57th out of 88 books
—
22 voters
Before Adam
by
Jack London
A young man in modern America is terrorized by visions of an earlier, primitive life. Across the enormous chasm of thousands of centuries, his consciousness has become entwined with that of Big-Tooth, an ancestor living at the dawn of humanity. Big-Tooth makes his home in Pleistocene Africa, a ferocious, fascinating younger world torn by incessant conflict between early hu...more
Paperback, 266 pages
Published
March 1st 2000
by Bison Books
(first published 1906)
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I happened on this one during a browse session at my local used book dealer. Since I remember loving Call of the Wild, this seemed a no-brainer to try. Furthermore, thanks to the first section of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001, I was also anxious to see another fictional take on prehistoric humans. Both as a Jack London outing, and another dip into literature about prehistoric times, this book paid off.
Before Adam may not be as attractive a story as other Jack London fare. The content reads...more
Before Adam may not be as attractive a story as other Jack London fare. The content reads...more
I was pretty unimpressed by this one. In the main, it is a rather typical fantasy about a group of ape-men struggling to survive against long odds in a hostile environment. But it's wrapped in this pseudo-science of "repressed racial memory" and whatnot that is frankly relatively silly even by modern evolutionary standards. I expect modern evolutionists would also find the simultaneous presence of three separate branches of pre-humans with (in their terms) wildly different physical ...more
I am reading much of "The Best of Jack London". This is the first in the series. Jack London was one of my father's much mentioned authors. Perhaps because of the Yukon connecctions. My grandfather was born in the Yukon Territory. In the middle of December, on a gold mine claim. But then, that is another story... So, I am now reading Jack London.
"Before Adam" was my first foray into London. It is a facinating book, delving into prehistoric man. Explori...more
"Before Adam" was my first foray into London. It is a facinating book, delving into prehistoric man. Explori...more
Hesperus Press is a godsend for those looking to find out of print or not so popular titles from major authors. This is one of two Jack London titles I have read from them-the other being "The Red Plague." Read the synopsis (for the Red Plague) and one might assume that Cormac McCarthy gave it a read before writing "The Road." The only problem I have with Hesperus is that they often set a publication date for a particular title and then don't actually publish the title. C...more
Although I'm a big fan of London's Klondyke stories, I wasn't expecting a great deal from this one - just reading it as a curio.
The opening chapters, setting up the tale with a load of bunkum about 'racial memory', weren't encouraging. However, once he gets us back into the Pleistocene, London's exceptional story-telling skills kick in, and he makes a decent stab at depicting both the vagaries of evolution and the mental limitations of his proto-humans. This hardly competes wi...more
This is the grandaddy of prehistoric fiction, with a much tougher edge than later novels that cover similar territory, such as Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear. A young man realizes that the vivid, interlocking dreams that have terrified him since childhood are actually racial memories from a proto-human ape-like species that had advanced to living in caves, communicating with a few rudimentary words, and living in monogamous "marriages." In most ways however, it is still a world "red...more
Go back to the era of evolution being a new idea... back to when survival of the fittest made sense, and death of the weakest in a species was not bad: before technology could save almost every one from an early death. Remember the 1970ish movie about remembering ages past through sensory deprivation? The creator of that movie/story had to have read this book at some time. Before Auel, there was this book.
London, using the science current at the time and a rigorous imagination, has created a pre-linguistic hominid society. London frames the story as a modern man's organization and chronological recounting of atavistic dreams he's had since childhood informed by adult study and contemplation. This enables him to communicate between what he imagines as the pre-human thought process and the modern human one. It's brilliantly done. A compelling read. I wish it weren't over.
An enjoyable and brief book. I would have been interested in a little more development at the end, but it could have gone too far. A risky subject to be fictionalized at such a time. I am embarrassed to say that I have never read a Jack London book. I will probably look into the better known novels, later.
London is pretty much always entertaining, and no less so in this "recovered memory" of prehistoric human history. A quick and worthy read.
An exciting tale. London is a master storyteller, chosing his framing and conflict with such skill that this complex story seems effortless.
Wonderful details about early man and possible ways they advanced themselves. Explains Modern man vs Neanderthals vs Cromagnon man.
Perhaps not accurate, but still insightful. Well done considering how scant our knowledge was when it was written.
I have an earlier edition. Not one of London's best but it is pretty decent.
Good work. Interesting read.
a better world then?
269591 Great concept that wears thin halfway through. The main character is plagued by headaches that bring on historical memories of life among our early human ancestors. The bulk of the novella is set in the stone age. This is probable one of London's least known/most unpopular works. I heard about it on NPR from a caller on a show about JL.
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Erik Graff
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
London fans
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
literature
Picked this one up used in New York City, reading it quickly, years later during summer break from classes at Loyola University Chicago. I was not impressed.
Cool caveman story by the "Call of the Wild" Guy. silly premise, but riveting adventure.
Before Adam (Dodo Press) by Jack London (2007)
I really enjoyed this book.
Stuart Kent
marked it as to-read
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Jack London was an American novelist and short-story writer whose works deal romantically with elemental struggles for survival. At his peak, he was the highest paid and the most popular of all living writers. Because of early financial difficulties, he was largely self educated past grammar school.
London draws heavily on his life experiences in his writing. He spent time in the Klondi...more
More about Jack London...
London draws heavily on his life experiences in his writing. He spent time in the Klondi...more
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