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Rating: 
Summary: LONDON'S BARLEYCORN IS A MOST LAUDABLE WORK
Review: A stirring, deeply affecting account of one man's gradual resignation to the unrelenting grip of alcoholism. London at his electrifying, almost unsettling best. A must-read for all students of language and writing.
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Summary: Excellent book.
Review: Hear him sing. Jack at his bestI don't know what else3 to say.Wonderful riffs.
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Summary: John Barleycorn a must for all drinkers
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is an intelligent and humorous view of a drinkers experiences, and we all know how entertaining Jack London's experiences were. This book is basically an autobiography of Jack London with an emphasis on his "drinking career". A classic that shouldn't be over looked.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: It may seem silly to ask this of a book that, at the time of its publication was used by the WCTU for their campaign, and which is recommended today by Alcoholics Anonymous; but ask it I will. Let me note that "John Barleycorn" is one of Jack London's best books, and the closest thing to an autobiography he ever wrote. Chapters XXXVI and XXXVII, where he describes the "White Logic," contain some the finest, most lyrical, most poetic writing he ever did. He describes the minuses of alcohol, AND he describes the plusses of alcohol. He describes BOTH the minuses AND plusses vividly, with all the skill of a great writer. He is a man who LOVES alcohol. He is a man who knows he has been damaged by alcohol. He describes both. He praises saloon-keepers: "Saloon-keepers are notoriously good fellows. On an average they perform vastly greater generosities than do business men. When I simply had to have ten dollars, desperate, with no place to turn, I went to Johnny Heinhold. Several years had passed since I had been in his place or spent a cent across his bar. And when I went to borrow the ten dollars I didn't buy a drink, either. And Johnny Heinhold let me have the ten dollars without security or interest...." Of course, he balances this by explaining how this is in saloon-keepers own interest, and says "this is not to exalt saloon-keepers." He praises the physical strength alcohol provides: "And here again we come to another side of many-sided John Barleycorn. On the face of it, he gives something for nothing. Where no strength remains he finds new strength. The wearied one rises to greater effort. For the time being there is an actual accession of strength. I remember passing coal on an ocean steamer through eight days of hell, during which time we coal-passers were kept to the job by being fed with whisky. We toiled half drunk all the time. And without the whisky we could not have passed the coal. This strength John Barleycorn gives is not fictitious strength. It is real strength." Of course, he balances this by saying "But it is manufactured out of the sources of strength, and it must ultimately be paid for, and with interest." He makes alcohol sound exciting, dangerous, comradely, glamorous, manly. Alcohol is his adventure, like his other adventures--indeed, as he explains, an integral PART of his other adventures. And in the end, when he adds it all up, plusses and minuses, where does HE strike the balance? What total does HE come up with? "And so I pondered my problem. I should not care to revisit all these fair places of the world except in the fashion I visited them before. GLASS IN HAND! There is a magic in the phrase. It means more than all the words in the dictionary can be made to mean. It is a habit of mind to which I have been trained all my life. It is now part of the stuff that composes me. I like the bubbling play of wit, the chesty laughs, the resonant voices of men, when, glass in hand, they shut the grey world outside and prod their brains with the fun and folly of an accelerated pulse. No, I decided; I shall take my drink on occasion." I don't drink. John Barleycorn is the only thing I have ever read that has made me feel that maybe I've missed something...
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Summary: But is it really against alcohol?
Review: It may seem silly to ask this of a book that, at the time of its publication was used by the WCTU for their campaign, and which is recommended today by Alcoholics Anonymous; but ask it I will. Let me note that "John Barleycorn" is one of Jack London's best books, and the closest thing to an autobiography he ever wrote. Chapters XXXVI and XXXVII, where he describes the "White Logic," contain some the finest, most lyrical, most poetic writing he ever did. He describes the minuses of alcohol, AND he describes the plusses of alcohol. He describes BOTH the minuses AND plusses vividly, with all the skill of a great writer. He is a man who LOVES alcohol. He is a man who knows he has been damaged by alcohol. He describes both. He praises saloon-keepers: "Saloon-keepers are notoriously good fellows. On an average they perform vastly greater generosities than do business men. When I simply had to have ten dollars, desperate, with no place to turn, I went to Johnny Heinhold. Several years had passed since I had been in his place or spent a cent across his bar. And when I went to borrow the ten dollars I didn't buy a drink, either. And Johnny Heinhold let me have the ten dollars without security or interest...." Of course, he balances this by explaining how this is in saloon-keepers own interest, and says "this is not to exalt saloon-keepers." He praises the physical strength alcohol provides: "And here again we come to another side of many-sided John Barleycorn. On the face of it, he gives something for nothing. Where no strength remains he finds new strength. The wearied one rises to greater effort. For the time being there is an actual accession of strength. I remember passing coal on an ocean steamer through eight days of hell, during which time we coal-passers were kept to the job by being fed with whisky. We toiled half drunk all the time. And without the whisky we could not have passed the coal. This strength John Barleycorn gives is not fictitious strength. It is real strength." Of course, he balances this by saying "But it is manufactured out of the sources of strength, and it must ultimately be paid for, and with interest." He makes alcohol sound exciting, dangerous, comradely, glamorous, manly. Alcohol is his adventure, like his other adventures--indeed, as he explains, an integral PART of his other adventures. And in the end, when he adds it all up, plusses and minuses, where does HE strike the balance? What total does HE come up with? "And so I pondered my problem. I should not care to revisit all these fair places of the world except in the fashion I visited them before. GLASS IN HAND! There is a magic in the phrase. It means more than all the words in the dictionary can be made to mean. It is a habit of mind to which I have been trained all my life. It is now part of the stuff that composes me. I like the bubbling play of wit, the chesty laughs, the resonant voices of men, when, glass in hand, they shut the grey world outside and prod their brains with the fun and folly of an accelerated pulse. No, I decided; I shall take my drink on occasion." I don't drink. John Barleycorn is the only thing I have ever read that has made me feel that maybe I've missed something...
Rating:
Summary: It happens even to the greatest, maybe especially to them
Review: John Barleycorn is a tremondous book. One of the first things that will impress you about this book is London's life. London was a literal 'super-man' in the Carlyle sense. This book details how London raised himself from incredible child hood poverty and lower class surroundings while still a teen, engaging in rugged, manly adverntures that were simply amazing. This book also relates how London's love of books changed his life, and it will amaze you that his knowledge is so broad (throughout the book London dazzles us with philosophical qoutes and insights). Most of all though, this book is about alcoholism. As one reviewer correctly notes, London had a strong liking for intoxication. However, one would be wrong to think of this book as pro-drinking, London is fairly fanatical in his dislike of alcohol and what it eventually did to him and other young men of his age. However, the brilliance of these 'alcoholic memoirs' is that he successfully illuminates the thought processes of most intelligent persons that have drinking problems. You will come away from this book understanding why many people, even an almost super-human person like Jack London, can fall prey to this vice. An absorbing read, and the book has a much more reader friendly and 'modern' style than many of London's fiction.
Rating:
Summary: It happens even to the greatest, maybe especially to them
Review: John Barleycorn is a tremondous book. One of the first things that will impress you about this book is London's life. London was a literal 'super-man' in the Carlyle sense. This book details how London raised himself from incredible child hood poverty and lower class surroundings while still a teen, engaging in rugged, manly adverntures that were simply amazing. This book also relates how London's love of books changed his life, and it will amaze you that his knowledge is so broad (throughout the book London dazzles us with philosophical qoutes and insights). Most of all though, this book is about alcoholism. As one reviewer correctly notes, London had a strong liking for intoxication. However, one would be wrong to think of this book as pro-drinking, London is fairly fanatical in his dislike of alcohol and what it eventually did to him and other young men of his age. However, the brilliance of these 'alcoholic memoirs' is that he successfully illuminates the thought processes of most intelligent persons that have drinking problems. You will come away from this book understanding why many people, even an almost super-human person like Jack London, can fall prey to this vice. An absorbing read, and the book has a much more reader friendly and 'modern' style than many of London's fiction.
Rating:
Summary: I'll drink to this one
Review: Reading Jack London's "John Barleycorn" is like attending an AA meeting almost 50 years before they were instituted. London herein gives his story of life with alcohol, and it is much like those you hear in the rooms. Beginning with denial, then the drinking becomes a morning thing, then on the sly, the progression is classic alcoholism. Along the way, London includes enough autobiographical information that this is more than just a booze tale. Interestingly, London -- a devout socialist -- constantly harps on the need for prohibition in this country as a way to end the danger of alcoholism. And we all know how that worked out. I'm, an alcoholic, so I appreciated the book on one level. London is my favorite author, and this is one of his good efforts. It's not a depressing tale but one that is uplifting. I recommend it.(Review by Tom Bruce)
Rating:
Summary: I'll drink to this one
Review: Reading Jack London's "John Barleycorn" is like attending an AA meeting almost 50 years before they were instituted. London herein gives his story of life with alcohol, and it is much like those you hear in the rooms. Beginning with denial, then the drinking becomes a morning thing, then on the sly, the progression is classic alcoholism. Along the way, London includes enough autobiographical information that this is more than just a booze tale. Interestingly, London -- a devout socialist -- constantly harps on the need for prohibition in this country as a way to end the danger of alcoholism. And we all know how that worked out. I'm, an alcoholic, so I appreciated the book on one level. London is my favorite author, and this is one of his good efforts. It's not a depressing tale but one that is uplifting. I recommend it.(Review by Tom Bruce)
Rating:
Summary: London's White Logic
Review: With all the gushy, cliche-ridden, Recovery oriented self-help books teeming in the bookstores these days, it's always refreshing to find a well-written, lyrical account of of an author's love/hate affair with alcohol. This said, the book hardly seems one to be recommended by AA or the temperance movement. Although, as pointed out by another reviewer, the author equivocates in usually one or two line disclaimers after long passages in which he narrates an alcoholic episode, the overall effect almost amounts to an apotheosis of alcohol and its effects. Indeed, it is personified in the book by what London calls "The White logic," and the most moving, lyrical and philosophical passages are given to this "character" in the book. Consider the following quotes about "him" and his effects: "He is the august companion with whom one walks with the gods." "And every thought was a vision, bright-imaged, sharp-cut, unmistakable. My brain was illuminated by the clear, white light of alcohol." Most importantly consider what "he" says: "Let the doctors of all schools condemn me....What of it? I am truth. You know it....Life lies in order to live. Life is a perpetual lie-telling process. Life is a mad dance in the domain of flux, wherein appearances in mighty tides ebb and flow...You are such an appearance, composed of countless appearances out of the past. All an appearance can know is mirage." I don't think so great a poet as Shelley could have put this ghastly vision of life more powerfully in prose form, though he does in verse, in his last, ironically titled poem, The Triumph Of Life. I don't know whom London thought he might be fooling here with his mild calls for Prohibition pitted against the Romance and lyricism he associates with his drinking episodes and, above all, the profoundly counterbalancing effect of "the White Logic." The book is ultimately an autobiography of this voice within him.
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