Jack London Audio Books

Lloyd James reads [these stories] wonderfully, turning a one-man reading into a lyrical presentation that feels like a full-cast production. AudioFile

Most readers are familiar with Jack Londons stories of the frozen northland, such as White Fang and To Light a Fire, but many critics feel he should be equally acknowledged for his fascinating stories of the South Pacific. Here is another remote corner of the world, a background for his magnificently colorful and entertaining South Sea Tales. London is able to pierce the stereotype of his era concerning the noble savage and present the people who lived on these exotic islands as individuals who had to deal with the white mans intrusions, the racism, foreign diseases, biased legal systems, and brutality. These stories are
based on the themes Jack London considered most important: race, culture, justice, and heroism.

Born in San Francisco in 1876, Jack London never knew who his father was. His name came from his stepfather, John Griffith London. The family was poor, and London's early education has been described as "spotty," though he read voraciously. To help the family, he held many different jobs, from peddling papers to working in a cannery. At nineteen, he entered high school, followed by one semester of college. In 1897, London hunted for gold in the Klondike and returned with scurvy and story ideas. By 1899, his work was selling briskly. At one time he was acclaimed the highest paid writer in the world, but bad investments and an inability to manage his money kept London poor throughout his life. In 1916, at age forty, he died on his beloved ranch near Sonoma, California.

Lloyd James hails from the Midwest. He received a B.A. in theater from a small liberal-arts college in New Mexico. He acts in the theater when his schedule permits and spends much of his free time working in his garden. He lives in Virginia with his wife and son.