John Griffith London (born John Griffith Chaney; January 12, 1876 - November 22, 1916)was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. A pioneer in the world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first writers to become a worldwide celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf.London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. He wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction expos The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.Although best known for his adult fiction, Jack London wrote in almost every corner available from verse to first person investigations of the plight of the poor to biographies to essays. A self proclaimed socialist, London was very consistent in his viewpoints unlike many of his fellow writers. This is one of his least well received collections of writing and perhaps one of his best.Table of Contents: Revolution- The Somnambulists- The Dignity of Dollars- Goliah- The Golden Poppy- The Shrinkage of the Planet- The House Beautiful- The Gold Hunters of the North- Foma Gordyeeff- These Bones Shall Rise Again- The Other Animals- The Yellow Peril- What Life Means to Me