Jack London (1876–1916,) born John Griffith Chaney, was an American novelist and short-story writer. He was one of the most extensively translated American authors during the 20th century.
Born in San Francisco with the twofold handicap of illegitimacy and poverty, London was successively sailor, tramp, and gold-miner before he began his career as a writer. He used his familiarity of the Klondike Gold Rush in his highly successful novels The Call of the Wild (1903,) The Sea-Wolf (1904,) and White Fang (1905)—all these novels reflect his preoccupation with the struggle for survival.
Among London’s later works are novels inspired by his socialist political beliefs, notably The Iron Heel (1907) and Martin Eden (1909,) and his autobiographical tale of alcoholism, John Barleycorn (1913.)
With his creative powers failing and his health undercut by illness, accidents, and heavy drinking, London died at the age of 40.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Jack London
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
—Jack London
Topics: Aspirations, Carpe-diem, Productivity, Happiness, Time, Worry, Feelings, Time Management, Living, Goals
You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
—Jack London
Topics: Imagination
A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.
—Jack London
Topics: Helping, Charity
Affluence means influence
—Jack London
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
- Jack Kerouac American Novelist, Poet
- Theodore Dreiser American Novelist, Journalist
- Louis L’Amour American Novelist
- Sherwood Anderson American Novelist, Short Story Writer
- John Irving American Novelist
- Ralph Ellison American Novelist
- John Cheever American Novelist
- Richard Wright American Novelist, Short-Story Writer
- Raymond Chandler American-British Novelist
- Christopher Isherwood Anglo-American Novelist, Playwright