Jack London and the Klondike Gold Rush

By Peter Lourie and Wendell Minor

Here is a compelling middle grade nonfiction tale of how one classic writer drew upon a rugged life of adventure to create works of literature, punctuated by stunning black-and-white art by Wendell Minor and illustrative photographic material.

Swept up in the Gold Rush of 1897, young Jack London headed north to strike it rich in the Klondike and discovered something more precious than gold—the seeds of the stories that would flower into his classic novels The Call of the Wild and White Fang, and timeless short stories such as "To Build A Fire." This gripping tale follows London as he treks up the ruthless Chilkoot Trail, braves the lethal Whitehorse Rapids, survives a bad case of scurvy, and conquers many more dangers of the Yukon during his quest for gold.

A Christy Ottaviano Book

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Mar 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9780805097580

Peter Lourie

Peter Lourie has written many award-winning nonfiction books for young readers. A true adventurer, he has traveled all over the world to research his subjects—from the cloud forest of Ecuador in search of Inca treasure, to Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya on the Ethiopian border, to Tierra del Fuego, and the jungles of Rondonia, Brazil. He is the author of several books about the Arctic: The Polar Bear Scientists, Whaling Season, and Arctic Thaw. He lives in Vermont with his family.

Reviews for Jack London and the Klondike Gold Rush

[authorjanebnight · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: This is a non-fiction book covering Jack London's life specifically while he was involved with the Klondike gold rush. My rating: 4/5I loved how fun this book was to read. Non-fiction can be a drag or can be filled with extraneous detail. This book felt more like reading an adventure story than a non-fictional biography. The book also stayed surprisingly on point. It doesn't have much to say about London's early life, except those tidbits important to his choice to leave for the Klondike, nor does it give more than passing information about London's later life. There are mentions of how this or that which happened in the Klondike related to stories he wrote later but the book is heavily set in the stories here and now. There were very few digressions in this book except for those vital to move the book forward. I truly appreciated that because shortly after reading this book I read another non-fiction which I couldn't get through due to the vast digressions. This book remains on point throughout which, for me, was its second greatest strength. The first greatest being how enjoyable it was to read. Overall, I enjoyed this read very much. My only minor point of complaint is that the author of the book did take some liberties in filling in gaps of London's story. I am assuming he did this for the sake of storytelling. The book probably would be worse for it if he hadn't taken any liberties but I did knock a star off my rating because of it. The copy of the book I read included amazing photographs and a timeline of London's life.I recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy to read and inspiring book on Jack London. I would also highly recommend this to authors who are looking for inspiring tales to help them combat the frustrations of the early failures prevalent in most author careers. London went through so many hardships with the dream of writing his novels. He wrote 1k words a day and he pushed on even when times were tough and he was struggling physically and financially. London is an excellent role model for aspiring authors.

[eduscapes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

JACK LONDON AND THE KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH by Peter Lourie tells the fast-paced story of how London’s gold rush experience inspired his writing.Incorporating a wealth of historical photographs and other primary resources, Lourie uses an engaging nonfiction narrative style to tell the story of Jack London’s experiences in the Klondike. The short, action-packed chapters and historical sidebars add interest to this compelling story. The book concludes with a timeline, glossary, and other useful information.Librarians will find that this new book complements existing library materials on the topic. Since Jack London’s works like CALL OF THE WILD and WHITE FANG are available to download, use this book to encourage youth to read the classics. Keep in mind that the author admits to taking liberties with the story to create an engaging biography likely to attract even reluctant readers.Published by Henry Holt on December 1, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.