John Barleycorn

by Jack London

Book Overview

Jack London cut a mythic figure across the American landscape of the early twentieth century. But throughout his colorful life-from his teenage years as an oyster pirate to his various incarnations as a well-traveled seaman, Yukon gold prospector, waterfront brawler, unemployed vagrant, impassioned socialist, and celebrated writer-he retained a predilection for drinking on a prodigious scale. London's classic -alcoholic memoirs--the closest thing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375757929
• ISBN13: 9780375757921
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Penguin Random House LLC (No Starch)
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Jack London Books

Jack London is my favorite author I would always rate is books and articles highly, I would recommend his books for kids who like to read adventure stories or for adults just begining to read.

Pleasantly Jingled

`John Barleycorn' is the so-called "Alcoholic memoirs" of American literary icon Jack London. John Barleycorn was London's nickname for booze, and his relationship with Mr. Barleycorn is one of love/hate. In spite of the sub-title, London persists throughout this drunken autobiography that he is not an alcoholic. Nevertheless, he eloquently chronicles his tumultuous drinking career with the goal of demonstrating the enormous toll that alcohol can take on the mind, body, and spirit. At times, he glorifies his drinking, but for the most part he seems to resent this seductive destroyer of men, and claims that the only reason he drinks so much is because it is everywhere. He sees drinking as sort of a social obligation, a manly thing to do around other men. Not only does he resent it, but he concludes that prohibition is the only way to stop the destructive force of alcohol. `John Barleycorn' is not only a story about the effects of alcohol on one man's life, but it is also an adventurous tale of one of America's first celebrities rise from rags to riches. The narrative begins with London's poverty-stricken childhood in San Francisco, continues through his teenage years as a brawling oyster pirate, and on into his adult years as a celebrated writer and passionate socialist. The prose is magnificent, and although `John Barleycorn" was highly entertaining, there is also a sense of sadness for me because I know first-hand how agonizing this type of life can be. With that said, this is a fantastic piece of American literature.

Jack London's "Alcoholic Memoirs".

_John Barleycorn_ by American writer Jack London is a semi-autobiographical novel which deals with Jack London's experiences with alcohol, nicknamed "John Barleycorn" throughout this novel. Jack London was a rugged adventurer who was born into poverty and only became wealthy after his success as a novelist. His early experiences, which he writes about in this novel, were particularly important in the shaping of his thought and writings. London was a very thoughtful writer and all of his writings are philosophical in nature. Philosophically London was influenced by such thinkers as Charles Darwin (and his notion of the "survival of the fittest"), Friedrich Nietzsche (whose superman ideal is seen in London's ultra-masculine heroic characters), and William James (whose psychological theories regarding religion play an important part in the writing of this book). London was a devout socialist (he had been born into poverty and witnessed firsthand the oppression of the working class and the poor by the capitalists); however, his socialism is highly idiosyncratic in that all of his heroes are rugged individualists. London also recognized the harm that alcohol had done to himself and to youth of his generation which led him to believe that Prohibition was necessary (although he continued to drink). While London insists that he is not an alcoholic or dipsomaniac, his experiences with alcohol show the harmful effects that it had upon him. _John Barleycorn_ began as a suggestion from London's second wife, Charmian, that he write about his experiences with alcohol. London, who had originally opposed woman's suffrage, had just voted for a bill that would give women the vote because he believed that women would vote for Prohibition. Indeed, the novel _John Barleycorn_ became popular with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Prohibition Party which actively campaigned for Prohibition. While London could not have foreseen some of the more disastrous consequences of Prohibition, such as the formation of the mob and organized crime, he certainly understood the dangers that alcohol posed because he had experienced them firsthand. _John Barleycorn_ relates the adventures of the young Jack London beginning with his earliest experiences with alcohol as a young lad of only five years old. London had been born into poverty and forced to work in a cannery. London, being an adventurous sort with an active mind, grew dissatisfied with his life of toil, and eventually became an oyster pirate. It was at this point where his first real encounters with alcohol and saloon life began. London describes his adventures as an oyster pirate along with his experiences at the saloons and the subtle rules that accompanied the drinking game. Eventually London returned to steady work; however, he quickly experienced the immoralities of the capitalist system when he was asked to shovel coal and made to work the job of two men. London relates further adventures

London's unsparing look at the lure (and danger) of alcohol

The novelist and adventurer Jack London was an alcoholic at an early age. This colorful memoir -- one of the first in America to treat the issue of alcohol abuse -- was written to encourage the prohibition efforts of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. London does condemn the overuse of alcohol, but his barroom tales make an equally strong case for its allure. The emphasis London places on the reasons why people drink, and drink to excess, fills this book with exciting characters and locales -- "the cameraderie of drink" is London's own phrase, as another reviewer notes. This personal revelation by one of America's premier adventure writers must have been shocking to a nation that viewed its drunks with a fairly tolerant eye. It is certainly an important book for those interested in the literature of alcohol abuse in this country.

A Uniquely Candid Autobiography

Following the worst of London's alcoholic periods he wrote this autobiography beginning with his first taste of alcohol, his first experience at being drunk,and his first hangover-all at the age of five. London went on to "earn his manhood spurs" through hard drinking at the steamy waterfront bars on the San Francisco Bay. Claiming never to have acquired a taste for the stuff, London stresses the important role of the saloon in cultivating alcoholism in young men. He brings to vivid life the romantic allure of a place full of sailors with names like Whiskey Bob, whose stories of 'round-the-world journeys, barroom brawls, and dangerous sea adventures mingled with the "comaraderie of drink." At once a highly personal work of intense emotional power and an unsparing social commentary on the evils of drink, this masterpiece of autobiographical literature first stunned a world audience in 1913, and today continues to strike a resounding contemporary note.