12 h 59 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a man who conquers the frozen north tries to conquer the world of money?
In Jack London’s Burning Daylight, Elam Harnish is a bold gambler and miner shaped by the Yukon gold rush. Known as Burning Daylight, he meets ice, storms and long sled trails with restless strength. When he makes his fortune, the challenge changes: what can he do with the wealth he works so hard to win?
San Francisco offers another kind of contest. Financiers Dowsett, Letton and Guggenhammer draw Daylight toward a partnership that serves their own interests. His strength faces rules far from the frontier’s code. Meanwhile, Dede Mason, his capable, independent stenographer, sees past his money and makes him question the life he is building.
What you’ll discover
- The north’s hard tests Follow Daylight over ice and through storms, where endurance means more than a famous name.
- A different kind of gamble Enter city offices where polished financiers pursue profit without the frontier’s code.
- A woman who sees clearly Meet Dede Mason, whose quiet independence challenges Daylight’s measure of a good life.
- The cost of ambition Explore what wealth does to a restless man once the adventure gives way to business.
- Wild country against city money Feel the contrast between hard physical work in the north and life behind a desk.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like adventure stories with a moral question under them, and anyone curious about the Klondike or about the clash between wild country and city money. Readers who dislike period attitudes or a neat, hopeful ending may find it less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The north makes a man called Daylight
- Trail, risk and the great strike
- A rich man goes south to the city
- Financiers who play for keeps
- Dede Mason and the hunger for another life
- What the story says about wealth and the land
Who’s who
- Elam HarnishKnown as Burning Daylight, a strong, bold Yukon gambler and miner who strikes it rich and must decide what to do with his wealth.
- Dede MasonDaylight's stenographer in San Francisco, a thoughtful, independent woman who sees past his money and makes him question his life.
- DowsettA New York financier who deals with Daylight as a partner while serving his own profit in the city's money game.
- LettonA city financier and associate of Dowsett who shares in the schemes aimed at the rich man from the north.
- GuggenhammerAnother financier in the group around Daylight, a polished man of the market who does not follow the frontier's code.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Burning Daylight
by Jack London· 1910
A Yukon adventurer takes his hunger for wealth to San Francisco.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
The north makes a man called Daylight
The book opens in the Yukon, in the years of the gold rush. Elam Harnish is already a figure in the mining camps. He is tall, tireless and cheerful, and he is known for his restless hatred of wasted time. His favorite phrase about burning daylight gives him his name, and the name sticks to him for the rest of his life.
London shows him first through his strength. Daylight can drive dogs, haul freight and outlast almost anyone on the trail. He is also a gambler, and he treats a card table much as he treats the wilderness, as a place where a bold man takes a chance and accepts what comes. He drinks and bets, yet he keeps a rule of fair dealing that the other men respect.
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The author
Jack London
1876–1916 · American novelist and journalist
Jack London (1876–1916) was an American author, journalist and social activist. He was born in San Francisco and lived in California. He wrote novels, short stories and essays. His novels include The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea-Wolf (1904), White Fang (1906) and Martin Eden (1909). He died in California.
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What is Burning Daylight about?
It tells of Elam Harnish, a strong Klondike gambler who grows rich in the gold rush, moves to San Francisco, and finds that business success and money do not give him the life he really wants.
Why is he called Burning Daylight?
Elam Harnish earns the nickname in the Yukon camps because of his habit of talking about burning daylight, which means wasting time. The name becomes his fame across the north and follows him south.
Who is Dede Mason in Burning Daylight?
Dede Mason is Daylight's stenographer in San Francisco. She is independent and thoughtful, and her view of life makes him question what he has been chasing with his money.
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