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| 1/12/1876 |
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Jack London, Born and Born Again
On this day in 1876 Jack London was born, and on this day in 1893, his seventeenth birthday, London signed on for an eight-month stint aboard a sealing schooner heading to the Far East. The voyage became the basis of The Sea Wolf and, said London twenty-five years later, saved him from the boozing-brawling-thieving life to which he was already addicted -- one which "made toward death too quickly to suit my youth and vitality." |
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| 3/23/1913 |
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Jack London's Cash Flow
On this day in 1913 Jack London wrote a letter to six famous writers of the day -- a list which included Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells -- to ask them what rates they were paid for their "stuff." London was a prolific, best-selling author but he was on the decline and in need of $100,000 a year to keep his projects, his philanthropy, and his personality going. |
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| 7/25/1897 |
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Jack London to the Top, and Over
When Jack London returned to Oakland from the Klondike he had $4.50 in gold dust in his pocket, and the memories, stories and journals that would, within five years, springboard him into literary history. Within fifteen years, he would be the highest-paid and best-known writer in the world; within twenty, whether intentionally by burn-out or accidentally by drug overdose, he would be dead. |
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A Literary History of the American West
Find an extension collection of essays on oral tradition, literary historiography, genre, the Cowboy in novels and short fiction, ethnic expression American literature, the West in contemporary radio, film, television and print, and other topics. Includes articles on Willa Cather, Robert Bly, Jack London, John Steinbeck, William Saroyan, Theodore Roethke, and many others. Highly recommended.
"'All Gold Canyon' is one of London's most significant stories. Not only does it embody some of his best lyrical description and dramatic narrative: it also demonstrates his newly awakened ecological conscience. There had been little evidence of such concern in his Alaskan stories; all his sympathies are with the brave souls who pit their heroic will against the awesome intractability of the wilderness. The gold itself is incidental, the moral fiber of the man himself being the important thing, but it is nonetheless a positive reward for those select few upon whom fate has endowed the rare combination of grit, determination, adaptability, good comradeship, and–most important–good luck. ... [But in] London's pastoral wilderness the roles between Man and Nature are reversed from what they were in the Northland: it is Man who now becomes the savage destructive force, Nature the helpless victim...." |  | Jack London International
Research site devoted to all-things-London. Includes an author biography and life timeline, bibliography, images, and discussion forum.
"Strikingly handsome, full of laughter, restless and courageous to a fault, always eager for adventure on land or sea, he was one of the most attractive and romantic figures of his time. Jack London ascribed his literary success largely to hard work - to 'dig,' as he put it. He tried never to miss his early morning 1,000-word writing stint, concerning this his determination was iron. London developed a sense to know when his 100 words were up and sometimes stopped in the middle of a....." | | Jack London's Ranch Album: A Pictorial Biography
200+ articles about London, his family, works, and ranch restoration project. Also features photos, electronic texts (Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, and others), and life timeline. | | The FBI File
Made accessible through the Freedom of Information Act, provided here in PDF format (Adobe Acrobat required). | | The Jack London Collection
Large site featuring a London biography, frequently asked questions, image gallery of nearly 100 pictures, educational resources for students and teachers (including study guides and plot summaries, study questions, vocabulary worksheets, and tests), links, and a number of electronic texts including full-length novels, short stories, drama, non-fiction, essays, newspaper articles, manuscripts, letters, postcards, and other documents. Presented by the University of California, Berkeley. | |
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The TinL masthead features photography by
Natasha D'Schommer
, and the book art featured is by Jim Rosenau.
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