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Rating: 
Summary: Pricey, but worth it.
Review: I finally bought the thing. I've been stalling and stallingfor years. All I can say is, if you like Jack London, the set is worth it. It contains 197 stories (by my count; oddly enough I couldn't find this statistic in the blurb or the introduction). ...I think Jack London is at his best in his short stories. NONE of his novels are QUITE first-rate, and as you explore beyond the famous ones the quality falls off rapidly. Most of his less-well-known novels are deservedly forgotten. ("The Little Lady of the Big Hous e-- EEeeeeeewwwww!") This is not true of his stories. When you explore beyond the couple of dozen that are anthologized, you discover treasures. I am finding that many of the stories I don't know are every bit as good as those I know. One of my recent "discoveries" is a story entitled "The Banks of the Sacramento." It's not deep, it's not portentous, it's not Great Literature--it's just a superbly constructed little gem of a suspense story* that concerns a fourteen-year-old boy who conducts a daring rescue of--well, read it. Aloud, in company, if possible. There are, as you'd expect, some curiosities, some juvenalia, some outright bad stories, but not enough to dilute the collection. And of course even these have their interest. "The Handsome Cabin Boy" is not a very good story, but it certainly is another piece in the puzzle of Jack London's sexuality. Look, if you've bought more than three collections of Jack London stories, you know you're going to buy them all eventually--so why mess around? These are, as you'd darn well expect at the price, nicely printed, sturdy volumes. They are intended for, and meet, both the needs of general readers and scholars seeking accurate texts. One annoying peculiarity is that an alphabetical list of story titles appears only at the end of the third volume. These volumes are, alas, priced on the self-fulfilling assumption that they will be bought only by libraries, and your library is probably where you will go for them. (Interlibrary loans are a wonderful thing; be sure to ask about them if your library does not have these volumes). .... END
Rating:
Summary: Swindle!
Review: Well - commanded "The complete short stories"; receved only 3th volume - Let me guess, what do you think about? - A swindle?
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