[fantasyfan]

I have read some of Jack London’s work (though not this specific work) and he was an interesting person. He had a remarkable ability to distance himself from his subject and create a sense of objectivity with simple naturalistic description which was highly effective and powerful. A good example is the short story “To Build a Fire” in which he distances himself from his main character which adds a remarkable twist to the end.

He had a genuine compassion for the poor but unfortunately was still able to hold racist opinions. As a journalist he wrote a series of articles which were instrumental in causing the retired heavyweight boxing champion Jim Jeffries to foolishly challenge the reigning champion, the great Jack Johnson, to a match aledgedly to demonstrate the superiority of the white race.

The so-called “Fight of the Century” on July 4th 1910 (attended by London) was a fiasco as the aging Jeffries was easily defeated in 15 rounds.