Before Adam

With dramatic and detailed first person narration, Jack London's Before Adam follows the dreams of a young boy who has a genetically imprinted memory and knowledge of an ancestor who lived in prehistoric times. Big Tooth is a pre-human ape and is the protagonist of the young boy's dreams. He lives in a tribe that rests in the middle of two extremes. In the surrounding area, there are tribes of differing levels of development. One is primitive and stays in the vast forest, while the more advanced group travels and uses tools. Big Tooth's group is somewhere in between, not quite advanced enough for tools and organization, but not so primitive that they cannot coexist with each other. While the young boy sleeps soundly and dreams, Big Tooth is being hunted by other humanoid apes and cyber tooth cats. Since his tribe hadn't developed a language yet, Big Tooth struggles to communicate his needs and to request help. Still, Big Tooth must make alliances, find love, get food, and avoid the dangers of the undeveloped world, all while the young boy tosses and turns in his comfortable bed and advanced society, dreaming of the origins of man.

Featuring careful and detailed prose, Jack London merges the adventure genre with speculative fiction in his thought-provoking novel Before Adam. Through the portrayal of pre-human, ape-like characters, all with differing levels of development, London comments on early evolutionary theory and allows readers to imagine life in a pre-historic time. With the comparison of the young boy and Big Tooth, London creates a fascinating and unique perspective on human nature, simultaneously portraying Big Tooth with pure primitive needs and as a sympathetic, relatable character. Before Adam is often described as an under-rated addition to Jack London's literary canon. Though it does not portray destinations that can be reached modern day, like his other works, Before Adam allows audiences to adventure in a world before their own and ponder a time before society was established.

This edition of Before Adam by Jack London is now available in an easy-to-read font and features a new, eye-catching cover design to cater to contemporary readers.
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About the author

John Griffith Chaney (nascido em São Francisco, no 12 de janeiro de 1876 na Califórnia, morreu a 22 de novembro de 1916 no seu Beauty Ranch), autor, jornalista e ativista social norte-americano com referências marxistas, pioneiro da sua era, fez então parte do novo mundo das revistas comerciais de ficção, tendo sido um dos primeiros romancistas a obter celebridade mundial através das suas histórias, além de uma grande fortuna. Jack London (seu pseudónimo), é um dos mais importantes autores da literatura norte-americana do fim do século XIX, princípio do século XX. Escreveu centenas de contos, entre eles alguns visionários e magistrais que determinaram os caminhos da literatura ocidental, bem como magníficos romances.Apesar da jovem idade em que faleceu, Jack London deixou-nos uma extensa obra literária. A sua vida focou-se na sobrevivência - começou a trabalhar ainda em criança - e no sonho vir a ser escritor e viver da sua escrita. Para o conseguir London abraçou os mais diversos desafios, foi lutador de boxe, marinheiro e garimpeiro, e foi após a sua viagem durante a Febre do Ouro no Klondike que Jack London se decidiu definitivamente a tornar-se escritor, e foi na sua época o primeiro a lograr a fama mundial.

Summary

With dramatic and detailed first person narration, Jack London’s Before Adam follows the dreams of a young boy who has a genetically imprinted memory and knowledge of an ancestor who lived in prehistoric times. Big Tooth is a pre-human ape and is the protagonist of the young boy’s dreams. He lives in a tribe that rests in the middle of two extremes. In the surrounding area, there are tribes of differing levels of development. One is primitive and stays in the vast forest, while the more advanced group travels and uses tools. Big Tooth’s group is somewhere in between, not quite advanced enough for tools and organization, but not so primitive that they cannot coexist with each other. While the young boy sleeps soundly and dreams, Big Tooth is being hunted by other humanoid apes and cyber tooth cats. Since his tribe hadn’t developed a language yet, Big Tooth struggles to communicate his needs and to request help. Still, Big Tooth must make alliances, find love, get food, and avoid the dangers of the undeveloped world, all while the young boy tosses and turns in his comfortable bed and advanced society, dreaming of the origins of man.

Featuring careful and detailed prose, Jack London merges the adventure genre with speculative fiction in his thought-provoking novel Before Adam. Through the portrayal of pre-human, ape-like characters, all with differing levels of development, London comments on early evolutionary theory and allows readers to imagine life in a pre-historic time. With the comparison of the young boy and Big Tooth, London creates a fascinating and unique perspective on human nature, simultaneously portraying Big Tooth with pure primitive needs and as a sympathetic, relatable character. Before Adam is often described as an under-rated addition to Jack London’s literary canon. Though it does not portray destinations that can be reached modern day, like his other works, Before Adam allows audiences to adventure in a world before their own and ponder a time before society was established.

This edition of Before Adam by Jack London is now available in an easy-to-read font and features a new, eye-catching cover design to cater to contemporary readers.

Product details

• Authors: Jack London
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 09.09.2021
• EAN: 9781513207995
• ISBN: 978-1-5132-0799-5
• No. of pages: 100
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Series: Mint Editions; Mint Editions—Scientific and Speculative Fiction; Mint Editions (Scientific and Speculative Fiction)
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Science Fiction, FICTION / Historical / General, FICTION / Classics, prehistoric;cave man;serialized fiction;eugenics;cave people, Classic fiction: general and literary, Evolutionary anthropology / Human evolution