Hard cover book. The People of The Abyss Author: Jack London Publisher: Thomas Nelson & Sons Date: 1903 Further Information: A plain volume bound in pale blue cloth, with a stuck-on library classification label ("PAT FIC LON") on the spine and no visible date, edition statement, or printer's imprint on the pages shown the copyright/date page. There's no gilt decoration, no illustrated boards, and no dust jacket. fictionIn the summer of 1902, Jack London disguised himself as a stranded American sailor and spent about six to seven weeks living among the poor of London's East End, sleeping in workhouses, doss-houses and on the street, and living for a time with a poor family in Whitechapel. These conditions were shared by roughly five hundred thousand working-class people at the time. The resulting book, published in 1903, is an immersive, first-person exposé of poverty, hunger, homelessness and the failures of social and government institutions in the world's wealthiest city at the height of the British Empire. In the book's conclusion, London blamed the deprivation on the incompetence of the governing institutions, calling out 'the political machine' managing the country. It combines reportage, statistics and personal narrative, and was illustrated with photographic plates documenting the conditions he witnessed.warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, the people of the abyss, jack london

Hard cover book. Before Adam Author: Jack London Publisher: Collins Clear-Type Press Date: 1910s–1920s Further Information: A plain volume bound in red cloth, with a stuck-on library classification label ("PAT FIC LON") on the spine and no visible date, edition statement, or printer's imprint on the pages shown the copyright/date page. Gilt decoration and lettering to spine, no illustrated boards, and no dust jacket. fictionBefore Adam (1906–07) is one of Jack London's more unusual novels. It's narrated by a modern man who is a "freak of heredity" through recurring, vivid dreams, he relives the memories of a prehistoric ancestor he calls "Big-Tooth." The story was first serialised in Everybody's Magazine before being published as a book, and tells of a man who dreams he lives the life of an early hominid. Most of the narrative unfolds through the eyes of Big-Tooth, one of the more primitive "Cave People," set against the more advanced "Fire People" and the animal-like "Tree People." Supporting characters include the hominid's father, a love interest, and Red-Eye, a savage "atavism" who terrorises the Cave People, with a sabre-toothed cat also playing a role.shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, warrnambool, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, shipwrecked-artefact, book, pattison collection, warrnambool library, warrnambool mechanics’ institute, ralph eric pattison, corangamite regional library service, warrnambool city librarian, mechanics’ institute library, victorian library board, warrnambool books and records, warrnambool children’s library, before adam, jack london