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The Human Drift
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
52 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1917
About the author
Jack London
7,871 books8,057 followersJohn 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".
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".
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 14, 2015
Everyone knows Jack London for his books The Call of the Wild and White Fang. A few years ago I discovered his sci-fi/fantasy piece The Star-Rover and last year I read quite a few of his exciting stories set in the South Seas.
So when I saw this title at Project Gutenberg, I was interested to see if I would discover yet another facet of Jack London's writing. This is a collection of essays, short sketches, London's introduction to Richard Henry Dana's wonderful book Two Years Before the Mast, and even some plays.
Most of the work was light-hearted, except for the title essay The Human Drift, where London discusses the way man has spread over the continents in waves throughout history and ponders the results and eventual end of this drift.
He speaks of Small-Boat Sailing so well that you feel you are there with him, and these are bits from his own adventures, not fiction. It is easy to see where the realism in his fiction comes from. The salt spray practically blows over you with every paragraph even in these short pieces.
The plays were silly fun: I could imagine him taking a break from the rigors of whatever Arctic story he may have been working on to write these bits that would be right at home as comedy sketches in an old-time tv variety hour. Somehow I never pictured rough tough London with such a wonderful sense of the absurd.
But my absolute favorite piece in this volume is called Four Horses And A Sailor. London and his wife wish to travel through California but they don't believe in the newfangled 'gasolene' engines so he decides to train four of his saddle horses to harness. This is in the early 1900's, remember.The laughs come thick and fast here, especially if you have known and worked with horses. I felt as if I were back in the barn, sitting around swapping "Do You Remember The Time..." stories with my friends. I'm keeping the Gutenberg link to this book handy because I will definitely want to read Four Horses And A Sailor many more times. Thanks, Jack!!
The Human Drift by Jack London: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1669/1...
So when I saw this title at Project Gutenberg, I was interested to see if I would discover yet another facet of Jack London's writing. This is a collection of essays, short sketches, London's introduction to Richard Henry Dana's wonderful book Two Years Before the Mast, and even some plays.
Most of the work was light-hearted, except for the title essay The Human Drift, where London discusses the way man has spread over the continents in waves throughout history and ponders the results and eventual end of this drift.
He speaks of Small-Boat Sailing so well that you feel you are there with him, and these are bits from his own adventures, not fiction. It is easy to see where the realism in his fiction comes from. The salt spray practically blows over you with every paragraph even in these short pieces.
The plays were silly fun: I could imagine him taking a break from the rigors of whatever Arctic story he may have been working on to write these bits that would be right at home as comedy sketches in an old-time tv variety hour. Somehow I never pictured rough tough London with such a wonderful sense of the absurd.
But my absolute favorite piece in this volume is called Four Horses And A Sailor. London and his wife wish to travel through California but they don't believe in the newfangled 'gasolene' engines so he decides to train four of his saddle horses to harness. This is in the early 1900's, remember.The laughs come thick and fast here, especially if you have known and worked with horses. I felt as if I were back in the barn, sitting around swapping "Do You Remember The Time..." stories with my friends. I'm keeping the Gutenberg link to this book handy because I will definitely want to read Four Horses And A Sailor many more times. Thanks, Jack!!
The Human Drift by Jack London: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1669/1...
April 26, 2016
1911 eh? The narrator says he was born before the age of gasoline, even the spelling of the word itself is obsolete. He is "old fashioned".
Once a sailor, always a sailor. I always believe, sailor is a special profession. It dates as old as the people start to hunt, to make tools, to explore and to conquer. Is it why Jack London started the book with a beginning "resembling" a 21 st century NGO report?
Passing by an exhibition in universität Köln about Moby Dick, seeing the portray of man against sea, I raise the question: why people constantly feel threatened by the sea, instead, the land makes people feel safe. Gravity? On the surface of the sea, people feel their lives is up and down every single second, in the hand of raging Mother Nature. But land, most of the time, it's nurturing.
Jack London calls sailor human drift, painted a picture of a future mixed human race. However, before the narrator starts, it's a bit awkward.
Once a sailor, always a sailor. I always believe, sailor is a special profession. It dates as old as the people start to hunt, to make tools, to explore and to conquer. Is it why Jack London started the book with a beginning "resembling" a 21 st century NGO report?
Passing by an exhibition in universität Köln about Moby Dick, seeing the portray of man against sea, I raise the question: why people constantly feel threatened by the sea, instead, the land makes people feel safe. Gravity? On the surface of the sea, people feel their lives is up and down every single second, in the hand of raging Mother Nature. But land, most of the time, it's nurturing.
Jack London calls sailor human drift, painted a picture of a future mixed human race. However, before the narrator starts, it's a bit awkward.
February 13, 2025
"Pre-human anthropoid"? An insipid myth that persists among the ignorant even in DNA aware today. No remains of any PHA have ever been found which would link humans to PHA appearing fossils (which are casts, not remains). Therefore, the missing links are still missing because they simply don't exist. Intermediate forms don't prove a genealogy, they are intermediate forms ipso facto only till proven otherwise. Simply apply a legal standard of proof and voilà science (knowledge). "Universal law" the bastard offspring of Newton's concatenation with the decalog derived legalism... Hitler couldn't have said it worse!
November 2, 2021
Wow. War is obsolete and we won’t have that problem ever again. Obviously written prior to WWI and II disproved that theory.
Socialism will allow everyone in the world to eat as often and as much as they want. Show me a socialist country where that is true. I sure can’t think of any.
I can’t imagine how someone who participated in the gold rush in the Klondike could so completely ignore human greed and retain such an idealistic outlook.
Socialism will allow everyone in the world to eat as often and as much as they want. Show me a socialist country where that is true. I sure can’t think of any.
I can’t imagine how someone who participated in the gold rush in the Klondike could so completely ignore human greed and retain such an idealistic outlook.
September 18, 2018
I have never read a manifesto more complete with every liberal trope imaginable as this work which plays completely on fears of the future, which didn't come to pass then, and despite the same arguments being made today is unlikely to happen in the future either.
January 3, 2026
Stories: Socialism, sailing and saddle horses.
Read
May 16, 2026Makes me want to sail
Or at least made me
Or at least made me
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews