such as the explosive Pacific stories, Reesman reveals that London employed many of the same literary tropes of race used by African American writers of his period: the slave narrative, double-consciousness, the tragic mulatto, and ethnic diaspora. Hawaii seemed to inspire his most memorable visions of a common humanity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Readers of his major works examine method and compare his techniques and results
JACK LONDON'S RACIAL LIVES offers the first full study of race and appearance in London's life and works, exploring characters, settings, and choices in satirizing racism in his works of short fiction. Readers of his major works examine method and compare his techniques and results with that of his literary contemporaries in this fine survey, recommended for college-level literary collections already strong in Jack London studies.

the spectrum of the famous author's racial views
Jack London was a self-avowed proponent of the late Victorian/early 20th century "scientific racialism" supposedly derived from Darwin's theory of evolution. The "scientific racialism" held the superiority of the white race. Nonetheless, London's racial views as depicted and implied in his writings were much more complex; to the point of raising questions about whether London really did believe in "scientific racialism. The U. of Texas English professor Reesman sees this author's racial views conventional among whites of the era as associated with the rough conditions of his childhood, but as demonstrably being considerably modified or even abandoned as London moved to and wrote about far-flung parts of the world. It is in London's fiction, Reesman notes, with the characterizations, settings, interplay of characters, and resolutions of fiction, where his complex feelings and observations about race are most evident.

London was a pioneer in the realistic/naturalistic style of literature coming about in the early 1900s. He wrote journalism about the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the heavyweight championship boxing match pitting the African-American Jack Johnson against the white man Tommy Burns in 1908, and the Mexican Revolution in 1914. Reesman follows how in London's series of writings on the heavyweight fight, his regard of Johnson underwent a sea change. Settings of London's fiction were the wilderness of Alaska or the Klondike, the remote islands of the South Pacific, or some other unpopulated place where individuals had to use their wits and their strength to survive in direct contact with nature. London's stories drew the interest of movie studios for their adventure and drama of survival.

Reesman relates London's ambivalence and changing views toward race as a sequence of "homes" corresponding to the actual homes the writer lived in different parts of the world. The organization of her book is thus biographical, not thematic or theoretical reflecting some school of literary critique. This seems only natural considering London's rootedness in journalism and naturalism. The literary critique places London alongside Conrad and Kipling as a late Victorian/early 20th century white author whose works shed much light on the era's insubstantial, largely fanciful theories of white superiority and portray alternate views on other races inhabiting the settings of their books. This book also has the special treat of more than 40 photographs taken by Jack London. Reesman is at work coediting a major book of collected photographs of London to be published by the publisher of this work.
... Read more

Product Description
Includes the author's major novels and short stories as they appeared in their original form. Each work is preceded by a short introduction that fixes it biographically and chronologically. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Nothing but the Text
1143 pages of Jack London stories, and barely a word of anything else.The editors of this volume have done little more than reprint a large selection of his Yukon stories plus a few sea stories -- they offer no useful commentary of their own on his work.Note that this is NOT "the Complete Jack London."Since he published some 50-odd books in his lifetime, you couldn't get all that into a single volume.

The glory of this book is London's vivid descriptions of the Yukon and its inhabitants during the Klondike Gold Rush.I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he wasn't nearly as politically incorrect in his accounts of the natives as I'd feared he was -- he's no Kipling of the North -- but his descriptions of both people and places often seem fresh and insightful.That said, this book contains essentially all of his Yukon stories, and they are not ALL great -- worth reading thorough, nevertheless, but nothing surpasses "To Build a Fire" and "Call of the Wild."(Both of which are in this collection, of course.)

On the purely physical front, my paperback edition was poorly bound, and pages were falling out before I was 2/3 through it. ... Read more

Product Description
Dudes! Jack London was a surfer! Inspired by Slocum's "Sailing Aroundthe World Alone," London built a 45' schooner called the Snark, withthe intent of sailing the world with his wife and crew. His first stopwas Hawaii, where he learned to surf in 1907. He then went on to theSouth Seas and the Solomon Islands. This book is always insightful,and often hilarious. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A collection of short stories
Well, I certainly don't consider myself a book critic.I just want to share with the potential readers of this book with my thoughts.Rather than calling it a book I would rather consider it a collection of short stories, albeit the stories all took place during Jack London's cruise on Snark which ended in the Solomon Islands.London was certainly a gifted writer and like all gifted story tellers he had a way of drawing the readers into the story as if you are a part of his crew on the Snark.I particulary enjoyed his last chapter titled "Amature MD" which is absolutely hilarious.I could not stop laughing throughout that story.

I Couldn't Put It Down
What an amazing adventure, but what else would it be from Jack London. From the problems he had getting the ship built, gathering a crew, and learning to use a sextant as he leaves San Francisco Bay to sighting the clouds over Haleakala, and the harrowing exploits in the South Pacific, it's a must read for all who love grand adventure. Great book.

Patient Humor
If you like Jack London, you'll love this book. It affords an opportunity to meet the man, travel with him, laugh and cry with him.I wish he'd written more such books. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Action ... Read more

Product Description
The works of Jack London in one huge collection. This edition includes an active table of contents to help you easily find the work you are looking for.

Works Include:
The Abysmal Brute
The Acorn-Planter
Adventure
Before Adam
Brown Wolf and Other Jack London Stories
Burning Daylight
The Call of the Wild
Children of the Frost
A Collection of Stories
The Cruise of the Dazzler
The Cruise of the Snark
A Daughter of the Snows
Dutch Courage and Other Stories
The Faith of Men
The Game
The God of His Fathers
Hearts of Three
The House of Pride
The Human Drift
The Iron Heel
The Jacket
Jerry of the Islands
John Barleycorn
Little Lady of the Big House
Lost Face
Love of Life and other Stories
Martin Eden
Michael, Brother of Jerry
Moon-Face and Other Stories
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
The Night-Born
The People of the Abyss
The Red One
Revolution and Other Essays
The Road
The Scarlet Plague
The Sea Wolf
Smoke Bellew
A Son of the Sun
The Son of the Wolf
South Sea Tales
Stories of Ships and the Sea
The Strength of the Strong
Tales of the Fish Patrol
Tales of the Klondyke
Theft
The Turtles of Tasman
The Valley of the Moon
War of the Classes
When God Laughs and Other Stories
White Fang ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

works of jack london
i am satisfied with product. i would like to be able to be selective in the various stories , although i might have overlooked usuage techniques for kindle usage ... Read more

Product Description
If you know London primarily through novels like "White Fang", these stories will provide a new perspective. Full of intriguing characters and snippets of pidgin, they also highlight London's concern with social issues. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Do not download, a lot of text is missing
I started to read 'When God Laughs' and noticed that whenever there supposed to be a poetry in the book, the poetry parts are missing from the text. I guess they were lost during the conversion to the Kindle format. ... Read more

Product Description

This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. The collection is complimented by an author biography.

Customer Reviews (5)

A great collection of short stories to read aloud
Over the past several months, I've read dozens of stories and a couple of novels to my wife; it's become part of our evening ritual -- pleasant and sometimes sleep inducing for her and great scope for me -- a ham of the first order.

Her favorite author so far has been Jack London. As Dale L. Walker (Legends and Lies: Great Mysteries of the American West) correctly points out:

"London's true métier was the short story .... 7,500 words and under, where the flood of images in his teeming brain and the innate power of his narrative gift were at once constrained and freed. His stories that run longer than the magic 7,500 generally --- but certainly not always --- could have benefited from self-editing."

In fact, his novels are often episodic and loosely connected, a series of short stories if you will, especially one of his best novels, The Call of the Wild (MobileReference).

This collection contains an excellent representation of London's short stores, and several of his novels and plays. The formatting is pretty good, although many of the works run together, and it is necessary to return to the table of contents to read the stories in a sensible manner. MobileReference has a history of improving its eBooks from time to time, and it could make a number of improvements which would make this edition even more useful. For example,

1. Date the works on the table of contents and preferably at the beginning of the work itself.

2. Begin each work on a separate page, and allow one to click on an icon at the end to return to the table of contents where the work is listed.

3. Add the first version of "To Build a Fire" to the collection. Wikipedia has an excellent description of why that would be important.

"To Build a Fire" is the best known of all his stories. Set in a bitterly cold Klondike, it recounts the haphazard trek of a new arrival who has willfully ignored an old-timer's warning about the risks of traveling alone. Falling through the ice into a creek in seventy-below weather, the unnamed man is keenly aware that survival depends on his untested skills at quickly building a fire to dry his clothes and warm his extremities. After publishing a tame version of this story --- with a sunny outcome --- in The Youth's Companion in 1902, London offered a second, more severe take on the man's predicament in The Century Magazine in 1908. Reading both provides a dramatic illustration of London's growth and maturation as a writer. As Labor (1994) observes: "To compare the two versions is itself an instructive lesson in what distinguished a great work of literary art from a good children's story."

Until this version is updated for Kindle, my wife and I will continue to read through this excellent collection. She rarely falls asleep too early if Jack London is on on the evening reading menu. And, it's great joy to read his works -- I often continue to read while she sleeps and then re-read the story again the next night for both our benefits.

Robert C. Ross2009

Works of Jack London
A huge collection of short stories from the late 1800's to the early 1900's.
Well formated for use on the Kindle, with few errors. Well compiled and presented.

A new dimension to London
Works of Jack London. Huge collection. (200 + Works) Includes The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea Wolf,The Iron Heel, To Build a Fire, Cruise of ... more. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

This is an excellent ebook! There are so many great stories in this collection. I advise anyone to explore the work of Jack London further.

a lot of material for a reasonable price
You get over 200 works for less than $5.There are only minor formatting problems (e.g. the short stories run together on the same page)

Jack London - Kindle eBook

Complete Works of Jack London. Huge collection. (200 + Works) FREE Author's biography and Stories in the trial version.

White Fang.... and much more... Excellent compilation! ... Read more

Product Description

One of the greatest storytellers of our time, Jack London wrote prolifically. His tales of adventure vividly capture the struggle to survive against the forces of nature by both men and animals, and often their retreat to a primitive state in the face of death. While these tales brought him the most fame, London also wrote stories that showed his insight into the lives of people who worked at sea, and they areas wonderful as any of his work. The stories in this collection show the wide range of Jack London's storytelling talents, and they continue to thrill readers today just as they have for generations.

Customer Reviews (3)

Solid London Collection
This is a solid and well packaged collection of Jack London's stories.The low rating by one of the reviewers is mystifying.The reviewer claims to have ordered the product for Christmas.Perhaps but not from Halcyon. The Halcyon Collection was published more than three months later (March 29).Obviously there is bitterness over the seller's response, but it is irresponsible in this case.A correction and an apology to Halcyon Classics would be in order.

I NEVER RECEIVED THIS ITEM
I WOULD NEVER BUY FROM THIS SELLER.THEY WERE TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE.I AM SURPRISED A REVIEW HAS BEEN REQUESTED! I SENT AN EMAIL TELLING THEM THAT THIS WAS A GIFT FOR MY BROTHER WHO HAD JUST LOST THE SIGHT IN ONE OF HIS EYES AND I THOUGHT THIS LARGE PRINT BOOK MIGHT ENCOURAGE HIM AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT.IT WAS HURTFUL THAT THEY DID NOT RESPOND TO ME.

The Collected Short Stories of Jack London
The Collected Short Stories of Jack London:
Was given as a gift to a young teenage boy.He said,
he enjoyed it. ... Read more

Product Description
Two classic stories-one indispensable volume.

Timeless tales of wolves, dogs, men, and the wild, The Call of the Wild and White Fang are two of the world's greatest adventure stories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Great
What a great book.We have been reading this classic to our kids at bedtime and they love it.

The Call Of The Wild
The Call of The Wild Barnes and Noble Books, 1903, pp.90, $4.95
Jack London ISBN-13 978-1-59308-002-0

Buck has a wonderful life for a dog. He can go hunting with his owners or just lay around. He even has a pool. But one day when he gets dognapped it allturns around.
Jack London's The Call Of The wild is an amazing arctic story from the perspective of a dog named Buck. He has been dog napped from his home in Santa Clara valley.He has been trained and sold multiple times as a sled dog and he has to survive with the other hardcore dogs. But Buck is successful and he even gets the chance to take on the leader of the pack. After this conflict Buck is soon sold again to a few more people but when one of his owners falls through thin ice Buck is taken in by another owner but what will happen with this owner read to find out.
In this novel Jack London uses perspective very efficiently and his characters are extremely realistic and excruciatingly detailed emotionally and physically and shows Bucks progress as he adapts. I highly recommend this book to any age and any one who likes animals andsurvival novels

The Call of the Wild and White Fang
I would not read them back to back.The call of the Wild was my 1st and was outstanding.Not too long but yet you really get involved in the way a dog see's our world.Good Reading.

Hardcover Enthusiast
It was a real pleasure rereading this book from my youth. I was forced to read it in school and was too young to appreciate its brilliance. The way Jack London tells the story of Call of the Wild from a Dogs perspective is mesmerizing. I can't wait to find the time to read White Fang. The only part that upset me was that this did not come as separate books. I am now a firm believer in hardcover books and just wish this had come as a box set.

Call of the Wild Revisited
Picked up this book while in Alaska and throughly enjoyed it....as with most men, had read it or heard of it as a boy, but put it aside or didn't remember it...Surprisingly good, especially while in Alaska, but one doesn't have to be in Alaska to appreciate and enjoy this book.Yes, it's about a dog, but it's also about life, relationshships, and attitudes. Good book well worth reading. LIke most classics, we tend to appreciate them more as we grow older than when we first read them.Thus it is with this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good book, bad edition
I selected this book as my first Kindle book.It is a great book about the hooks Alcohol has on people, and I loved the Kindle experience.I would have given it a 5 star rating but for one thing.This Kindle edition left out the last four words of the last chapter, which leaves you hanging, to say the least.I guess Amazon did this for commercial reasons since this was a free book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Crossing The Border
This is one of the most interesting of all Jack's books I've ever read. Not as much because of the writing quality itself, but the story subjects; brave crossings of a border to the unknown. Professor Standing gets to learn about prison life and punishment and then... The Jacket. A fellow prisoner teaches him how to set his soul free... Star Roving!

good book
I read this book a few years ago, so I'm writing this review based on my memory of the book.The story kept you involved with the characters.I must tell you the story was disturbing to me, but I had to finish it because I was so drawn into the story.The Star Rover is about a man in prison whom the guards place in solitary confinement, and a strait jacket.It was disturbing to me because of the pain the guards inflicted upon the inmates.His fellow inmates inform him of the process of roving to stay alive while in the jacket. ... Read more

Product Description
This Kindle book includes: MEMOIRS -- John Barleycorn, The Road; NOVELS -- The Cruise of the Dazzler, A Daughter of the Snows, The Call of the Wild, Sea-Wolf, The Game, White Fang, Before Adam, The Iron Heel, Martin Eden, Burning Daylihgt, Adventure, Scarlet Plague, A Son of the Sun, Valley of the Moon, Mutiny of the Elsinore, The Little Lady of the Big House, Jerry of the Islands, Michael Brother of Jerry SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS -- Son of the Wolf, Children of the Frost, Tales of the Fish Patrol, South Sea Tales, Smoke Bellew, The Turtles of Tasman, Dutch Courage and Other Stories, The Faith of Men, Moon Face, Lost Face, Human Drift, The House of Pride, The Night Born, On the Makaloa Mat/Island Tales, Strength of the STrong, Tales of the Klondyke, When God Laughs and Other Stories PLAYS -- Theft, The Acorn Planter NON-FICTION AND ESSAYS -- The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, Revolution and Other Essays, The Cruise of the Snark.According to Wikipedia: "Jack London (12 January, 1876 – 22 November, 1916) was an American author who wrote The Call of the Wild and other books. A pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first Americans to make a lucrative career exclusively from writing."

Responding to customer feedback, I improved the formatting on 7/3/2009.If you bought a copy before then, you should be able to download the new version at no additional cost. Feedback always welcome. seltzer@samizdat.com ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Customer Service
I really don't need to add anything about Jack London. I did have a small problem after it downloaded and I contacted the publisher and they responded right away and fixed the problem. Kudos.

Outstanding!
"Mr. Rudi London's epic, The Operator is Calling, is truly worth reading at any age - this book deserves a movie or television spot! I guarantee your attention from start to finish... Each plot and character will embrace the reader with vivid imagery, mystery, and detail... an action packed adventure, giving a sense of detail, promise and hope... I couldn't stop reading - this book is, a must have".

The Pre-Eminent Writer of the 20th Century
This is a magnificent collection of most of Jack London's major works. A feast for only pennies. Though London has faded from the public's mind in the 21st century, he was a towering giant in the first half of the 20th century. Today he is mainly remembered for The Call of The Wild, still ranked as one of the top 100 novels of all time, but this collection showcases some of his most heavyweight literary works such as Martin Eden and John Barleycorn (which is largely credited as providing the tipping point for Prohibition).

A must for any serious collection. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description