Written when London arrived in England at the age of 25, this book gives a firsthand account of the poor, the menial workers, the homeless, and the perpetually unemployed among whom he lived in the slums of London's East End at the turn of the 20th century. It is a sensitive portrayal of daily life on the margins of society that culminates in a searing indictment of modern industrialism's mistreatment of workers and the poverty-stricken and its propensity for transferring wealth to the rich.
"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
Renowned as a writer of classic adventure stories such as The Call of the Wild and White Fang, Jack London also had a parallel career as a writer of science fiction and fantasy. In Leonaur's three volume, The Collected Science Fiction & Fantasy of Jack London, his SF and fantasy novels and shorter works are brought together for the first time. Darrell Standing is a university professor and convicted murderer. He's also The Star Rover. During long spells in solitary confinement, his body immobilised by a canvas jacket that prevents all movement, he develops a technique that allows his non-corporeal self to wander through time and home in on lives that were his before he was Darrell Standing. His adventures - engaging, vivid and exciting - offer an eye-witness perspective on a past that might have been. This volume also includes three entertaining shorter works that show Jack London as a more than worthy contemporary of H. G. Wells.
An old man walks along deserted railway tracks, long since unused and overgrown; beside him a young, feral boy helps him along. It has been 60 years since the great Red Death wiped out mankind, and the handful of survivors from all walks of life have established their own civilization and their own hierarchy in a savage world. Art, science, and all learning has been lost, and the young descendants of the healthy know nothing of the world that was—nothing but myths and make-believe. The old man is the only one who can convey the wonders of that bygone age, and the horrors of the plague that brought about its end. What future lies in store for the remnants of mankind can only be surmised—their ignorance, barbarity, and ruthlessness the only hopes they have. This cataclysmic tale remains a terrifying prophecy of the perils of globalization, which are all too pertinent today.
In 1948 Orwell saw a world in flux, at risk of losing liberty so recently won. In response he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four, a prophetic book. Now, in 2017, the themes are still with us.This anthology of new short stories draws together leading science fiction writers - famous for their visions of our near future - and asks them to look into our future, to the year 2084.Put humanity on trial as the oceans rise. Slip over borders in a Balkanised Europe. Tread the bizarre streets of cities ruled by memes. See the world through the eyes of drones. Say goodbye to your body as humanity merges with technology.Warnings or prophesies? The path to Paradise or destruction? Will we be proud of what we have achieved, in 2084?Our future unfolds before us.
"A Piece of Steak" was a short story written by Jack London which first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in November 1909. It took him about half a month to write it and earned him five hundred dollars.
One of the outstanding revolutionary leaders of the 20th century discusses questions of literature, art, and culture in a period of capitalist decline and working-class struggle. In these writings, Trotsky examines the place and aesthetic autonomy of art and artistic expression in the struggle for a new, socialist society.
It cannot be said that the Everhard Manuscript is an important historical document. To the historian it bristles with errors-not errors of fact, but errors of interpretation. Looking back across the seven centuries that have lapsed since Avis Everhard completed her manuscript, events, and the bearings of events, that were confused and veiled to her, are clear to us. She lacked perspective. She was too close to the events she writes about. Nay, she was merged in the events she has described. Nevertheless, as a personal document, the Everhard Manuscript is of inestimable value. But here again enter error of perspective, and vitiation due to the bias of love. Yet we smile, indeed, and forgive Avis Everhard for the heroic lines upon which she modelled her husband. We know to-day that he was not so colossal, and that he loomed among the events of his times less largely than the Manuscript would lead us to believe. We know that Ernest Everhard was an exceptionally strong man, but not so exceptional as his wife thought him to be. He was, after all, but one of a large number of heroes who, throughout the world, devoted their lives to the Revolution; though it must be conceded that he did unusual work, especially in his elaboration and interpretation of working-class philosophy.
The Iron Heel is a dystopian novel by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908. The novel is based on the (fictional) "Everhard Manuscript" written by Avis Everhard which she hid and which was subsequently found centuries later. In addition, this novel has an introduction and series of (often lengthy) footnotes written from the perspective of scholar Anthony Meredith. Meredith writes from around 2600 AD or 419 B.O.M. (the Brotherhood of Man). Jack London writes at two levels, often having Meredith condescendingly correcting the errors of Everhard yet, at the same time, exposing the often incomplete understanding of this distant future perspective. Meredith's introduction also acts as a deliberate "spoiler" (the term did not yet exist at the time of writing). Before ever getting a chance to get to know Avis and Ernest, how they fell in love or how Avis became politically involved, the reader is already told that all their struggles and hopes would end in total failure and repression, and that both of them would be summarily executed. This gives all that follows the air of a foreordained tragedy. There is still left the consolation that a happy end would come for humanity as a whole - though hundreds of years too late for Avis and Ernest as individuals; the cruel oligarchy would fall, and the two will be vindicated and respected by posterity as pioneers and martyrs. The Manuscript itself covers the years 1912 through 1932 in which the Oligarchy (or "Iron Heel") arose in the United States. In Asia, Japan conquered East Asia and created its own empire, India gained independence, and Europe became socialist. Canada, Mexico, and Cuba formed their own Oligarchies and were aligned with the U.S. (London remains silent as to the fates of South America, Africa, and the Middle East.) In North America, the Oligarchy maintains power for three centuries until the Revolution succeeds and ushers in the Brotherhood of Man. During the years of the novel, the First Revolt is described and preparations for the Second Revolt are discussed. From the perspective of Everhard, the imminent Second Revolt is sure to succeed but from Meredith's frame story, the reader knows that Everhard's hopes would go unfulfilled until centuries after his death.The Oligarchy are the largest monopoly trusts (or robber barons) who manage to squeeze out the middle class by bankrupting most small to mid-sized business as well as reducing all farmers to effective serfdom. This Oligarchy maintains power through a "labor caste" and the Mercenaries. Labor in essential industries like steel and rail are elevated and given decent wages, housing, and education. Indeed, the tragic turn in the novel (and Jack London's core warning to his contemporaries) is the treachery of these favored unions which break with the other unions and side with the Oligarchy. Further, a second, military caste is formed: the Mercenaries. The Mercenaries are officially the army of the US but are in fact in the employ of the Oligarchs. Asgard is the name of a fictional wonder-city, a city constructed by the Oligarchy to be admired and appreciated as well as lived in. Thousands of proletarians live in poverty there, and are used whenever a public work needs to be completed, such as the building of levee or a canal. The Manuscript is Everhard's autobiography as she tells of: her privileged childhood as the daughter of an accomplished scientist; her marriage to the socialist revolutionary Ernest Everhard; the fall of the US republic; and her years in the underground resistance from the First Revolt through the years leading to the Second Revolt. By telling the story of Avis Everhard, the novel is essentially an adventurous tale heavily strewn with social commentary of an alternate future (from a 1907 perspective). However, the future perspective of the scholar Meredith deepens the tragic plight of Everhard and her revolutionary comrades...
THE IRON HEEL BY JACK LONDON The novel imagines the rise of a radical Socialist mass movement in the US, which triggers a brutal preemptive response from Conservatives, who impose an oligarchic right-wing tyranny -- predicting the rise of fascism in Europe decades ahead of its time. KEY FEATURES OF THIS BOOK · Unabridged reprint of the original content · Available in multiple formats: eBook, original paperback, large print paperback, hardcover and audiobook · Proper paragraph formatting with Indented first lines and Justified Paragraphs · Properly formatted for aesthetics and ease of reading. · Custom Table of Contents and Design elements for each chapter · The Copyright page has been placed at the end of the book, as to not impede the content and flow of the book. ABOUT THE BOOK: Original publication: 1908 Book 9 of 22 Chapters 25 Words: 88,000 This book is great for schools, teachers and students or for the casual reader, and makes a wonderful addition to any classic literary library ABOUT US: At Pure Snow Publishing we have taken the time and care into formatting this book to make it the best possible reading experience. With more than 500 book listings, we specialize in publishing classic books and have been publishing books since 2014. Enjoy!