4 h 41 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 41 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In the frozen north, a wrong judgment can kill as surely as a cruel enemy.
Jack London’s Lost Face gathers short adventure stories set mostly in the snow, ice and long dark of the Yukon and Alaska. Gold seekers, traders, trappers and local peoples share a country with little mercy. Cold, hunger, greed and fear press hard, and survival depends on what a person can do when there is no time to spare.
In To Build a Fire, an unnamed traveller heads toward his friends along a bitterly cold Yukon trail. His dog senses danger by instinct; the man trusts his own judgment. In the title story, Lost Face, the captive Subienkow faces torture and a savage death. His wits are his means of resistance in a struggle between cunning and cruelty.
What you’ll discover
- Cold you can feel Enter a northern landscape where weather threatens lives as directly as any human enemy.
- A man and his dog Follow a frozen trail where human judgment and animal instinct meet the same terrible cold.
- Wits against a cruel fate Meet Subienkow as he relies on clear thinking under the threat of torture.
- Survival without comfort These tough tales confront hunger, fear and greed without promising a gentle path.
- Respect for powerful forces Explore stories that ask what survival demands when confidence alone is not enough.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy tales of survival, northern wilderness and the gold rush, or short stories with sharp endings, dry humour and odd characters under pressure.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A prisoner bargains for his own death
- A heavy bag drives a man past his limits
- A man too sure of himself meets the cold
- A dog nobody can sell, kill or lose
- A woman waits in a cabin by a frozen lake
- A camp with no jail writes its own law
- A chief's daughter puts a price on honor
- What links the tales and how London tells them
Who’s who
- SubienkowA Polish exile and fur thief, taken at Nulato, who tries to outwit his captors with a made-up medicine.
- MakamukThe head chief of the Nulato people, who must decide whether a doomed man's medicine is real.
- Fred ChurchillA strong Yukon traveler who promises to bring out a friend's small leather grip and will not let it go.
- The man on Henderson CreekA newcomer with no imagination, walking alone at seventy-five below to join his friends at camp.
- Lon McFaneA hired musher who keeps a secret about the woman in the cabin at Surprise Lake and tells it at night.
- Marcus O'BrienThe elected judge of Red Cow, who has found rich gold and will not sell it, however much whisky he drinks.
- El-SooA chief's daughter raised at a mission, quick and proud, who is determined that her father's debt will be paid.
- PorportukThe richest Indian on the Yukon, a careful moneylender who wants to take El-Soo as payment.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Lost Face
by Jack London · 1910
A bound prisoner sells his torturers a medicine, a hiker walks into seventy-five below, and a dog will not be lost.
Easy read2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Picture a man tied in the snow, with an axe waiting at the end of his trail. He has one thing left to spend, and that is his wit.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A prisoner bargains for his own death
The title story begins at what the hero believes is the end. Subienkow is a Polish exile, tied with caribou thongs in the snow beside the burned fort at Nulato. Around him lie the Russian fur thieves, tortured one by one. Big Ivan is still screaming, and Subienkow knows his own turn is coming.
His horror is not mainly of dying. He is a sensitive man, a dreamer and an artist, and what offends him is the thought of begging and shrieking like a beast.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1910
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 0 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
London, Jack. Lost Face. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/lost-face.
London, J. (2026). Lost face. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lost-face (Original work published 1910)
London, Jack. Lost Face. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lost-face.
@book{london2026lost,
author = {London, Jack},
title = {Lost Face},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lost-face},
note = {First published 1910}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Lost Face
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Lost Face by Jack London about?
It is a collection of seven short stories set in the Yukon and Alaska during the gold rush. Each follows a person who faces cold, hunger, debt or danger and has to rely on nerve, wit or honor to get through.
Which stories are in Lost Face?
The book holds Lost Face, Trust, To Build a Fire, That Spot, Flush of Gold, The Passing of Marcus O'Brien and The Wit of Porportuk. They are all set in the north, but they vary from comedy to hard survival tales.
Is To Build a Fire a true story?
It is fiction, but London drew on his own time in the Klondike and on real conditions of Yukon winters. Its details of frostbite, hidden springs and spirit thermometers match what travelers there faced.
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.
More by Jack London
All 24 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
