Few writers have had such an extensive output of work as Jack London. During his 15-year career, he wrote 49 books, including novels, short-story collections, plays and political pamphlets – a number equalling more than three books a year. Jack London, or John Griffith London, which was his original name, led a turbulent and dramatic life, and much of his writing was inspired by his own life experiences from the 1890s gold rush in Alaska to the sordid slums of East-End London. Thematically, his stories evolve around man’s encounter with the harsh elements of untamed nature. Jack London’s most famous novels are The Call of the Wild and White Fang both set in the wilderness of Alaska, where wolves, sledge dogs, greedy prospectors and loose women represent the different aspects of the fight for survival in the wild. London's "strength of utterance" is at its height in his stories, and they are painstakingly well-constructed. "To Build a Fire" is the best known of all his stories. Set in the harsh Klondike, it recounts the haphazard trek of a new arrival who has ignored an old-timer's warning about the risks of travelling alone. His short story The Story of Keesh was first published in 1902. Keesh lived at the edge of the polar sea. He had seen thirteen suns in the Eskimo way of keeping time. Among the Eskimos, the sun each winter leaves the land in darkness. And the next year, a new sun returns, so it might be warm again. Enjoy free online English audiobook “The Story of Keesh”, a short story by Jack London.
