Customer Reviews

American Dreamers: Charmian and Jack London

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Being an avid biography reader I have developed some prejudices. I like biographies where I can detect that the author liked his subject. It is obvious that although discerning about London's at times haphazard behavior, the author does like and understand her subject. Ms Stasz introduces enough psychological insight to explain this behavior without the explanations becoming oppressive. Both Charmian and Jack become friends you care about. They are developed into vital people whose adventures you share, disasters and all. Another prejudice is readability and this was one of those books I read easily. I would recommend it highly and I don't do that often, unfortunately.

"Patriarchy" "American imperialism" and other post-modern and feminist political buzzwords ruin this book just as much as they ruined Professor Stasz's "Jack London's Women." The Professor's statements (paraphrased) that without Charmian, his mother, his nanny, et al, the world would never have heard of Jack London is bunk, and insulting to a genius of American letters. Further, her baseless assertion that London's first wife and second wife were happier after his death because he was gone from their lives is wishful thinking. I think his widow might have begged to differ with the good Professor. Professor Stasz but destroys her credibility as a scholar by continually showcasing her assumptions about a man she never knew, colored by her politics. I'll never waste my time on her work again.