For students who are reading and are fans of Jack London's works this may be a good addition and back story to many of his tales. I did not find this to be overly exciting - simply a telling of certain events in his experiences without much flair. I did like the tie in of his experiences and their appearances in his writing.

Jack London and the Klondike Gold Rush tells the story of well known author Jack London and the time he spent as a miner during the gold rush of the 1890s. While London never struck it rich-in terms of gold-he returned home with stories and experiences that found their way into his best selling novels and short stories.
Laurie relates London's time in the Klondike in rich detail, using first person accounts and period photographs to bring it to life. It was not easy going for London, but his refusal to give up in the face of incredible hardship is impressive. Lovers of adventure and literature alike will enjoy reading about Jack London's early life and his time spent prospecting. Readers unfamiliar with the Gold Rush or Jack London will find help at the back of the book in the form of a notable places list, a timeline and a glossary.
My one complaint with the book is its jumpyness. One moment Jack would be struggling up an frozen mountain and then suddenly, he's a child in California. The back story on London's life is interesting, but it doesn't mesh well with his adventures as a stampeder.

Jack London certainly lived fast and died young. He is the embodiment of the life of adventure in the days when there were still frontiers to be conquered. Not content with a rough and tumble life in the US, he took off (with his elderly brother-in-law, who funded the trip) to the Yukon to prospect for gold in 1897. He managed to get all of his gear to a camp (no small feat; the living conditions were unimaginably terrible), rounded up a good group of people, and was making a fairly decent go of it before succumbing to, of all things, scurvy! His experiences, as well as his practice of talking to everyone he met, gave him ample fodder for his writing, which still provides the most intimate picture of living conditions in this particular place and time.

I've been looking for more interesting narrative nonfiction for my students. Byrd and Igloo, The Boys in the Boat, and No Better Friend have all done very well in my library, and I foresee this joining the ranks of those fine tomes. This book is well-formatted, with good sized text and a lot of illustrative photographs. These don't necessarily show London himself, but aptly illustrate what is going on in the text. The only thing that I didn't like about the formatting was the inclusion of a quantity of illustrations by Wendell Minor-- while well done, they just seemed odd, and I would have preferred period illustrations, perhaps from the news publications of the day.

Excerpts from London's writings, great appendices of people, places, and information about the Gold Rush, as well as a very nicely arranged timeline of London's life all add informational value to a riveting read about a fascinating time and place.