Jack London Books In Order

Publication Order of Dogs of the Islands Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Jack London was one of the noteworthy authors of America who was active during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. He was born on January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, California, United States, and died on November 22, 1916. Other than being an author, Jack was also a journalist, short story writer, and a social activist. His writings were mainly based on the Adventure, Literature & Fiction, and Classics genres. Most of his successful work deal with the elemental struggles of life for survival in a romantic way. At the peak of his career as a novelist, Jack was the most popular and the highest paid of all the prominent authors of his time. His works were greatly influenced popular personalities of this time such as Ernst Haeckel, Charles Darwin, John Tyndall, Ambrose Bierce, Rudyard Kipling, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, H.G. Wells, Thomas Henry Huxley, etc. His early education was primarily a past grammar school and was mostly self educated because of the financial difficulties faced by him in his early days. The plots of most of the novels written by author Jack London are drawn from his personal life experiences.

During the period of the Gold Rush, he spent a considerable amount of time of his life in the Klondike. And at many other times, he used to work as a seaman, hobo, oyster pirate, and as a sealer. The first writing work of Jack was published in the year 1898. From then on, he went on to write a number of classical and highly successful novels in his writing career. Based on his writings, his life symbolizes the power of the will and the determination to survive. This can very well be seen in his novels which depict vigorous stories about animals and men against the difficult environment and the hardships faced by them for the survival. Being an illegitimate child, Jack had to spend his childhood in an extreme poverty in the slums Oakland. When he was of age of 17, he sailed into the sea as a sealer. During that time, he got imprisoned for a period of 30 days, which proved to be the turning point of his life. The imprisonment was so degrading and rigorous that it forced him to turn towards education and pursue a dedicated career in writing.

Many the novels that he wrote in the initial days of his writing career mainly depicted his life experiences at the sea. He even embraced the concepts of Darwinism and unconfined individualism in his exploration of the nature’s laws. Jack went on to retire when he was nearing the age of 40 and spent his days post his retirement at his ranch situated near Sonoma. Finally, he died due to a number of diseases and treatments from various drugs at the age of 40. A book store was named after him after many years when his contributions to the English Literature and the society were studied by the scholars. They became aware of his dedicated efforts and the importance of his works for the benefit of the society, through his writings. This compelled the modern day scholars to name a bookstore after him, which was closed after a few years. After that, a research center was formed under his name, which got relocated by the board of directors of The Jack London Foundation to a vintage cottage near the winery of the Benziger Family in the year 2004.

One of the initial novels written by author Jack London was titled ‘The Call of the Wild’. It was published in the year 1903 and was republished the Scholastic publishing house in the year 2001. The plot of the novel revolves around the lives of the main characters Buck, John Thornton, and Spitz, and is set in Alaska, United States. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, Buck is introduced as a crossbreed canine and a sturdy animal. He is a dog of half St. Bernard and half Shepard breed and is born in a luxurious environment. Buck gets raised in a sheltered home in California. However, when he is very young, he gets kidnapped by someone and sold. His new life seems to be a difficult one as he is required to work as a sled dog in the frozen and harsh Yukon Territory. During the course of his life, Buck is passed to a number of masters on the Yukon Territory and as a result, he embarks on a very extraordinary journey, which seems to be an outcome of the changing and unfavorable conditions. However, Buck always remains determined to survive all the difficulties of his life and proves his unbreakable spirit. The novel is considered as one of the initial masterpieces by author Jack. It is based on his life experiences, during the time of being a gold prospector in the wilderness of Canada and his ideas about the struggle and the nature of survival in the difficult situations. The novel also describes a tale about his personal experiences in the Alaskan Klondike and gives an account of his unbreakable spirit and determination and dedication for survival in the frozen region.

One of the other early novels written by author Jack London was titled ‘White Fang’. It was published in the year 1906 and was later republished by the Scholastic Paperbacks in the year 2001. The plot of the novel is set in Yukon Territory, Canada and revolves around the main character who is half dog and half wolf. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, White Fang is introduced as a cub, whose survives alone among the litter of his five siblings. Growing up lonely in frozen region, and because of his mixed characteristics of a dog and a wolf, he soon learns the lesson of life, that is to kill or get killed. But, he was never prepared in his young life for the cruel nature of Beauty Smith, who seems to be a bully and buys White Fang by giving a huge sum to his Indian master. Eventually, he turns him into a ferocious killer, and trains him to fight for money as a pit dog. It the further plot of the novel, it is seen that White Fang survives with the hope of finding a kind and gentle master rather than dying as a deadly and fierce killer. The novel very well describes the savagery of the lives in the wilderness of the northern regions. Through the characteristics of the central character of the plot, the author has tried to explain the life experiences of the man and animals in the harsh patterns and rhythms of the wilderness.

One Response to “Jack London”

1. tinman 78: 4 years ago

   did he write the story of two computer geniuses that wrote the the story of all names of God?

   Reply