Rating: Summary: Best book I have ever read. Review: Jack London's stated intention in writing this book was to place a man and a woman, both intellectual, well-to-do, yet socially soft (physically and psychologically). into the very challenging world of a seal hunting boat and watch them strive for survival. In this context, he has created one of the most fascinating characters of all literature, Wolf Larson, the inhuman captain of the "Ghost." Larson takes great delight in the suffering he brings to Humphrey Van Weyden and Maud Brewster, but they steadily grow to meet the challenge. This book can be read and enjoyed on two levels: As a rousing sea adventure, or as a discourse on society and sociology. Jack London is my favorite author -- I am in the process of collecting first editions of all fifty of his books -- and yet I find Sea Wolf ranks head and shoulders above all his other works. It could explain why this story has been turned into a film seven times, more than any of his his other stories, including The Call of the Wild. Two of cinema's great Wolf Larsons have been Edward G. Robinson and Charles Bronson.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful adventure and character study Review: The book is a classic study of two characters - the Luciferian captain Wolf Larson, and the gentleman-turned-neophyte-sailor Humphrey Van Weyden. As Hump learns to survive the brutal conditions aboard Larson's ship, the Ghost, he grows from a soft academic type to a strong and resourceful survivor. Larson, the captain, is presented as a monster with no regard for human life. Larson is intrigued with Hump and engages him in philosophical discussions, but absorbs none of Hump's basic goodness. As Hump develops into a man, Larson degenerates into a blinded, diseased, pitiful creature. Hump overcomes his adverse conditions and even finds love, while Larson self-destructs. The adventure aboard the vessel is described in vivid detail, and the author clearly knows sailing. A wonderful story!
Rating: Summary: Sea Wolf Review: The Sea Wolf, by Jack London, is a classic story of a gentleman from San Francisco who is rescued by a ruthless captain of a seal hunting schooner, the Ghost, bound for Japan. Humphrey Van Weyden comes aboard the Ghost not ever completing an honest day of work. He had no legs of his own, always relying on some other person than himself. Wolf Larsen, the rugged captain, was a cold-hearted old man whose life was completely based on fishing. Work, to him, was the only way to survive. Although well educated, he had no common decency and beat his crew. Through the entire story, Wolf Larsen teaches Mr. Van Weyden about truly living and not having someone live for you. By the end of the novel, Mr. Van Weyden had learned to live his life to the fullest. He realized how fortunate he had been. Wolf Larsen was dreaded by his entire crew and did not have a single companion. He was a lonely man who didn't know how to communicate, and therefore resorted to violence. At the end of the story, he finds himself alone and extremely depressed. This is a novel of love, loss and growth which I would suggest reading. After reading this novel you realize the importance of living life to the fullest.
Rating: Summary: An action/adventure genre story Review: Hi, I am a 19 year old college student, I was recommended this book from my english teacher, saying that it would be a book of the action/adventure type genre. I have read the entire book and find that it is a fun book to read, even though the characters in the book arnt having any fun, it is an adventure story that I believe many college students my age would like to read. The story is about a character name Humphrey Van Weyden which at the beginning of the story fell off a ship and was rescued in the San Francisco Bay by a group of men on a ship name the GHOST. On this Ghost ship is where the plot of the story takes place, these group of men can not sail back to shore to drop off Van Weyden, so Van Weyden is stuck with these men on the ship and worked with them as seal hunters out at sea.
Rating: Summary: An outstanding adventure! Review: Despite being nearly one hundred years old, "The Sea Wolf" reads like a modern adventure thriller, only with more formal English vocabulary and sentence structure. The book opens breathlessly, like you are flipping TV channels and happened upon a spectacular action set piece, with Humphrey Van Weyden involved in a sea accident/capsize, and "rescued" by a passing sealing schooner, helmed by the title character, Wolf Larsen. Immediately, the reader is placed within the sealing vessel itself, and as Van Weyden is clueless about the sea, so are we. His experience is our tutorial. We learn the harrowing lifestyle of the sealing industry circa 1900 (the author having personal experience, reportedly). The claustophobic details of the ship contrast the vastness of the sea. The more cerebral "Hump" (as he's called) is alone amongst the id-like crew. Furthering my Psych 101 analogy, Larsen appears to espouse the benefit of the primal, yet does so with an eloquence that betrays any sort of simple association. The fact that he is well-read and speaks thoughtfully (if heartlessly) suggests the reason he is the "leader" of said crew, and a successful seaman, may lie in the understanding and control of instinct, impulse, nature. Anyways, that is probably a lot of folderol. What you have is a struggling protagonist, an evil slavedriving captain, plenty of duplicitous henchmen, and halfway through, a pretty maiden. There are a half-dozen or so amazing seagoing escapades (and I didn't understand one lick of all that "jib", "topmast", "poopdeck" stuff...nor did it matter...) and finally an extended Crusoe-like sequence on an island to tidy things up. Seriously, this deserves every accolade thrust upon it. It has been named "one of the 100 greatest books", and a "literary classic", and a "masterpiece of American literature"...whatever. It's simply a great read. You'll kick yourself for waiting so long to have read it. I did.
Rating: Summary: Agreeing with others a little.. Review: This book was wonderful. Started out with a bang.. Ended up very different from what I expected. Although I do agree Maude's character was a little unbelievable at times, still a lovable book with a wonderful budding romance. A good book to make you think about things. I was cheering for Humpf the whole time!
Rating: Summary: *** Review: Contrived in spots, but includes some great stuff, and his portrait of Wolf Larsen is a first-rate study of a true sociopath.
Rating: Summary: Supermen? Review: Are there really superman who are outside the bounds of society? Are there those who supersede the expectations and requirements of living within a community? Do some men and women rise above the herd and rule with impunity, out of their own inherent power? Wolf Larsen fancies himself one of these men. The captain of the seal hunting vessel "The Ghost" believes he is above all the norms of socitey. He is one who is not handicapped by social graces or education. He is one who does not buy into the hope of religion or eternal life. Is he an existentialist... a materialist... a nihilist? Maybe he is all of these...? Wolf Larsen uses people and possessions in a way that suits him best. He gains his advantage by doing whatever he feels will advance his postion in the moment. Wolf Larsen is a self educated and self possesed person, wrapped up in himself and the power he seems to wield. Humphrey Van Weydon is swept up into the surging storm of all that Wolf Larsen is. Van Weydon is a pampered socialite who has spent his life in the comfy confines of wealth and academia. He is well read and has a good understanding of philosophy. But doesn't really have a great handle of the practical aspects of life. Where the rubber meets the road, in philosophical ideals, he is lacking. One day, as he is riding as a passenger on a steamer across San Fransisco bay, his life is changed in a heartbeat. The steamer collides with another ship and Humphrey is swept overboard. His next moment of conciousness is on the deck of the seal hunting ship, "The Ghost". This ship is captained by the infamous superman Wolf Larsen. From this point on two very different... but similar worlds collide. Van Weydon and Larsen spend many days discussing life and how we are supposed to live it. More and more through discussion and observation Van Weydon, the refined socialite, discovers he is just like Larsen, the grizzled violent sea captain. It is interesting to watch Van Weydon's desensitization to violence and the law of "might makes right". When Van Weydon begins his voyage he fancies himself above all the fighting and violence of the sailors. But as he progresses in this trip he realizes he is one of them. Humphrey finds he cannot help but be swept up into the violence, and see that it is just as much a part of the world he came from as it is aboard the ship. I enjoyed the book, but it does drag a little in places. The ending leaves a little to be desired. But if you like action and philosophical musings you will enjoy this book.
Rating: Summary: The Wolf Review: A Review by BrianThis book is about The Ghost, a ship, whose captain's name is Wolf Larson and another man named Humphrey Van Wyden. They are the captain and first mate of the Ghost. They were traveling to San Francisco from somewhere in Europe. On the way lots of things happen to them. Maud, a lady on the ship with Wolf and Humphrey, was a cook and was always kept warm by two thick blankets at night. I didn't like the action because there isn't a lot of it in this book. If there was more action it would be a lot better of book. Without a lot of action books aren't as good as they could be. Something I really liked about this book was the dialogue. It was like old English. It made the book seem more of a medieval type of book. Another thing I really liked was that I was real easy for me to read. I thought that the old English made the book a lot better and made it easier to read. I would recommend this book anyone who likes books about people traveling on boats across oceans and seas to another place.
Rating: Summary: Totally Hardcore Review: This is one of my favorite books of all time. A complete masterpiece. You can't help but love the Wolf and his way of life. I think this explores the human soul and if truth were told I think many more people would behave this way if they were not burdened with consequences Whether they would admit it or not. This book would've even been much better if it could be written now. I would love to see the character's view points on women, sex, etc.
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