This Library of America edition contains some of the less well known works of Jack London. Many are autobigraphical in nature, others fictional self-portraitures, and all written in a very socialist bent. In these writing, Jack London clearly has a bone to pick with American Capitalism and the upper classes, no doubt from personal grudges stemming from his background and his struggle for success.In "The People of the Abyss", Jack London goes undercover in the Whitechapel district of London, more than a decade after Jack the Ripper, to vividly describe the social degredation of the inhabitants of the East End. One can see a heavy influence of H.G. Wells in this lengthy essay that seems to be illustrating in non-fictional narrative the degeneration of the worker into the Morlock as described in Well's "Time Machine".
"The Road" is a quite interesting autobiographical narrative of Jack's life as a Hobo, while "John Barleycorn" is a non-fictional account of London's life using alcohol as a theme. The depressing "Martin Eden" is a quasi-fictional autobiography of London's struggles to become a successfull writer.
"The Iron Heel" is a novel of the future set in Berkeley. It bears resemblance to theme and style of Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" and is filled with Socialist drivel a la Berkeley. The climax, set in Chicago during massive riots of the proletariat, is a reworking of scenes from Well's "War of the Worlds."
While there is much of historic interest in these works, which is what attracted me to them since I am a resident of the S.F. Bay where much of these works take place, unless you are a student of London, you will probably find much of the socialist commentary and biographical repition a bit tiresome. Moreover, Jack London can be extremely depressing. I would not advise, for example, reading "Martin Eden" when you are already a sour frame of mind
