Jack London

Jack London rises from poverty to become the highest paid, most controversial and most popular writer in the world. As an adventurer, author, sailor, Klondiker, journalist, playwright and social reformer. Jack’s exploits, love affairs, and political machinations were followed by newspapers throughout the world. Jack London not only bridged the gap between romantic and modern literature he was also a sensational photographer whose works appeared in the Hearst papers and magazines throughout the country. This documentary uses Jack’s photographic accounts of the Japanese-Russo War, the slums of London in 1902, The San Francisco Earthquake and the Mexican Revolution to illustrate his point of view. In April of 1907, Jack and Charmian London set sail for the South Seas, on the “Snark,” a boat, Jack designed and built. His photos, stories and articles on Hawaii and the South seas helped popularize surfing, boosted tourism, and provided the first view millions of Americans had of the beauties and tragedies of these islands and their indigenous peoples. One of the leading Socialists of his time, Jack wrote the introductions to and helped raise the money for Upton Sinclair’s book “The Jungle.” This book led to the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Jack was also instrumental in changing the copyright laws in America. Jack London died on November 22, 1916. Scholars still argue over whether London wittingly or unwittingly committed suicide with a self-induced overdose of morphine. or died from a stroke and heart failure.