Description
Temporarily out of stock
Title: John Barleycorn
Author: LONDON JACK
Format: PAPERBACK
Publication date: 01/05/2018
Imprint: DOVER PUBLISHERS
Price: $10.00
Publishing status: Active
As close to an autobiography as Jack London ever wrote, John Barleycorn recounts the author’s
lifelong struggle with alcohol. In this brutally frank 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.
The book created a sensation upon its 1913 publication and became a powerful tool of the
temperance movement. More than a screed against demon rum, however, the tale recounts
London’s years as a sailor, explorer, and frontiersman up and down the West Coast, from
Southern California to Alaska. Rich in anecdotes and written in a captivating style, the book also
offers compelling insights into London’s life as a rugged adventurer and popular writer.
ISBN: 9780486817071