He is a man capable of abandoning two sailors in an open boat, yet he is an avid and thoughtful reader of the moral philosophers. He is Wolf Larsen: captain of the seal-hunting Ghost, the unforgettable protagonist of one of the world's great sea novels. Tormented by his own convictions, Larsen is an enigma both fascinating and repellent to his reluctant crewman, Humphrey Van Weyden. Throughout their long and perilous voyage together, the captain's ruthless belief in the survival of the fittest is pitted against Van Weyden's ...
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He is a man capable of abandoning two sailors in an open boat, yet he is an avid and thoughtful reader of the moral philosophers. He is Wolf Larsen: captain of the seal-hunting Ghost, the unforgettable protagonist of one of the world's great sea novels. Tormented by his own convictions, Larsen is an enigma both fascinating and repellent to his reluctant crewman, Humphrey Van Weyden. Throughout their long and perilous voyage together, the captain's ruthless belief in the survival of the fittest is pitted against Van Weyden's "civilization"--a contest between two opposing views of life that demonstrates Jack London's gift for expressing complex ideas with exciting action. Together with the other stories selected for this volume, The Sea Wolf is a superb example of the genius of a writer who was, in the words of Maxwell Geismar, "the poet of the savage Darwinian struggle."
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Okay, saw the movie 'The Sea Wolf,' many years ago, with Edward G Robinson, and thought the movie was excellent, and wanted to read the book. Big disappointment, movie was much better then the book. London goes on some real long writing that is hard to understand, and to be honest, boring. Skip the book, and watch the old black and white movies, with Robinson.
kostantinos m
Apr 5, 2012
excellent
excellent customer service, good packaging, time taken to have the product delivered very reasonable
RP86
Aug 10, 2007
An oddly compelling book. I dislike the characters, but am constantly drawn back to them. It takes 'survival of the fittest' to an entirely different level. Mr. London conveys Humphery's suffering, longing, triumphs an tragidies so well, it is hard to believe it isn't real.