Adventurous American author who is known for such novels as The Call of the Wild and White Fang, as well as for such short stories as To Build a Fire and The Pearls of Parlay. He was also a well-known activist for workers' rights; his non-fiction work, The People of the Abyss, exposed the terrible working conditions and lives of the London poor. He grew up in the San Francisco area, where his passion for literature was encouraged by local librarian and later California Poet Laureate, Ina Coolbrith. In his young adulthood, London began working long days at a local cannery, but was able to borrow money in order to buy his sloop, Razzle-Dazzle, and become an oyster pirate.
