John Barleycorn. The road -- The iron heel -- Martin Eden -- John Barleycorn.
Summary:
The People of the Abyss: The People of the Abyss (1903) is a work of nonfiction by American writer Jack London. Written after the author spent three months living in London's poverty-stricken East End, The People of the Abyss bears witness to the difficulties faced by hundreds and thousands of people every day in one of the wealthiest nations on earth. The Road: Jack London's road is the railroad, and these reminiscences paint a vivid portrait of life in the United States during the major economic depression of the 1890s. His compelling adventures include a month-long detention in a state penitentiary for vagrancy, as well as his travels with Kelly's Army, a group of unemployed workers who united to protest the labor environment. The Iron Heel: From 1912 to 1932, an authoritarian government rises to power in the United States, crushing the labor movement and ensuring the population remains mired in poverty with no hope for power or change. Against this dystopian backdrop, a young revolutionary places the hopes of mankind before her own survival. Martin Eden: Martin Eden is a self-taught, working-class man. Raised in Oakland, he hopes to achieve his dreams of becoming a writer, earning acceptance into an exclusive literary scene, and marrying Ruth Morse, whose family's wealth and status is a barrier to their love. As he navigates a world that was not made for him, he learns the cost of hopes and dreams. John Barleycorn: As close to an autobiography as Jack London ever wrote, John Barleycorn recounts the author's lifelong struggle with alcohol. In this brutally honest memoir, which takes its title from the British folksong that personifies the source of whiskey and beer, London writes of alcohol as his friend and his enemy, an august companion and a red-handed killer. In an age when alcoholism was viewed as a genetic weakness, London's frank, ahead-of-its-time treatment of his struggles tarnished his sterling reputation as a paragon of all-American manhood.
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