Before Adam
By Jack London
4/5
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About this ebook
Jack London
Jack London (1876-1916) was an American novelist and journalist. Born in San Francisco to Florence Wellman, a spiritualist, and William Chaney, an astrologer, London was raised by his mother and her husband, John London, in Oakland. An intelligent boy, Jack went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley before leaving school to join the Klondike Gold Rush. His experiences in the Klondike—hard labor, life in a hostile environment, and bouts of scurvy—both shaped his sociopolitical outlook and served as powerful material for such works as “To Build a Fire” (1902), The Call of the Wild (1903), and White Fang (1906). When he returned to Oakland, London embarked on a career as a professional writer, finding success with novels and short fiction. In 1904, London worked as a war correspondent covering the Russo-Japanese War and was arrested several times by Japanese authorities. Upon returning to California, he joined the famous Bohemian Club, befriending such members as Ambrose Bierce and John Muir. London married Charmian Kittredge in 1905, the same year he purchased the thousand-acre Beauty Ranch in Sonoma County, California. London, who suffered from numerous illnesses throughout his life, died on his ranch at the age of 40. A lifelong advocate for socialism and animal rights, London is recognized as a pioneer of science fiction and an important figure in twentieth century American literature.
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Reviews for Before Adam
4 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My name is Adam so this slim softcover, obviously old and from whence it came, who knows?, had always dimly called out to me, "read me, read me." But I never did, for decades. But happy childhood memories of my dad's reading out loud to me Call of the Wild induced me, finally, to give it a try. I am glad I did. Before Adam is a fantastic tale of a modern homo sapiens who dreams every night of his alter ego, Big Tooth, a kind of proto man, almost apelike, and his friends and enemies, Red Eye, Lop Ear, Swift One, etc. In this earlier life, a distant memory of his ancestor, life is perilous, hard, fearful and often short. But at the same time it has its moments of fun, humor, friendship, and love of a sort for family and mates. London was one of the most successful, prolific, and wealthiest writers of his time, despite his relatively short life. You can see why as this book, and other stories of his that appeared in magazines, are real page turners. London's style is crisp and remains fresh even a century later. Like Mark Twain, and unlike someone like Herman Melville, he's an easy read in terms of both grammar, style, and vocabulary. This book deserves to be read and enjoyed and not just sit collecting dust on a bookshelf. Shame on me for taking 40 years to realize this.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Predates Clan of the Cave Bear by 75 years or so. Same idea, London launches right into human evolution in the 19teens. An amazing work, well-enough done.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5London is pretty much always entertaining, and no less so in this "recovered memory" of prehistoric human history. A quick and worthy read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A brief and interesting "firsthand" account of our ancient ancestor's daily life experiences. I have never found London's works to be sophisticated, and certainly this book is more fantasy than real science based fiction. Nonetheless, an enjoyable and easy read worth your time.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5it´s surprising this story is about a century old, it could have been written nowadays. Of course it´s not fully scientific. It´s fiction, and nature laws are slightly different from the ones we know. It´s based on the idea that, somehow, experience can de inherited through genes. But that idea (Lamark's like) had already been left as non valid at the time the book was written, being preferred Darwin's theory of evolution (natural selection). The story is entertaining, the author manages to make the reader sympathetic to that half brute/half human predecessor of man who is the main character of the book and even succeed at giving its adventures a look of verity.