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The People of the Abyss

The People of the Abyss( )
Author: London, Jack
Foreword by: Di Leonardo, Micaela
ISBN:978-1-55652-167-6
Publication Date:Jun 2004
Publisher:Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Imprint:Lawrence Hill Books
Book Format:Paperback
List Price:USD $18.95
Book Description:

Written when London arrived in England at the age of twenty-five, This book gives a firsthand account of the poor, the menial workers, the homeless, and the perpetually unemployed among whom he lived in the slums of London's East End at the turn of the century. It is a sensitive portrayal of daily life on the margins of society that culminates in a searing indictment of modern industrialism's mistreatment of workers and the poverty-stricken and its propensity for transferring wealth to...
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Book Details
Pages:320
Detailed Subjects: Social Science / Poverty & Homelessness
Physical Dimensions (W X L X H):6 x 9 x 0.77 Inches
Book Weight:0.968 Pounds
Author Biography
London, Jack. (Author)
One of the pioneers of 20th century American literature, Jack London specialized in tales of adventure inspired by his own experiences.

London was born in San Francisco in 1876. At 14, he quit school and became an "oyster pirate," robbing oyster beds to sell his booty to the bars and restaurants in Oakland. Later, he turned on his pirate associates and joined the local Fish Patrol, resulting in some hair-raising waterfront battles. Other youthful activities included sailing on a seal-hunting ship, traveling the United States as a railroad tramp, a jail term for vagrancy and a hazardous winter in the Klondike during the 1897 gold rush. Those experiences converted him to socialism, as he educated himself through prolific reading and began to write fiction.

After a struggling apprenticeship, London hit literary paydirt by combining memories of his adventures with Darwinian and Spencerian evolutionary theory, the Nietzchean concept of the "superman" and a Kipling-influenced narrative style. "The Son of the Wolf"(1900) was his first popular success, followed by 'The Call of the Wild" (1903), "The Sea-Wolf" (1904) and "White Fang" (1906). He also wrote nonfiction, including reportage of the Russo-Japanese War and Mexican revolution, as well as "The Cruise of the Snark" (1911), an account of an eventful South Pacific sea voyage with his wife, Charmian, and a rather motley crew.

London's body broke down prematurely from his rugged lifestyle and hard drinking, and he died of uremic poisoning - possibly helped along by a morphine overdose - at his California ranch in 1916. Though his massive output is uneven, his best works - particularly "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" - have endured because of their rich subject matter and vigorous prose.

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