Revolution and Other Essays. By Jack London. First Edition, First Printing. Macmillan. New York, 1910.

In his lifetime, Jack London was one of America’s most celebrated authors. He remains popular today for his many novels and short stories. He was a staunch advocate for workers’ rights and animal rights–qualities which appear in some of his most popular works, including The Iron Heel, The Call of the Wild, and White Fang. Yet he also harbored some misguided views that were typical of his time. In particular, he was a proponent of eugenics and believed in hierarchies of capability based on race, gender, and (dis)ability. In Revolution and Other Essays, London presents a wide-ranging series of beliefs that largely capture his complicated worldview. The titular essay is probably the most important essay he ever wrote. In it, he declares himself a revolutionist and advocates for radical socialism, saying, “The workers of the world, as a class, are fighting the capitalists of the world, as a class” (pg. 13). The other essays are also noteworthy for their various subject matter–everything from commentary on evolution to the globalization of the world’s cultures and economies. Revolution and Other Essays is subsequently one of London’s most desirable titles. It is also one of his scarcest, having seen far fewer copies printed in the first edition than most of his more commercially popular fiction. 

This first edition, first printing is in very good condition. In the original red maroon cloth with “Macmillan” variant to spine, very good with rubbing and bumping and soiling. Gilt still bright. Text block very good, some soiling and rubbing to edges, separation between gatherings, and tape repair to page 309.

A very good first edition of Revolution and Other Essays.