John Griffith "Jack" London (born John Griffith Chaney; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. A pioneer in the world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first writers to become a worldwide celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf.
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. He wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.
The Road is an autobiographical memoir by Jack London, first published in 1907. It is London's account of his experiences as a hobo in the 1890s, during the worst economic depression the United States had experienced up to that time. He describes his experiences hopping freight trains, "holding down" a train when the crew is trying to throw him off, begging for food and money, and making up extraordinary stories to fool the police. He also tells of the thirty days that he spent in the Erie County Penitentiary, which he described as a place of "unprintable horrors," after being "pinched" (arrested) for vagrancy. In addition, he recounts his time with Kelly's Army, which he joined up with in Wyoming and remained with until its dissolution at the Mississippi River.
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be a freight-hopping hobo, you need look no further than Jack London’s autobiographical account of the hobo life. If you’re like me, you probably didn’t know London had been a hobo, or anything about the man other than that he wrote a book called “The Call of the Wild” that you read in high school. When you read “The Road” you’ll learn skills like how to avoid getting kicked off a train, how to survive being jailed for vagrancy, and how to tell a story that will get one a free meal. The events of this book took place in the 1890’s, during the worst economic depression prior to the Great Depression, and London—like scads of others—was out of work. (However, London does admit that the appeal of this adventurous lifestyle was a major factor in his own movement in these circles.)
The early part of the book deals with London’s life as a free-wheeling hobo riding the rails, and the latter part delves into his time in Kelley’s Army—a.k.a. Coxey’s Army. This was a confederacy of out-of-work men who engaged in protests and lived off the charity of compassionate folk.
It’s a short book, only about 200 pages. In nine chapters it tells London’s story over this phase of his life. Sometimes it reads like a memoir, and sometimes it reads like a manual.
I’d highly recommend this book. It was readably written and fascinating. While it was written and published during first decade of the 20th century, it’s about the late 19th century—and, let’s face it, the 19th century got short shrift in our education because—except for the Civil War—it just wasn’t sexy. But London will intrigue you with stories of America’s dark underbelly.
