Jack London: A Life

By Alex Kershaw

Book Overview

Raised in poverty as an illegitimate child, Jack London dropped out of school to support his mother, working in mind-deadening jobs that would foster a lifelong interest in socialism. Brilliant and self-taught, he haunted California's waterside bars, brawling with drunken sailors and learning about love from prostitutes. His lust for adventure took him from the beaches of Hawaii to the gold fields of Alaska, where he experienced firsthand the struggles for survival he would later immortalize in classics like White Fang and The Call of the Wild . A hard-drinking womanizer with children to support, Jack London was no stranger to passion when he met and married Charmian Kittredge, the love of his life. Despite his adventurous past, London had never before met a woman like Charmian; she adored fornication and boxing, and willingly risked life and limb to sail and explore. She typed his manuscripts while he churned out novels, serving as his inspiration and his critic. Lover, fighter, and onetime hobo, Jack London lived large and died before he was forty. This is a rare biography, from bestselling historian Alex Kershaw, that proves the truth can be more fascinating--and a far greater adventure--than a fiction.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031219904X
• ISBN13: 9780312199043
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 334 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

What a Life

I've always loved to read Jack London, from "The Call of the Wild" to "On the Makaloa Mat" and many of the books and short stories in between. His stories always take you to another world, an adventure, and another incredible feat of survival. I've often wondered where these amazing stories came from and now I know, he lived them. Alex Kershaw tells an amazing story of an even more amazing man. He leaves nothing out, the many strengths and human weaknesses bring us all a lot closer to one of the finest authors this country has ever produced. This is an excellent and fascinating read. I just loved this book.

read it before you buy any other book

A brilliant book because it captures the magic of London's life and reads as if he had written the book himself - fantastic stuff, and the academics should take note - this is how you bring a man and writer alive, not kill him with turgif analysis and prose. London would be proud.

Simply The Best

Simply the best biography I have ever read. Jack London wrote stories that pale in comparison to the excitement and drama of his life.

A life in two sittings.

This is a biography that races along like a novel, but with a healthy dose of quality writing (much of it London's own words) Kershaw makes it eminently nourishing. I am recommending this book to everyone. . .

As passionate as London.

It was about time that someone wrote a biography that is as passionate and fast paced as Jack London himself. The biography reads like a heroic novel and does justice to his life.