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Jack London: An American Life (2013)

by Earle Labor(Favorite Author)

4.08 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0374178488 (ISBN13: 9780374178482)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

review 1: Jack London was a great writer, and a heck of an adventurer, but not a terribly great human being. His life shows that there is often a tragic coincidence of talent and self-destructiveness that the talent then permits to proceed to its logical end. Jack London lived a hard life, partly by necessity, but largely by inclination, and he paid the price for it. He wrote at a terrific pace, leaving behind a rich literary legacy, but his terrible personal habits led to his untimely death at only 40. Think of what he could have written had he lived longer. At the same time, had he been another man, would he have been able to write as he did? It is a difficult quandary. This biography is a well-done attempt to capture a difficult subject, and its deficit is ultimately that ... moreJack London is a difficult person to really get to know. I found him off-putting, and at the same time, I pitied him. He seemed to be striving for something he could not achieve, and to find that something in adventures that could never deliver what he needed. But every time I would start to really feel for him, he would reveal himself to be a jerk again. Nonetheless, this biography has convinced me that I need to read more of London's work. Whatever might have been lacking in the man is more than compensated in the end by what is in his writing.
review 2: LOVE!! I'm obssessed with Jack London and this book really covered his facinating life in the extreme lane by bringing in multiple perceptions including, Jack and his encountered people. The book made me equally in love with Jack's soul mate; Charmaine Kittredge. The history is rich and I learned things I never knew Jack was a part of; for example, he was a talented photographer and he contributed to Hawaii tourism but at the same time was shocked by the way settlers destroyed parts of the island. Great read! less

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