January 12, 2013 - Happy Birthday, Jack London

Umm...oyster pirate?


Wikipedia states that Jack London (born John Griffith Chaney) was an author, journalist, and social activist. Science Gnus has a more colorful list that includes ”oyster pirate, deep-sea sailor, hobo, Alaskan prospector.” And of course, author; London wrote The Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf, and White Fang, among other works.

Both of these lists left off a few jobs that London took on. He worked in a jute mill and a street-railway power plant. He was in prison for 30 days for “vagrancy” (vagrancy means being homeless and jobless—yes, it was against the law!), and let us not forget that when he was 13 years old, London worked 12 to 18 hours A DAY in a cannery! All of that hard work, all of that travel and adventure, made him the author that he was.

Jack London Square, in Oakland, CA
Read The Call of the Wild here












Watch this short presentation on White Fang. It's pretty dramatic (almost corny, in my opinion, but hopefully it will inspire you to get and read the book! 










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