Love of Life and Other Stories
New York: The Review of Reviews Co. (of The Macmillan Co.), 1913. First Edition, Early Printing. A Very Good copy of this early printing in the Publisher's original blue boards showing some rubbing to the leading corners of each board and to the spine head and tail, as well as a group of tiny white spots to the front board and with the closed page block's top edge in gilt. (The first edition was published in 1907 and this copy lacks the scarce dust jacket) London was one of the first American authors to reach internatational celebrity status. London spent a period of time on the Klondike searching for gold. His living that life inspired him to write a numer of tales, among them "Love of Live", the title story of this collection. Per www. reference. com London’s title story, “Love of Life” is about a pair of "...gold prospectors, Bill and an unnamed man, who are struggling to survive on the frozen tundra of Canada. They cross the tundra looking for food, all the while suffering from starvation and exposure to the elements. When the unnamed man sprains his ankle, Bill abandons him and proceeds through the wilderness, his will to survive put to the test.
The tables are turned in the story when it appears that Bill has been killed by the elements, having carried his sack of gold with him until the very end. The man who sprained his ankle comes upon him in the wilderness, but neglects to take the gold with him. He ultimately resorts to crawling across the tundra, devoid of any weapons. After surviving a wolf attack, he is discovered, semi-conscious, by a group of explorers traveling by ship. He recovers while on the ship, and is brought back to health.
This is a story of survival at its most pure. It is an exploration of a man’s will to survive. London tells the story in great detail, recounting moments of fear, anguish and raw hunger endured by his protagonists."
A Very Good copy of this notable collection. Very good. Item #3919
Price: $135.00