Overview
"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time," writes Jack London, accurately proclaiming the very ingredients of his full, passionate lifestyle.Bearing a name that is now synonymous with adventure, London seemed to fear nothing, constantly stretching his comfortable limits--composing his classic short stories at one thousand words every morning, sailing across the Pacific Ocean on voyages both for pleasure and profit, horseback riding, continual entertaining at home in Glen Ellen, California, barroom socializing and debating, marrying twice, frequent lecturing, and operating a ranch--all with about four or five hours of sleep a night to make it possible.
Rising from the low-income factory-worker community of West Oakland, California, London’s romantic writings on adventure found at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California appealed to the everyman--millions of readers around the world. Here, in Jack London on Adventure, are excerpts from his well-loved works, which were the result of his restless quest for experience, combined with “his observations of unalterable facts,” as editor Terry Mort writes in his introduction. Lose yourself in the sheer unending quietude of the North in "White Fang" and "The White Silence"; enter into the listless, worried mind of an elder in "The League of the Old Men"; prepare to sail around the world for seven years’ time alongside the author-turned-captain, himself, in "The Cruise of the Snark," where the famed boat is built with each dollar earned from London’s writings; and peek into the observations ofseasoned sailors and the foolish passengers they carry in "The Sea Wolf." Mort ends with the statement, “A complex man and artist is hard to capture in a single image,” but in terms of the unlikely and unknown, London’s works here capture the thrill that burned in him so brightly.
Synopsis
"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time," writes Jack London, accurately proclaiming the very ingredients of his full, passionate lifestyle.
Bearing a name that is now synonymous with adventure, London seemed to fear nothing, constantly stretching his comfortable limits--composing his classic short stories at one thousand words every morning, sailing across the Pacific Ocean on voyages both for pleasure and profit, horseback riding, continual entertaining at home in Glen Ellen, California, barroom socializing and debating, marrying twice, frequent lecturing, and operating a ranch--all with about four or five hours of sleep a night to make it possible.
Rising from the low-income factory-worker community of West Oakland, California, London’s romantic writings on adventure found at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California appealed to the everyman--millions of readers around the world. Here, in Jack London on Adventure, are excerpts from his well-loved works, which were the result of his restless quest for experience, combined with “his observations of unalterable facts,” as editor Terry Mort writes in his introduction. Lose yourself in the sheer unending quietude of the North in "White Fang" and "The White Silence"; enter into the listless, worried mind of an elder in "The League of the Old Men"; prepare to sail around the world for seven years’ time alongside the author-turned-captain, himself, in "The Cruise of the Snark," where the famed boat is built with each dollar earned from London’s writings; and peek into the observations ofseasoned sailors and the foolish passengers they carry in "The Sea Wolf." Mort ends with the statement, “A complex man and artist is hard to capture in a single image,” but in terms of the unlikely and unknown, London’s works here capture the thrill that burned in him so brightly.
Library Journal
This collection contains stories and novel excerpts from two strains of Jack London's so-called adventure writing. Part 1, "The White Silence of the North," features writings set in the Klondike and is based on London's own ill-fated Gold Rush days. Part 2, "The Great Faithless Sea," amasses many fine pieces of seagoing fiction from London, a lifelong sailor. Cumulatively, this anthology brings together the best examples of London's writing in the adventure genre, be they set on land or sea, and includes both the well known (e.g., White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, "To Build a Fire") and more obscure examples of his work. The introductory essay by editor Mort (The Reasonable Art of Fly Fishing) adroitly weaves together the paradoxes and inconsistencies of London's life and oeuvre to present a portrait of a complex and talented writer. Overall, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to London's greatest work. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Alison M. Lewis, Drexel Univ. Lib., Philadelphia Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.