For thousands of young Australians the tearful dockside farewell was a rite of passage as they boarded ships bound for London. For some the journey was an extended holiday, but for many actors, painters, musicians, writers and journalists, leaving Australia seemed to be the only path to personal and professional fulfilment. This book, first published in 2000, is a collective biography of those people who found themselves categorised as expatriates - people such as Leo McKern, Dame Joan Sutherland, Barry Tuckwell, Don Banks, Phillip Knightley, John Pilger, Peter Porter, Richard Neville, Jill Neville and 'megastars' Barry Humphries, Germaine Greer and Clive James. The book tells of choices they made about career and country, yet it is also a cultural history that traces shifts in the complex relationship between Australia and Britain, as the supposed colonial backwater began to develop its own cultural identity.

When Jack London died in 1916 at age forty, he was one of the most famous writers of his time. Eighty years later he remains one of the most widely read American authors in the world. The first major critical study of London to appear in a decade, Male Call analyzes the nature of his appeal by closely examining how the struggling young writer sought to promote himself in his early work as a sympathetic, romantic man of letters whose charismatic masculinity could carry more significance than his words themselves. Jonathan Auerbach shows that London's personal identity was not a basis of his literary success, but rather a consequence of it. Unlike previous studies of London that are driven by the author's biography, Male Call examines how London carefully invented a trademark "self" in order to gain access to a rapidly expanding popular magazine and book market that craved authenticity, celebrity, power, and personality. Auerbach demonstrates that only one fact of London's life truly shaped his art: his passionate desire to become a successful author. Whether imagining himself in stories and novels as a white man on trail in the Yukon, a sled dog, a tramp, or a professor; or engaging questions of manhood and mastery in terms of work, race, politics, class, or sexuality, London created a public persona for the purpose of exploiting the conventions of the publishing world and marketplace. Revising critical commonplaces about both Jack London's work and the meaning of "nature" within literary naturalism and turn-of-the-century ideologies of masculinity, Auerbach's analysis intriguingly complicates our view of London and sheds light on our own postmodern preoccupation with celebrity. Male Call will attract readers with an interest in American studies, American literature, gender studies, and cultural studies.

Jack London's The Call of the Wild became an immediate literary sensation upon publication, selling out its first print run and gaining critical acclaim nationwide. The popular adventure story follows Buck, a sled dog, whose transformation from a domestic pet to the Alpha male of a pack demonstrates defining American themes such as survival, determination, cunning, and loyalty. This informative volume explores the life and work of Jack London, with a focus on the nature-based themes of pastoralism and wildness within The Call of the Wild. It also includes a selection of modern viewpoints on wilderness and nature, allowing readers to connect the themes of the text to the issues of today's world.

In Hooked, reformed addict Clare Gee draws on her own experiences of cocaine addiction, alcoholism and prostitution in telling the sensational story of a woman living on the edge. Emotionally scarred by having never known her mother, Katie escapes to London and immerses herself in a seedy world of drugs, drink and sex, chasing happiness in the pubs and clubs, and snorting cocaine in private members' bars with her rich punters. Finding herself in a cycle of prostitution and unable to break free, she turns to drug smuggling and becomes embroiled in a bigamous marriage in an attempt to secure some emotional stability. From this dark emotional pit, Katie starts her painful journey back to 'wellness' and attempts to rid herself of her addictions for good. Hooked is a graphic tale of how life as a prostitute really is and what can happen when we search for happiness outside of ourselves. It is a poignant reminder that things can always get better, as long as we remember that when it's time to leave the party, it's time.

Teachers have found The Call of the Wild--from the very earliest days of its publication in 1903--to be a novella rich in instructional possibilities in history, geography, and ethics as well as literature. In this resource book for teachers, Daniel Dyer provides an array of activities--traditional and nontraditional--to accommodate a wide range of students, teachers, schools and communities. Dyer’s instructional ideas will stimulate exploration of such subjects as California and Klondike history and geography; tranportation by rail, ferry, steamship, and dog teams; techniques of gold mining; breeds of dogs; and subarctic flora and fauna--as well as the novel’s great literary themes.

The Call of the Wild turned Jack London into an overnight literary success and secured him a place among the greats of world literature. While London’s publisher was concerned that his gritty adventure story was “too true to nature” for the reading public, he was proved wrong. The first print run of 10,000 copies sold out immediately. The novel about a dog who returns to his primordial roots in the extreme, unyielding environment of the Klondike Gold Rush still draws readers young and old. Scientific debates of its time, as well as London’s political convictions, influenced The Call of the Wild heavily, leading to a wealth of possible readings and interpretations. Yet when it comes down to it, the strength and continued appeal of the book lie in its gripping adventure, which transports readers to the beautiful, unforgiving wilderness of the American North. And while many film adaptations focus on the theme of the dog as man’s faithful companion, the original is so much more than that: It is a compelling story of survival and a celebration of untamed nature. This summary of The Call of the Wild was produced by getAbstract, the world's largest provider of book summaries. getAbstract works with hundreds of the best publishers to find and summarize the most relevant content out there. Find out more at getabstract.com.

You find yourself in Alaska, a dangerous world of greedy men and savage dogs. Every moment, your life is at risk. Do you have what it takes to survive as Buck, the famous sled dog? Or will the freezing temperatures and rugged wilderness lead to your doom? Step into this adventure, and choose your path. But choose wisely, or else...