Jack London's most inspired political texts, collected in one volume. Even a century after his death, Jack London remains one of America's most iconic authors. Born poor, and rising to become America's first millionaire writer, London was the living embodiment of the American Dream. His very life illustrated for many the limitless possibilities available to every man, woman and child living in America's capitalist society. What is often overlooked in these reminiscences, though, is the disdain London harbored for capitalism throughout his adult life. Before he wrote the stories that made him famous, before his rugged adventures on the sea, Jack London was an avowed socialist. Jack London: The Socialist Writings represents the most comprehensive collection of London's political texts available. This volume contains the full texts of London's most significant socialist works. In The People of the Abyss, London documents the deplorable conditions faced by England's poverty-stricken population. War of the Classes highlights the repeated failings of America's unchecked capitalism at the turn of the twentieth century. In Revolution and Other Essays, London is at his political best: thought provoking, witty, and inspiring as he argues for a transition from capitalism to a socialist economy. Also included are eight of London's most astute short essays, chronicling three decades of a maturing political philosophy: "What Socialism Is," "Laws Direct from Voters," "The Principles of the Republican Party," "The Economics of the Klondike," "The Apostate," "War," "Resignation from the Glen Ellen Socialist Party," and "Foreword to Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist." Here we see the development of London's socialist thought from his days as Oakland's orating "boy socialist" until weeks before his death. This book is required reading for anyone interested in the life and work of Jack London.

Jack London was a Socialist at heart, having been born into the working class and rising through hard work to be one of the most successful writers in the world. Though it was that system that made him rich, he had disdain for capitalism in general. His stories told of rugged individualism, but he believed in socialism. This book contains 13 short essays that convey those beliefs.

"How I Became a Socialist" is a 1903 essay by Jack London. John Griffith "Jack" London (1876 - 1916) was an American journalist, novelist, and social activist. He was amongst the first writers of fiction to receive international acclaim and earn a large fortune from their work. London was also a member of the radical literary group "The Crowd", as well as a vehement advocate of socialism. Other notable works by this author include: "White Fang" (1906), "Before Adam" (1907), and "The Iron Heel" (1908). This fascinating treatise explores the idea of socialism and the reasons for London's advocacy, making is a must-read for those with an interest in his his life and mind. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality addition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

Jack London (1876-1916), known for his naturalistic and mythic tales, remains among the most popular and influential American writers in the world. Jack London's Racial Lives offers the first full study of the enormously important issue of race in London's life and diverse works, whether set in the Klondike, Hawaii, or the South Seas or during the Russo-Japanese War, the Jack Johnson world heavyweight bouts, or the Mexican Revolution. Jeanne Campbell Reesman explores his choices of genre by analyzing racial content and purpose and judges his literary artistry against a standard of racial tolerance. Although he promoted white superiority in novels and nonfiction, London sharply satirized racism and meaningfully portrayed racial others--most often as protagonists--in his short fiction. Why the disparity? For London, racial and class identity were intertwined: his formation as an artist began with the mixed "heritage" of his family. His mother taught him racism, but he learned something different from his African American foster mother, Virginia Prentiss. Childhood poverty, shifting racial allegiances, and a "psychology of want" helped construct the many "houses" of race and identity he imagined. Reesman also examines London's socialism, his study of Darwin and Jung, and the illnesses he suffered in the South Seas. With new readings of The Call of the Wild, Martin Eden, and many other works, such as the explosive Pacific stories, Reesman reveals that London employed many of the same literary tropes of race used by African American writers of his period: the slave narrative, double-consciousness, the tragic mulatto, and ethnic diaspora. Hawaii seemed to inspire his most memorable visions of a common humanity.

Award-winning western historian James L. Haley paints a vivid portrait of Jack London--adventurer, social reformer, and the most popular American writer of his generation

"This splendid volume does more than reinstate Jack London as a leading voice of the American cultural left. Jonah Raskin documents how London struggled to reconcile his political and his personal desires, creating memorable art but failing to save himself. One of the world's most popular writers comes alive, in all his passion and agony."—Michael Kazin, author of A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan "Interest in Jack London never flags. This first-rate anthology places London at the epicenter of the American radical tradition."—Kevin Starr, University of Southern California "In this well conceptualized anthology, Jonah Raskin has resurrected works that have been unavailable for decades, making The Radical Jack London a very timely presence for the twenty-first century. Raskin's own writing is forceful and engaging, and he is unblinkingly honest about London as person and as writer, never succumbing to romanticizing or whitewashing the picture of either."—H. Bruce Franklin, John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies, Rutgers University "Jack London always knew how to bang a righteous drum of social indignation, and in The Radical Jack London he can make your heart pound even today."—Paul Berman, author of Power and the Idealists and editor of Carl Sandburg: Selected Poems