The Wit & Wisdom of Jack London

by Jack London, Margie Wilson

Who was the fascinating man behind the legend? Forget all the rumors. In this book, you can read Jack's thoughts and ideas . . . in his own words. More insightful than an autobiography, London's words offer a direct glimpse into his life, mind, and spirit. His words reflect his multi-faceted personality – direct, enthusiastic, intelligent, passionate, and at times, brutally frank. This collection of quotations — the most comprehensive to date — from Jack London's writings and letters allow us to better understand who he was — his dreams, his doubts, and frustrations. By publishing these words, Jack London speaks for himself. This book also contains a Chronology of Jack London's life . . . one of the most complete and accurate chronologies in existence!

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

John Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.

London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.

His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".

Reviews

[Noah Letner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to get to know Jack London in a different way. The letters and excerpts reveal the true man. It's a keeper!

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fairly all-encompassing about Jack London's ideas! Edited by Margie Wilson, it includes sections on quotes from his books, and quotes about his ideas of life, male-female relations, being a writer, and Socialism.