Jack London on Adventure

by Terry Mort (Editor)

Overview

"The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time," writes Jack London, accurately proclaiming the very ingredients of his full, passionate lifestyle.

Bearing a name that is now synonymous with adventure, London seemed to fear nothing, constantly stretching his comfortable limits - composing his classic short stories at one thousand words every morning, sailing across the Pacific Ocean on voyages both for pleasure and profit, horseback riding, continual entertaining at home in Glen Ellen, California, barroom socializing and debating, marrying twice, frequent lecturing, and operating a ranch - all with about four or five hours of sleep a night to make it possible.

Rising from the low-income factory-worker community of West Oakland, California, London's romantic writings on adventure found at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California appealed to the everyman - millions of readers around the world. Here, in Jack London on Adventure, are excerpts from his well-loved works, which were the result of his restless quest for experience, combined with "his observations of unalterable facts," as editor Terry Mort writes in his introduction. Lose yourself in the sheer unending quietude of the North in "White Fang" and "The White Silence"; enter into the listless, worried mind of an elder in "The League of the Old Men"; prepare to sail around the world for seven years' time alongside the author-turned-captain, himself, in "The Cruise of the Snark," where the famed boat is built with each dollar earned from London's writings; and peek into the observations of seasoned sailors and the foolish passengers they carry in "The Sea Wolf." Mort ends with the statement, "A complex man and artist is hard to capture in a single image," but in terms of the unlikely and unknown, London's works here capture the thrill that burned in him so brightly.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493069255
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Series:	On
Edition description:	Edited and with an Introduction and New Foreword by Terry Mort
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	7.09(w) x 9.32(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Terry Mort has degrees in literature from Princeton University and the University of Michigan. His short stories and articles have appeared in a number of national periodicals, and his two historical novels were published in 2004. He is also the author of The Reasonable Art of Fly Fishing and the editor of Zane Grey on Fishing. He lives in Sonoita, Arizona.

Read an Excerpt

(from editor Terry Mort's Introduction):

"A complex man and artist is hard to capture in a single image. But one of the most apposite and appealing is the picture of Jack London sitting in the cockpit of the Snark, scudding along at a good six knots somewhere in the Pacific, miles from land. At that moment he does not know his round the world voyage will be called off in Australia, because of illness and endless difficulties. He does not know, of course, how short his life will be; his body has not yet given him any clues about that. No, the cruise is just beginning. He has finished his thousand words for the day, and the Snark is practically sailing herself. and he is hunched over a book, studying celestial navigation so that he can find his place in relation to the stars. There are struggles behind and many more struggles ahead, but at this moment, he is undoubtedly happy—happy to be teaching himself something new, happy to be leaving civilization behind, happy to be on the 'adventure path' again. "

Table of Contents

Foreword v

Introduction vii

Part I The White Silence of the North 1

From: White Fang

I The Trail of the Meat 3

II The She-Wolf 12

III The Hunger Cry 25

From: The Son of the Wolf

In a Far Country 39

The White Silence 63

From: The Call of the Wild

For the Love of a Man 75

To Build a Fire 93

From: "The League of the Old Men" 115

Part II The Great Faithless Sea 131

From: The Cruise of the Snark

The Inconceivable and the Monstrous 133

Finding One's Way About 151

A Son of the Sun 165

Make Westing 191

From: The Sea Wolf

Chapter 10 203

Chapter 17 213

The Seed of McCoy 231

Sources 271

A Jack London Checklist 273

Editorial Reviews

"Overall, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to London's greatest work.."—Library Journal

From the Publisher

This collection contains stories and novel excerpts from two strains of Jack London's so-called adventure writing. Part 1, "The White Silence of the North," features writings set in the Klondike and is based on London's own ill-fated Gold Rush days. Part 2, "The Great Faithless Sea," amasses many fine pieces of seagoing fiction from London, a lifelong sailor. Cumulatively, this anthology brings together the best examples of London's writing in the adventure genre, be they set on land or sea, and includes both the well known (e.g., White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, "To Build a Fire") and more obscure examples of his work. The introductory essay by editor Mort (The Reasonable Art of Fly Fishing) adroitly weaves together the paradoxes and inconsistencies of London's life and oeuvre to present a portrait of a complex and talented writer. Overall, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to London's greatest work. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Alison M. Lewis, Drexel Univ. Lib., Philadelphia Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal