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Jack London

The People Of The Abyss Paperback – December 15, 2008

by Jack London (Author)

48 ratings

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The People of the Abyss (1903) is a book by Jack London (author of The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and many other books) about life in the East End of London in 1902. He wrote this first-hand account by living in the East End (including the Whitechapel District) for several months, sometimes staying in workhouses or sleeping on the streets. The conditions he experienced and wrote about were the same as those endured by an estimated 500,000 of the contemporary London poor.

Product details

Paperback: 146 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 15, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1440496773
ISBN-13: 978-1440496776
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 48 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #743,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5546 in Great Britain History (Books)

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48 customer reviews

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Melanie White

a real eye-opener, but check the product description first

May 28, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I keep ordering paperback books and getting these scanned laser-printouts with a cover slapped on instead. If you want an actual book, I recommend you check the production description carefully. Otherwise you'll end up with one of these non-book books of an outlandish size, odd formatting, bizarre line breaks, etc. Personally I hate them and will be ordering a real book to take its place. As to the book itself, it seems that many reviewers here judge the book based on their political opinions. I don't have a political ax to grind, so I ask myself: what did the author set out to do, and was he successful? The author wanted to shine a light on a place and time that most of us can't even imagine: the grinding poverty in one of the world's biggest and wealthiest cities. As he points out, this was not a time of economic depression, yet an enormous section of London's population lived on the brink of starvation. Setting aside value judgments about addictions or laziness or "bad life choices", these people lived in conditions that beggar belief. The so-called safety nets seemed designed to inflict humiliation and suffering while offering absolutely no practical help. By going among the "down and out" and living side-by-side in their reality, the author was able to report first-hand about how bad it was. It was bad. Nobody should have to live like that.

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Amazon Customer

Jack London lived among the poor in England and gives detailed account of what it was like.

November 10, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book gave me a true understanding about how the down and out folks got by in the Victorian period. Much of the material on this subject does not go into detail. We know there were workhouses, pickpockets and prostitutes. This book talks in detail about how the poor housed and fed themselves when work was scarce even to the point of explaining the gradations of poverty. It is factual, anecdotal. London lived among the ppo to see what was really going on and the result is this excellent book. Engrossing but quick read.

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Happily Retired

A Classic

October 5, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A chilling example of well written first person social reportage that documents the conditions in the East End of London in 1902. The details have changed, but the book is still timely due to the resurgence of vast economic inequality in many societies that have the resources but not the political interest in social justice. A depressing but very worthwhile read. It reminds us that for most citizens, their place in a civil society is fragile and perilous.

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L. N. Howe

People of the Abyss: a book about the deplorable conditions in London's East End in 1902

May 7, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Years ago, having read only "White Fang" and "Call of the Wild," I thought of Jack London as a writer of fiction about the Yukon, Alaska and the Klondike. I have learned since that he was far more than this. His "Tales of the Fish Patrol" are true stories about when he worked for the government patrolling a part of the Pacific coast trying to keep rogue fishermen in line. His "The Road" is about his years as a young man riding the rails as a hobo across the US and Canada, including a 30-day stay in jail for supposed vagrancy in Niagara Falls. His "The Sea Wolf" is about a brutal ship's captain, Wolf Larsen.

"The People of the Abyss" is about the poor people who lived in the East End of London, England in 1902. Jack London made a study of them, even to the point of dressing like them and living for a time in the same squalid conditions. He sometimes slept on the streets; he tried and failed (as so many of them did) to get work. He compares life for American Indians and the Inuit (with which he was well acquainted) with these unfortunate East Enders, showing how it was far worse for the latter.

I was reminded, of course, of Charles Dickens' books in which he describes the poor of England in the 19th Century during England's Industrial Revolution. "People of the Abyss" is different, though. The good done for England's poor through Dickens' books and personal efforts probably cannot be overestimated. "People of the Abyss" is more focused on the plight of the East Enders, going into great detail over and over. And that is my only criticism, that the book goes on and on with the same drumbeat. But that drumbeat does drive the fact of the wretched lives of these people into you. More than even Dickens' books do, I would say, because with Dickens's novels, there is a lot that is amusing and touching, and there are some happy (some miraculous) endings for the main characters. "People of the Abyss" is a very worthwhile read, in my opinion.

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Palomine

Excellent Read!

May 4, 2011

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Like reading about the structure of our current society, except that it happened 100 years ago. The author goes undercover to document the lives and survival skills of residents in the abominable East Side slum of London, England. Making every effort to disguise himself, he dons old clothing, consumes the same foods and frequents the same places as the disparately poor and downtrodden inhabitants of the immense, densely populated, ghetto. Throughout his courageous experiment he exposed himself to disease, extreme hardship and danger while gathering amazing statistics regarding food, wages, mortality rates and more. Very interesting - hard to put down!

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Anaboena

Too many typos

March 4, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This was my first large print book, and I bought this as an experiment since I love to read in bed, and paperback print is difficult for me to read with dim light. The large print definitely made it easier to read. However, there were so many typos in this printing of the book that, sometimes, it was difficult to figure out the intended meaning of sentences and phrases The typos definitely interfered with the enjoyment of the book. The story itself is an excellent read and I highly recommend it, but would suggest a different publisher.

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Ray M Crowley

Jack London

June 15, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great writer. Call of the wild is a childhood favorite. This should be required reading

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Justin Gould

This book gave me nightmares

October 22, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It was beautiful and terrible. It put the fear of poverty and homelessness in me. In the sense that they are real, terrible and everywhere. I shudder to think how many similarities there are between the UK breaking down and now America breaking down.

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5 star		44%
4 star		18%
3 star		23%
2 star		10%
1 star		5%

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