Novels and Social Writings: The People of the Abyss / The Road / The Iron Heel / Martin Eden / John Barleycorn (Library of America) [Hardcover]

Jack London (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1982

Jack London is a powerful witness to the political upheavals of the twentieth century and their terrifying contradictions. By turns impoverished laborer, renegade adventurer, war correspondent in Mexico, dedicated socialist, and writer of enormous worldwide popularity, London dramatized his ideas about modern societies through incidents of adventure, romance, and brutal violence. "The Iron Heel," an astonishing political fantasy, anticipates a United States dominated by a capitalist police state and ripped apart by urban warfare. Personal experiences lie behind "The People of the Abyss," which vividly re-creates the slums of East London, and the exhilarating camaraderie of hobo gangs roaming across America in "The Road." "John Barleycorn" describes in harrowing terms London's struggles with alcoholism, while the intensely autobiographical novel "Martin Eden" foreshadows his own death at age forty.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Should bring London a new generation of admirers. -- Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

The Library of America is an award-winning, nonprofit program dedicated to publishing America's best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes featuring authoritative texts. Hailed as "the most important book-publishing project in the nation's history" (Newsweek), this acclaimed series is restoring America's literary heritage in "the finest-looking, longest-lasting edition ever made" (New Republic).

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1192 pages
• Publisher: Library of America; Later Printing edition (November 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940450062
• ISBN-13: 978-0940450066
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great American writing, January 9, 2007

By 

Jake Barnes "docmoog" (Birmingham, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Novels and Social Writings: The People of the Abyss / The Road / The Iron Heel / Martin Eden / John Barleycorn (Library of America) (Hardcover)

This volume contains some of London's best writing, especially his fictional autobiography Martin Eden, which has given inspiration (and a little despair) to generations of amateur writers. This kind of concise, visceral prose would not be seen again until Hemingway came along in the 1920's. Although the times and conditions he writes about in these pages has changed, the concepts are still relevant today: the division between rich and poor is ever widening, a society based on competition favors that wealthy and connected, those with wealth and power are not always the most intelligent or enlightened people, the evils of drinking and a society who often measures manliness in one's ability to consume large ammounts of alcohol. The book is wonderfully bound, and a real bargin here on Amazon.com. A great addition to any personal library.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Jack London they don't want you to read., December 31, 2010

By 

Mr. R. Linkiewicz "R. Linkiewicz" (Dolans Bay, NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Novels and Social Writings: The People of the Abyss / The Road / The Iron Heel / Martin Eden / John Barleycorn (Library of America) (Hardcover)

There must be a conspiracy in the U.S. publishing industry that keeps gems like these off the shelves of bookshops. It seems they are quite happy for people to keep reading 'White Fang' and other popular stories but London's overtly socialist writings seem not to have as wide a currency. My copies of 'The Iron Heel' and 'The People of the Abyss', both from Journeyman Press and bought in the mid-1970s, have seen better days, so when I saw this edition for sale I snapped it up. It is not surprising that this volume comes to us courtesy of The Library of America, a non-profit publisher. I have seen volumes titled 'The Complete Works of Jack London' for sale in Angus and Robertson that somehow left out all the writings and novels published in this volume. It's not only that London's writings underpin much of George Orwell's classics '1984' and 'Down and Out in Paris and London' but that his searing political and social commentary is still relevant today. The fact that these writings are so hard to find tells us much about the status of 'free speech' in the U.S. and the English-speaking world so dominated by capitalist media conglomerates. To find 'The Iron Heel' and 'The People of the Abyss' was wonderful in itself but to also find 'Martin Eden', John Barleycorn', 'The Road' as well as London's essays, 'How I Became a Socialist', 'The Scab', 'Revolution' and his review of Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' was the icing on the cake. Jack London will one day be recognized in his homeland as one of America's great writers, it's just that they are too brainwashed at the moment to realize it.

5.0 out of 5 stars The gold standard of London collections, August 22, 2011

By 

Karl Janssen (Olathe, KS United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Novels and Social Writings: The People of the Abyss / The Road / The Iron Heel / Martin Eden / John Barleycorn (Library of America) (Hardcover)

I first came upon this volume 25 years ago. It was my introduction to London, and today it is probably still the most valued book on my shelves. Jack London is one of America's greatest writers, and this collection from the Library of America proves it. Though now best known for The Call of the Wild and other adventure tales of the Klondike (LOA also has a collection of those), in his day London was also a renowned writer on political, philosophical, and social issues. The five books and four essays collected here represent some of his greatest work.

For most of his life London was a socialist, and his political writings emphasize class struggle, the plight of the working man in capitalist society, and the inevitability of a socialist revolution. The People of the Abyss is London's journalistic account of the poverty-stricken slums of London's East End. In The Road, he relates the adventures of his days tramping across North America. The Iron Heel is a masterful science fiction novel about a future civil war between revolutionary socialists and a plutocratic oligarchy. Martin Eden is a semi-autobiographical novel about a working class writer who strives to elevate his social status through self-education and hard work. John Barleycorn is London's memoir about his life-long relationship with alcohol. Of these five, only The People of the Abyss seems to have lost a bit of its power and relevance over the past century. The remaining four books are five-star works still as vital as the day they were written. (To read more detailed reviews of these five individual books, click on my name.)

In addition to these book-length works, London wrote dozens of short stories and essays on political and social themes. The selection provided here is satisfactory, but not exceptional. It would have been great if they had included some of his short fiction like "The Apostate" or "Goliah", but instead they have chosen four essays. "How I Became a Socialist" is an obvious choice, given its title and subject matter, but it's really too brief to provide a great deal of insight into London's political thought. "The Scab" is a very good example of London's political essays detailing the failures of capitalist society. More perplexing is the inclusion of London's "Introduction to The Jungle", since it's mostly just a plot summary of Upton Sinclair's novel. "Revolution", on the other hand, is an excellent choice. It's a state-of-the-union address for socialism in 1905, and a stirring call to arms.

The Library of America produces the best books of classic literature available today, with beautiful typography, high quality paper, and elegant bindings made to last forever. These volumes are not needlessly encumbered with introductions and prefaces, but let the authors' masterworks speak for themselves. They do include endnotes which clarify historical events and archaic terms, and a detailed chronology of the author's life. These books are truly a joy to read and to behold. My only complaint about the LOA is why only two volumes on London? He is America's most widely read author worldwide, and deserves the extensive treatment given to Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Twain.