Erwin Magnus Libri

Scritto e pubblicato nel 1909, Martin Eden è il romanzo di maggior respiro di Jack London. Di forte impianto autobiografico, narra le vicende del rozzo marinaio Martin Eden che salva la vita del giovane Arthur, rampollo di una ricca famiglia, e viene quindi accolto in casa sua, in un ambiente totalmente diverso da quello in cui è cresciuto fino allora. Innamorato della sorella di Arthur, Ruth, e deciso a elevarsi socialmente, Martin diventerà scrittore, ma finirà per fuggire deluso dal mondo "civilizzato" e dalle sue convenzioni, per ritrovare l'autenticità perduta simboleggiata dall'oceano.Introduzione di Vito Amoruso. Traduzione di Paolo Petroni.

A classic adventure novel detailing the savagery of life in the northern wilds. Its central character is a ferocious and magnificent creature, half dog, half wolf, through whose experiences we feel the harsh rhythms and patterns of wilderness life among animals and men.

"The danger lay in the heavy fog which blanketed the bay, and of which, as a landsman, I had little apprehension." This is the first line that the listener hears in this tale of a man uprooted and thrust into the unfamiliar and dangerous world of the sealing sailor. Humphrey Van Weyden, a San Francisco sophisticate and an intellectual finds himself the captive voyager aboard the Ghost, captained by the brutal and barbaric Wolf Larsen. The desperate character of Van Weyden's voyage is defined by the fact that he is out of his element, in unimaginable peril, and the slave of this cynical and wild soul, Larsen. The rights of man vanish as the coast of California vanishes over the horizon.Almost immediately, the slave plots his freedom - and must confront the weakness in his soul, mind and body.Generations have been spellbound by this harrowing story of danger on the sea, psychological confrontation, and the dual nature of humankind.