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Audiobook edition · 10 h 50 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a man used to comfort meets a land that cares only whether he can survive?
In Jack London's linked adventure tales, Christopher “Kit” Bellew leaves San Francisco for the Klondike gold rush. Educated, quick-witted and used to an easy life, he faces cold, hunger and hard travel. Snow, ice and rapids shape his choices. As he earns the nickname Smoke, the question becomes what he can do when comfort no longer protects him.
Kit finds a partner in Shorty, a rough, talkative man whose practical skill and loyalty come with plenty of trouble. Joy Gastell, brave and independent, tests Kit's character in another way. Around them, news of gold sends men racing to stake claims. These connected stories follow separate adventures and a growing change in Kit, with laughter running through the hardship.
What you’ll discover
- A city man tested Follow Kit as the frozen north demands more than quick wit and good manners.
- A partner worth trusting Meet Shorty, whose rough talk, loyalty and practical skills bring warmth to hard journeys.
- The rush for gold Feel the urgency as news of a strike sends men scrambling toward a claim.
- Laughter against the cold Discover adventures where jokes share the trail with hunger, freezing fingers and stubborn endurance.
- A woman who challenges Meet Joy Gastell, whose courage and independence give Kit a reason to become better.
Who will love it
Readers who love gold rush adventure, frozen trails, tall tales and warm friendships, and anyone who enjoys watching a person find out what he is made of.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A soft city man shoulders his first pack
- Bad bosses teach Smoke how to lead
- A stampede in the dark outwits the newcomers
- A man on the other bank tests Smoke's wits
- A race for a million proves what Smoke has become
- Rescues test courage and judgment
- Tall tales of eggs and a mountain town
- The Caribou People and what the tales add up to
Who’s who
- Smoke BellewChristopher Bellew, a San Francisco magazine man who goes north for a vacation and is changed by the Klondike.
- ShortyJack Short, a five-foot-two cowman and prospector, Smoke's loyal partner, a gloomy joker who trusts hunches.
- John BellewSmoke's iron-willed uncle, who scolds him as a dabbler and takes him north.
- Big OlafA giant dog musher and the finest traveler in the Yukon, who races Smoke for the Mono claim.
- SnassA white man who rules a hidden camp of caribou hunters and keeps the outside world out.
- LabiskweeSnass's daughter, raised in the wilderness, who wants to love as the lovers in her stories did.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 50 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- 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.
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Read and hear Smoke Bellew in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Smoke Bellew
by Jack London · 1912
A San Francisco dabbler hauls beans up Chilkoot and learns his own strength in the Klondike gold rush.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What happens when a soft San Francisco magazine man shoulders a ninety-five-pound sack of beans on the Chilkoot Trail? Jack London tells it in Smoke Bellew, a set of linked Klondike tales.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A soft city man shoulders his first pack
Kit Bellew is a dabbler. He edits a struggling weekly called The Billow, and his uncle John Bellew calls him a failure. Then he accepts a dare and joins his uncle and two cousins on the trip to Dyea.
The Chilkoot portage is twenty-eight miles on men's backs. Kit manages his first fifty-pound load, but his third pack, a ninety-five-pound sack of beans, leaves him crying and collapsed. Later he copies the Indian packers, makes a head strap, and learns to carry farther before taking longer rests. He tells himself that what other men can do, he can do.
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What is Smoke Bellew about?
It follows Kit Bellew, a San Francisco magazine man who goes to the Klondike and becomes Smoke. Linked tales cover the Chilkoot Trail, rapids, stampedes, a roulette scheme, a dog race, rescues and comic swindles.
Who is Shorty in Smoke Bellew?
Shorty is Jack Short, a short, tough cowman and prospector who becomes Smoke's partner. He is gloomy about hunches, loyal in a fight, and the source of much of the humor in the book.
What does eating meat mean in Smoke Bellew?
Meat stands for courage and toughness. Kit says he has had a taste of meat after his first hard trail, and Shorty calls brave men meat-eaters and weak men fish-eaters.
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
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