Other editions of book When God Laughs : And Other Stories

How is this book unique?Font adjustments & biography includedUnabridged (100% Original content)Formatted for e-readerIllustratedAbout When God Laughs & Other Stories by Jack LondonThis collection of Jack London's stories touches on a variety of topics, from his love of boxing, to relationships between criminals, to the trials of life and travel on many frontiers, to an allegory about a king who desired a nose. London is considered a master of the story telling, a form much more to his liking and personality than his novels. He was active and quick of mind and the short story suited him well. The stories take place in diverse locales, including San Francisco, Tahiti, Korea, Australia, and the open seas. The quality of the stories also varies greatly, and in many ways the selections represent the zenith and the nadir of London's writing. Three of these stories, "The Apostate", "The Chinago", and "A Piece of Steak" are masterpieces of storytelling, among the best of London's career.

"Named after the first story — about a couple that tries in vain to uphold an intensely idealistic romance against the erosions of time and the inconstancy of human nature — the collection explores themes for which London became famous: the struggle for survival in the midst of hostile environments, human nature’s most elemental drives, and worker abuse in industrialized society.In The Apostate his concerns with the working poor and his dislike of pre-union-era capitalism are evident in a grim story about a young man who is brutalized by the subhuman working conditions in a textile mill, yet achieves a kind of liberation in the end.London’s fascination with primitive male characters is evident in Just Meat, a story of two thieves who plot each other’s demise in a selfish grab for a hoard of recently stolen jewelry.Like his famous novel The Sea Wolf, the stories Make Westing and The ‘Francis Spaight’ (described as ""A True Tale Retold"") portray corrupt sea captains abusing and terrorizing their crews during nightmarish voyages.In the concluding story, A Piece of Steak London starkly portrays the desperate struggles of an aging boxer as he grapples with a younger contender through most of a grueling twenty-round fight.As all of these stories vividly reveal, many of them brilliantly, no one had a more dispassionate and uncompromising view of human nature at its worst or could express it more forcefully than Jack London."

First published in the year 1911; the present book 'When God Laughs; and Other Stories' is a collection of fictional short stories by one of the most famous writers of American English literature Jack London. These stories explores themes like the struggle for survival in the midst of hostile environments; human nature’s most elemental drives; and worker abuse in industrialized society.

How is this book unique?Font adjustments & biography includedUnabridged (100% Original content)IllustratedAbout When God Laughs & Other Stories by Jack LondonThis collection of Jack London's stories touches on a variety of topics, from his love of boxing, to relationships between criminals, to the trials of life and travel on many frontiers, to an allegory about a king who desired a nose. London is considered a master of the story telling, a form much more to his liking and personality than his novels. He was active and quick of mind and the short story suited him well. The stories take place in diverse locales, including San Francisco, Tahiti, Korea, Australia, and the open seas. The quality of the stories also varies greatly, and in many ways the selections represent the zenith and the nadir of London's writing. Three of these stories, "The Apostate", "The Chinago", and "A Piece of Steak" are masterpieces of storytelling, among the best of London's career.

Jack London (January 12, 1876 - November 22, 1916), was an American author who wrote The Call of the Wild and other books. A pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first Americans to make a huge financial success from writing.The Scarlet Plague was written by Jack London and originally published in London Magazine in 1912. It was re-released in February of 2007 by Echo Library. The story takes place in 2072, sixty years after the scarlet plague has depopulated the planet. James Howard Smith is one of the few people left alive in the San Francisco area, and as he realizes his time grows short, he tries to impart the value of knowledge and wisdom to his grandsons.American society at the time of the plague has become severely stratified and there is a large hereditary underclass of servants and "nurses"; and the politcal system has been replaced by a formalized oligarchy. Commercial airship lines exist, as do some airships privately owned by the very rich.

The stories take place in diverse locales, including San Francisco, Tahiti, Korea, Australia, and the open seas. The quality of the stories also varies greatly, and in many ways the selections represent the zenith and the nadir of London's writing. Three of these stories, "The Apostate", "The Chinago", and "A Piece of Steak" are masterpieces of storytelling, among the best of London's career. On the other hand, "A Wicked Woman" may be the worst story London ever wrote, and at least two others here, "When God Laughs" and "Created He Them," could easily vie for that ignominious title.Rather than waste space discussing the losers, let's focus on the winners. In keeping with London's preoccupation with socialist thought and labor issues, "The Apostate" focuses on the oppressive life of a young man who has toiled as a factory wage slave for most of his life. "The Chinago" is likewise concerned with social injustice, relating the tale of a Chinese laborer in Tahiti who is tried under French law for a murder he did not commit. It is a scathing indictment of colonialism, and a stark depiction of the indifference to human life that European exploiters often displayed toward their third-world servants. "A Piece of Steak" is an excellent boxing story featuring an aging fighter, poor and underfed, who, in order to feed his family, must fight an epic battle against a youthful opponent. "Just Meat" is another good offering about two thieves who make a big score. "Make Westing" and "The `Francis Spaight'" are both gritty seafaring tales, satisfying but not exceptional by London standards. The most pleasantly surprising discovery for me was "A Curious Fragment", a futuristic socialist tale, set in the 26th century in a world reminiscent of London's fascinating novel The Iron Heel. It's an intriguing sci-fi story which, though all too short, offers plenty of social commentary and suspenseful drama.Despite some of the stinkers in this collection, overall the scales are tipped in favor of the good. Faithful fans of London will definitely find When God Laughs well worth reading. Those who know London only from his sled dog tales will find in this collection prime examples of how he successfully (and in some cases not so successfully) applied his masterful storytelling skills to an incredibly diverse range of subject matter.

*This book is Annotated (It contains a biography of the Author).* Named after the first story — about a couple that tries in vain to uphold an intensely idealistic romance against the erosions of time and the inconstancy of human nature — the collection explores themes for which London became famous: the struggle for survival in the midst of hostile environments, human nature’s most elemental drives, and worker abuse in industrialized society.In The Apostate his concerns with the working poor and his dislike of pre-union-era capitalism are evident in a grim story about a young man who is brutalized by the subhuman working conditions in a textile mill, yet achieves a kind of liberation in the end.London’s fascination with primitive male characters is evident in Just Meat, a story of two thieves who plot each other’s demise in a selfish grab for a hoard of recently stolen jewelry.Like his famous novel The Sea Wolf, the stories Make Westing and The ‘Francis Spaight’ (described as "A True Tale Retold") portray corrupt sea captains abusing and terrorizing their crews during nightmarish voyages.In the concluding story, A Piece of Steak London starkly portrays the desperate struggles of an aging boxer as he grapples with a younger contender through most of a grueling twenty-round fight.As all of these stories vividly reveal, many of them brilliantly, no one had a more dispassionate and uncompromising view of human nature at its worst or could express it more forcefully than Jack London. Contents:- When God laughs:- The apostate- A wicked woman- Just meat- Created he them- The Chinago- Make westing- Semper Idem- A nose for the king- The Francis Spaight- A curious fragment- A piece of steak