The Road [Hardcover]

Jack London (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1605120448 | ISBN-13: 978-1605120447

Jack London reveals the secrets of surviving as a hobo in the late-nineteenth century. Before he became a best-selling author, London spent time traveling on the railways of North America - catching trains, dodging conductors, spending time in jail, lying his way into meals and out of trouble. His experience formed the basis of his storytelling skills, and gave him an enduring compassion for the underdogs in society. The Road is a collection of essays and tales which chronicles this formative period in his life. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, but always compelling, The Road will take you to a forgotten chapter of North American life.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 148 pages
• Publisher: Akasha Classics (September 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605120448
• ISBN-13: 978-1605120447
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,328,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The American Cult of the Hobo., December 26, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Road (Paperback)

I rate this book very highly more because of its uniqueness and value to the social historian, than for its relatively poor literary merit. This is London's lighthearted remeniscence of days spent as a train-hopping hobo in the 1890s, a period when the culture of the hobo was still in its genesis. He was only 18 at the time, and was arrested for vagrancy and imprisoned for three months in the Northeast. It was this harsh experience which turned him into a lifelong socialist. The book is resplendant with character sketches of nineteenth-century hobos, hobo culture and language, train travel, and locales. An important American [sub]cultural narrative, and well worth the read

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressing, January 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Road (Paperback)

I read this book when I was a teenager: it was a very old german copy, printed in gothic caractes: I can tell you it's hard to read an old gothic font if you are not used to it!
Yet I read the whole book very fast and with great pleasure. I still remember it as one of the best I ever read.
It is a wonderful, adventurous and very human tale of a different America. I think it has both literary qualities and social interest.
As for the "missing historical background", as one reader says, I do not think this is a "serious falling": the story gets even more fascinating being a bit "mysterious". If you are interested in learning more about Kelly's Army, go to a library ore use Google: this is not a school book!
And there IS an end: a quite sad one too, that makes you understand how London did not really fit in a "normal" life -- and in fact he ended up killing himself.
Read this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Road, February 10, 2001

By 

Steven Taylor (Bainbridge Island, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Road (Library Binding)

"The Road", by Jack London is one of his best books that I have read, it is written as though it is a dairy and it is not really written like a story. I bought a copy in Okland California at the Jack London museum. Its is about his travels and experiences during the late 1800s and early 1900s when he was a hobo on the railroad. In my opinion this book is one of Jack London's better lesser know books, I highly recommend it!