Author of more than fifty books, Jack London, born in San Francisco, grew up across the bay in Oakland. Variously a tramp, a fisherman, a longshoreman, and a sailor, London also worked as a gold prospector and a war correspondent. Among his influences are those of Social Darwinism, Nietszche, and Marx. Although his writings suggest a complexity of ideas, he is commonly categorized as a literary naturalist. His adventure stories of Alaska and the Pacific continue to fascinate new generations of readers.

Primary Works

Novels

A Daughter of the Snows, 1902; The Call of the Wild, 1903; People of the Abyss, 1903; The Sea-Wolf, 1904; The War of the Classes, 1905; White Fang, 1905; Before Adam, 1907;The Human Drift, 1907; The Iron Heel, 1908; Martin Eden, 1909; Burning Daylight, 1910; Revolution and Other Essays, 1910; Adventure, 1911; The Cruise of the Snark, 1911; John Barleycorn (autobiographical), 1913; The Valley of the Moon, 1913; The Mutiny of the Elsinore, 1914; The Little Lady of the Big House, 1915; The Star Rover, 1915 (published in England as The Jacket, 1915); The Acorn Planter, 1916; On the Makaoloa Mat, 1919.

John Barleycorn. Hamill, Pete, ed. NY: Modern Library, 2001.

Short Story Collections

The Son of the Wolf,1900 includes "The White Silence."

The God of His Fathers & Other Stories,1901 includes "The Scorn of Women" and "A Daughter of the Aurora."

Children of the Frost,1902 includes "The Law of Life" and "Nam-Bok, the Liar."

The Faith of Men & Other Stories, 1904 includes "The story of Jees Uck" and "The One Thousand Dozen."

Tales of the Fish Patrol, 1905 includes "A Raid on the Oyster Pirates."

Moon-Face & Other Stories,1906 includes "All Gold Canyon" and "Planchette."

Love of Life & Other Stories,1907 includes "Brown Wolf" and "The Story of Keesh."

Lost Face,1910 includes "To Build a Fire."

South Sea Tales,1911 includes "Mauki" and "The Terrible Solomans."

When God Laughs & Other Stories, 1911 includes "The Apostate," "Just Meat," "A Piece of Steak," and "Chinago."

The House of Pride & Other Tales of Hawaii,1912 includes "Koloau the Leper" and "The Sheriff of Kona."

The Strength of the Strong,1914 includes "The Dream of Debs," "South of the Slot," and "The Unparalleled Invasion."

The Turtles of Tasman, 1916 includes "Told in the Drooling Ward."

The Red One,1918.

On the Makaloa Mat,1919 includes "Shin Bones" and "The Water Baby."

Uncollected Stories including "A Thousand Deaths."

Play

The Acorn-Planter

Nonfiction

The People of the Abyss,1903 narrative and photgraphs of the slums of London.

War of the Classes,1905 speeches on socialism

John Barleycorn, 1913 ann autobiographical memoir.

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Bender, Bert. Evolution and "the Sex Problem": American Narratives during the Eclipse of Darwinism. Kent, OH: Kent State UP, 2004.

Clymer, Jeffory A. America's Culture of Terrorism: Violence, Capitalism, and the Written Word. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2003.

Haley, James L. Wolf: The Lives of Jack London. NY: Basic, 2010.

Labor, Earle. Jack London: An American Life. NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2013.

Lye, Colleen. America's Asia: Racial Form and American Literature, 1893-1945. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2005.

Phillips, Lawrence. The South Pacific Narratives of Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London: Race, Class, Imperialism. NY: Continuum, 2012.

Raskin, Jonah. ed. The Radical Jack London: Writings on War and Revolution. Berkeley: U of California P, 2008.

Reesman, Jeanne C. Jack London's Racial Lives: A Critical Biography. Athens: U of Georgia P, 2009.

- - -. Jack London, Photographer. Athens: U of Georgia P, 2010.

Robisch, S. K. Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature. Reno: U of Nevada P, 2009.

Stasz, Clarice. Jack London's Women. Amherst: U of Massachusetts P, 2001.

Williamson, Eric M. Oakland, Jack London, and Me. Huntsville: Texas Review, 2007.

MLA Style Citation of this Web Page

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 6: Jack London." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL: http://www.paulreuben.website/pal/chap6/london.html (provide page date or date of your login).  

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