Jack London State Historic Park has formed the Jack London Book Discussion Group which is designed by and for people who believe, as Alfred Kazin has famously said, that the “greatest story Jack London ever wrote was the story he lived.”
The book discussion group will explore autobiographical novels and biographical books about Jack London’s spectacular life and adventures. The group will meet March through November and will be led by two Jack London scholars, Susan Nuernberg and Iris Jamahl Dunkle.
Participants can attend individual sessions or sign up for the series. Books should be available in the museum bookshop.
The discussion group will be held in the Terrace Picnic area next to the Cottage, accessed via the Ranch parking lot. Cost, which does not include parking, is $10 for individual sessions or $45 for all 5 meetings. A parking fee of $10 is payable at the entrance kiosk. Registration for the Book Club discussions is available online at jacklondonpark.com/JL-bookclub.html. Call 938-5216 for questions or more information.
The books include:
• March 21: “Martin Eden” (1909) by Jack London. This semibiographical novel recounts London’s early struggles with poverty and his quest to educate himself and become a writer against the odds.
• May 16: “John Barleycorn” (1913) by Jack London. The is the closest London came to writing an autobiography and he not only reveals his stories from his lifelong struggle with alcohol but also the details of his spectacular life.
• July 18 and Sept. 19: “The Book of Jack London, Volumes 1 & 2” by Charmian London. Written shortly after his death, Charmian London wrote “The Book of Jack London Volumes 1 & 2” almost as a love letter to her lost “mate.”
• Nov. 14: “Jack London: An American Life” by Earle Labor. In this much-anticipated and newly released biography of Jack London, Labor draws from his lifetime of scholarship to meticulously reconstruct Jack London’s stunning life.
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