To the Man on the Trail
by Jack London
‘Dump it in!.’ ‘But I say, Kid, isn’t that going it a little too strong? Whisky and alcohol’s bad enough
Jack London
Jack London (1876-1916) was an adventurer and American novelist who wrote popular books like ‘White Fang,’ ‘The Call of the Wild,’ and ‘The Sea-Wolf.’ He was born John Griffith Chaney in San Francisco, California. As a teen, London worked grueling jobs including in a cannery and onboard an oyster pirate ship before becoming an activist in the movement for economic justice.
Seeking adventure at age 21, he ventured to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. The extreme cold and perilous conditions of travel in the Yukon later inspired London’s wilderness adventure stories. Though mining for gold, London returned from the North without riches.
He then embarked on travels at sea and became a prolific writer driven to succeed after suffering poverty early in life. He traversed the United States as a hobo riding the rails and sailing as a fisherman off the coast. London’s rugged travels and people met along the way greatly influenced the stories and characters he wrote about.
Many of Jack London’s novels like ‘White Fang’ and ‘Call of the Wild’ grew extremely popular during his lifetime, though he also aimed to write lasting literature beyond escapist fiction. London captured imagination through elemental struggles for survival against nature and the wild. Before passing away at age 40, Jack London solidified his place as one of the earliest 20th century American writers exploring rugged individualism with a style uniquely his own.
Bald-Face by Jack London
Bald-Face ?by Jack London “Talkin’ of bear??” The Klondike King paused meditatively, and the group on the hotel porch hitched their chairs up closer. ? “Talkin’ of bear,” he went on, “now up in the Northern Country there are various kinds. On the Little Pelly, for instance, they come down that thick in the summer…
The Story of Keesh by Jack London
The Story of Keesh by Jack London Keesh lived long ago on the rim of the polar sea, was head man of his village through many and prosperous years, and died full of honors with his name on the lips of men.? So long ago did he live that only the old men remember his…
War by Jack London
WAR by Jack London HE was a young man, not more than twenty-four or five, and he might have sat his horse with the careless grace of his youth had he not been so catlike and tense. His black eyes roved everywhere, catching the movements of twigs and branches where small birds hopped, questing ever…
Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan by Jack London
Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan by Jack London Jack London’s first story, published at the age of seventeen It was four bells in the morning watch. We had just finished breakfast when the order came forward for the watch on deck to stand by to heave her to and all hands stand by the…
TO BUILD A FIRE by Jack London
To Build a Fire by Jack London Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for…