Category: 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.

• War by Jack London
• Typhoon Off the Coast of Japan by Jack London
• To the Man on the Trail by Jack London
• TO BUILD A FIRE by Jack London
• The Story of Keesh by Jack London
• Bald-Face by Jack London