The People of the Abyss Jack London 9781468181807 Books
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The People of the Abyss
The People of the Abyss Jack London 9781468181807 Books
Don't go into this one unless you are prepared for intensely depressing scenarios. While this is not one of Jack London's most exciting books, it is most certainly effective. A description of the author's first-hand descent into early 20th century London's East End, it takes off where Dickens left nearly a century earlier. But this is not fiction. No one says "Please sir, may I have some more?" The poor of the East End rarely have anything at all to eat, nowhere to sleep, and nothing at all to look forward to. Hundreds of thousands barely exist in this nether world of starvation, disease, crime and depravity. And it is all real, described first-hand by the intrepid Jack London, as he lives the life of an East-Ender.It would be unbelievable as fiction; as fact it is clear how socialism struck such a strong chord with this passionate, expressive writer.
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The People of the Abyss Jack London 9781468181807 Books Reviews
A chilling example of well written first person social reportage that documents the conditions in the East End of London in 1902. The details have changed, but the book is still timely due to the resurgence of vast economic inequality in many societies that have the resources but not the political interest in social justice. A depressing but very worthwhile read. It reminds us that for most citizens, their place in a civil society is fragile and perilous.
My present political position in life is one that has evolved through time. I was a young Republican in my early adult life and then began to observe how our first-world society works and more importantly, read about how it used to be. Books such as The Jungle, Sister Carry, and Martin Eden defined for me the societal conditions that existed when the free market was allowed to shape society under near laissez-faire conditions. By looking at life as it is depicted in these books I was able to develop comparisons between then and now, and consider the reasons for the vast contrasts that have developed over the past hundred years.
The People of the Abyss is unique within this historical perspective in that it pushes the laissez-faire extreme closer to the ideal. Jack London tells of life in London where the vast majority of people, men, women, and children, are treated as a cheap commodity; used for the lowest wages possible and then discarded when their labor can be replaced for a more vigorous person or for even lower wages. The commodity is housed in pits that are filled to maximum capacity in order to maximize rents and is fed with food intended to sustain life while bleeding away the strength of youth.
The book is an observational commentary composed by London during his sojourns into the East End of London. He dressed as these people dressed, pursued work as they did, and most importantly, recognized these people as human. London once said that this was his most purposeful book, indicating, “No other book of mine took so much of my young heart and tears as that study of the economic degradation of the poor." After reading The People of the Abyss, I easily find an appreciation for London’s work and certainly see its value in my modern observations of today’s society.
I can not recommend this book highly enough. Too often, we hear only about middle and upper class Edwardian England. Jack London took his daring spirit, his critical eye and his talents as a journalist into London's East End to see the misery, poverty, disease and backbreaking labor that made so much wealth for so few British men and women. Read about how much money a poor laborer might spend to rent the space under a bed (yes, under a bed) in an East End slum so that he would have a place to sleep at night. Learn about how a single moment's inattention brought about by hunger and lack of sleep and an injury on the job could mean the end of labor---and the inevitable spiral into poverty, starvation and death. I have recommended this book to several friends who have also found it eye opening.
This is the reason that is so useful,. A book like this might go years between publications. But, with electronic publication, it is always available. There will always be more people who want to read about life and death adventures in Alaska than about life and death adventures in capitalist England at the turn of the 19th century---but the latter topic is important, too.
Don't go into this one unless you are prepared for intensely depressing scenarios. While this is not one of Jack London's most exciting books, it is most certainly effective. A description of the author's first-hand descent into early 20th century London's East End, it takes off where Dickens left nearly a century earlier. But this is not fiction. No one says "Please sir, may I have some more?" The poor of the East End rarely have anything at all to eat, nowhere to sleep, and nothing at all to look forward to. Hundreds of thousands barely exist in this nether world of starvation, disease, crime and depravity. And it is all real, described first-hand by the intrepid Jack London, as he lives the life of an East-Ender.
It would be unbelievable as fiction; as fact it is clear how socialism struck such a strong chord with this passionate, expressive writer.
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