Recalling Jack London’s ‘The Road’
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 08.01.07 | 12:08 PM ET
While Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Jack London’s road trip book, The Road, celebrates its 100th anniversary—albeit with much less fanfare. Yet, writes Jonah Raskin in a terrific piece in The Nation, “London’s account of his wild, eye-opening journey across the country by railroad, boat, on foot—and even barefoot, when his shoes fell apart—remains a pivotal work in the cultural history of America’s long obsession with road travel, roadside attractions and road books.” Not only did “The Road” inspire Kerouac to become a writer, Raskin notes, but it was “a Beat memoir before the advent of the Beats, and an existentialist narrative before the arrival of existentialism.”
Related on World Hum:
* Video: Steve Allen interviews Jack Kerouac
* Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’ Scroll Enjoying Super Bowl Press
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
John 08.03.07 | 5:19 AM ET
As an aside - I spent a few months in Central Asia not so long ago, and discovered that Jack London is considered to be a key representative of Western literature. During the Soviet era, few British or American books made it past the censor to be translated - but for some reason, Jack London was favoured. Any home with a decent collection of books seemed to have one of his novels, which was weird because I don’t know anyone in the UK who has read him (including myself). Is he more popular in the US?
The other representative Western author, by the way, seemed to be Dumas - I saw numerous copies of The Three Musketeers.
Scooter 07.07.08 | 9:18 AM ET
I have been a huge fan of London ever since reading the call of the wild. He is very well known in the USA and many of his books are considered classics.