The Iron Heel: Utopian/Dystopian Alternative History Classic Review

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(More customer reviews)Ben Granger on Jack London's neglected dystopian novel that rivals 1984 and Brave New World in its prophetic vision of the future
...Labor relations in the USA are plunging as rapidly as the economy, while the thuggery of big-business against the unions increases in turn. Goons break limbs at picket-lines as families go hungry. No fiction there. Poverty spreads but just as surely does the Socialist movement of America.
The book is written as the memoir of Avis Everhard, wife of labor leader Ernest Everhard who comes to lead the workers' insurrection. Avis is the daughter of a prominent US academic, and begins her account as the pampered intellectual circles her family frequents find it a delightful parlor game to invite Ernest for debates, much as panel games will have the token revolutionary on our TV screens today.
Ernest, long-suffering, self-taught and assured union man has steely determination and razor intellect. He rips their arguments to pieces, and the smug smiles subside. In the final confrontation he manages to get one more forthright and honest plutocrat to admit the truth and discard the lies. In the end their power over the worker has no moral basis.
Soon Ernest and his crew take over...
The story continues to centre around the Everhards as the years go on and the Iron Heel kicks in. Congress is suspended, dissenters are machine-gunned. Scenes of conflict on a gargantuan scale ensue, interspersed with the individual intrigues within. The desperate hopes of the revolutionaries are evocatively told in between the details of their struggle. There is indeed no compromise up until an apocalyptic finale.
As prediction, satire and warning, The Iron Heel is in many ways more prophetic than either 1984 or Brave New World. Orwell merely exaggerated, exemplified and hypertrophied elements of a Stalinist dictatorship which had existed for decades, while the ruminations of Huxley set still further in the future remain something of an allegory. London was describing with exactitude a streamlined mechanized totalitarian dictatorship, backed by big business, specifically designed to crush the labor movement, when no-one dreamt of such a thing, and which would not actually be in place for decades.
End Granger.


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Utopian/Dystopian Alternative History Classic!Set in a grim 20th Century future - the story of how a brutal oligarchy seizes power in 1914 United States; as told by the wife of Congressman Ernest Everhard; and a running commentary in the footnotes from the perspective of a post-capitalist civilization. This is one book where it pays to read the footnotes, which are set hundreds of years in the future; as well as tying up loose ends, they have to explain such obsolete concepts as private property, factory whistles, and prize fighting.Real persons including Upton Sinclair and W.R. Hearst appear and are intertwined with a cast of memorable fictional characters - rivaling Orwell's 1984 for literary and historical significance.London predicted an attack on Pearl Harbor as a capitalist ruse to start a world war.One of the best Dystopian stories ever written - powerful, thought provoking and profound!Like 1984, descriptions of life in this world are sadly similar to reality today.

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Novels and Social Writings: The People of the Abyss / The Road / The Iron Heel / Martin Eden / John Barleycorn (Library of America) Review

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(More customer reviews)This volume contains some of London's best writing, especially his fictional autobiography Martin Eden, which has given inspiration (and a little despair) to generations of amateur writers. This kind of concise, visceral prose would not be seen again until Hemingway came along in the 1920's. Although the times and conditions he writes about in these pages has changed, the concepts are still relevant today: the division between rich and poor is ever widening, a society based on competition favors that wealthy and connected, those with wealth and power are not always the most intelligent or enlightened people, the evils of drinking and a society who often measures manliness in one's ability to consume large ammounts of alcohol. The book is wonderfully bound, and a real bargin here on Amazon.com. A great addition to any personal library.

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Jack London is a powerful witness to the politicalupheavals of the twentieth century and their terrifyingcontradictions. By turns impoverished laborer, renegade adventurer,war correspondent in Mexico, dedicated socialist, and writer ofenormous worldwide popularity, London dramatized his ideas aboutmodern societies through incidents of adventure, romance, and brutalviolence. "The Iron Heel," an astonishing political fantasy,anticipates a United States dominated by a capitalist police state andripped apart by urban warfare. Personal experiences lie behind "ThePeople of the Abyss," which vividly re-creates the slums of EastLondon, and the exhilarating camaraderie of hobo gangs roaming acrossAmerica in "The Road." "John Barleycorn" describes in harrowing termsLondon's struggles with alcoholism, while the intenselyautobiographical novel "Martin Eden" foreshadows his own death at ageforty.

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The Iron Heel Review

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(More customer reviews)In 1905 the troops of the Tsar crushed the Russian revolution of 1905. Although the uprising did force Nicholas II to establish a consitution and a parliament, the Russian revolution of 1917 would change the face of the world. However, the uprising also had the interesting effect of inspiring two of the more interesting utopian novels of the early 20th century. One was "Red Star," the socialist utopia on Mars created by the Russian writer Alexander Bogdanov, a Bolshevik and intimate of Lenin. The other was "The Iron Heel," by Jack London, the American author best known for "The Call of the Wild." Whereas Bogdanov forsees the ultimate victory of the socialist and scientific-technical revolutions, London predicts global revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces ending up in an apocalyptic battle betwen the impoverished workers and the privileged minorities. Consequently, the two authors share a common socialist perspective, although Bogdanov writes a utopian novel and London creates a dystopia.
"The Iron Heel" was written in 1908 and remains one of the more prophetic novels of the 20th century. His track record with regards to a national secrety police agency, the rise of Fascism, the creation of attractive suburbs for the middle class while the unemployed and menials live in "ghettoes," is remarkedly better than that of Edward Belleamy's "Looking Backward," Aldoux Huxley's "Brave New World," or George Orwell's "1984," the novels that are usually judged by their prescience in terms of utopian literature.
The novel presents the story of the American revolutionary Earnest Everhard, as told by his wife Avis, who is actually the more effective revolutionary leader. London tells how the manuscript was unknown for seven centuries, to be discovered long after the final triumph of socialist democracy in the yar 419 B.O.M. Avis Everhard describes the struggles of the working masses against the oligarchy, and how they were ruthlessly suppressed, especially in the Chicago Commune that is the main setting for the action. There is a strong current of violence, with Black Hundreds wrecking the socialist presses,a bomb exploding in the House of Representatives, and revolutionaries being hunted down by the military arm of the government known as the Iron Heel. The Everhard Manuscript breaks off in the middle of a sentence, a footnote explaining that history does not know if the author escaped or was captured.
The story is somewhat atypical for London in that it does not represent the white supermacist and male dominant vision of the world we usually find in his novels. London's message is the blatant warning that if you allow the Revolution to be defeated, then the ruling class will "grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces." Ultimately "The Iron Heel" is a novel whose importance clearly outstrips its literary quality. The problem is that with the end of World War II and the defeat (essentially) of Fascism that London's novel was no longer of interest as the world was confronted with a new set of problems. Yet, London's dytopian novel is one of the works in that genre that deserves to be reconsidered more often


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While he is best known for his stories of adventure in the outdoors, such as "White Fang" and "The Call of the Wild," London also wrote a significant body of science fiction, including the caveman novel, "Before Adam" (1906), the post-holocaust novel, "The Scarlet Plague" (1912), and "The Star Rover," a book about a convict under torture who can project his mind to far times and places, which profoundly influenced Robert E. Howard. "The Iron Heel" (1907) is a major work of dystopian fiction, the product of London's Socialism, about a fascist-capitalist tyranny in the United States in the 20th century and its struggle with the enslaved proletariat. As such it is an important ancestor to Zamyatin's "We" and Orwell's 1984."

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The Iron Heel (Dover Books on Literature & Drama) Review

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(More customer reviews)In 1905 the troops of the Tsar crushed the Russian revolution of 1905. Although the uprising did force Nicholas II to establish a constitution and a parliament, the Russian revolution of 1917 would change the face of the world. However, the uprising also had the interesting effect of inspiring two of the more interesting utopian novels of the early 20th century. One was "Red Star," the socialist utopia on Mars created by the Russian writer Alexander Bogdanov, a Bolshevik and intimate of Lenin. The other was "The Iron Heel," by Jack London, the American author best known for "The Call of the Wild." Whereas Bogdanov forsees the ultimate victory of the socialist and scientific-technical revolutions, London predicts global revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces ending up in an apocalyptic battle betwen the impoverished workers and the privileged minorities. Consequently, the two authors share a common socialist perspective, although Bogdanov writes a utopian novel and London creates a dystopia.
"The Iron Heel" was written in 1908 and remains one of the more prophetic novels of the 20th century. His track record with regards to a national secret police agency, the rise of Fascism, the creation of attractive suburbs for the middle class while the unemployed and menials live in "ghettoes," is markedly better than that of Edward Belleamy's "Looking Backward," Aldoux Huxley's "Brave New World," or George Orwell's "1984," the novels that are usually lauded and judged by their prescience in terms of utopian literature.
The novel presents the story of the American revolutionary Earnest Everhard, as told by his wife Avis, who is actually the more effective revolutionary leader. London tells how the manuscript was unknown for seven centuries, to be discovered long after the final triumph of socialist democracy in the yar 419 B.O.M. Avis Everhard describes the struggles of the working masses against the oligarchy, and how they were ruthlessly suppressed, especially in the Chicago Commune that is the main setting for the action. There is a strong current of violence, with Black Hundreds wrecking the socialist presses,a bomb exploding in the House of Representatives, and revolutionaries being hunted down by the military arm of the government known as the Iron Heel. The Everhard Manuscript breaks off in the middle of a sentence, a footnote explaining that history does not know if the author escaped or was captured.
The story is somewhat atypical for London in that it does not represent the white supremacist and male dominant vision of the world we usually find in his novels. London's message is the blatant warning that if you allow the Revolution to be defeated, then the ruling class will "grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces." Ultimately "The Iron Heel" is a novel whose importance clearly outstrips its literary quality. The problem is that with the end of World War II and the defeat (essentially) of Fascism that London's novel was no longer of interest as the world was confronted with a new set of problems. Yet, London's dytopian novel is one of the works in that genre that deserves to be reconsidered more often.

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In a harrowing tale of class warfare that merges science fiction and fantasy, the powerful state organization known as the "Iron Heel" is determined to crush the working class - at any cost. Praised by such luminaries as George Orwell, London's prophetic political adventure continues to resonate with today's readers.

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The Iron Heel (Quiet Vision Classic) Review

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(More customer reviews)In 1905 the troops of the Tsar crushed the Russian revolution of 1905. Although the uprising did force Nicholas II to establish a consitution and a parliament, the Russian revolution of 1917 would change the face of the world. However, the uprising also had the interesting effect of inspiring two of the more interesting utopian novels of the early 20th century. One was "Red Star," the socialist utopia on Mars created by the Russian writer Alexander Bogdanov, a Bolshevik and intimate of Lenin. The other was "The Iron Heel," by Jack London, the American author best known for "The Call of the Wild." Whereas Bogdanov forsees the ultimate victory of the socialist and scientific-technical revolutions, London predicts global revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces ending up in an apocalyptic battle betwen the impoverished workers and the privileged minorities. Consequently, the two authors share a common socialist perspective, although Bogdanov writes a utopian novel and London creates a dystopia.
"The Iron Heel" was written in 1908 and remains one of the more prophetic novels of the 20th century. His track record with regards to a national secrety police agency, the rise of Fascism, the creation of attractive suburbs for the middle class while the unemployed and menials live in "ghettoes," is remarkedly better than that of Edward Belleamy's "Looking Backward," Aldoux Huxley's "Brave New World," or George Orwell's "1984," the novels that are usually judged by their prescience in terms of utopian literature.
The novel presents the story of the American revolutionary Earnest Everhard, as told by his wife Avis, who is actually the more effective revolutionary leader. London tells how the manuscript was unknown for seven centuries, to be discovered long after the final triumph of socialist democracy in the yar 419 B.O.M. Avis Everhard describes the struggles of the working masses against the oligarchy, and how they were ruthlessly suppressed, especially in the Chicago Commune that is the main setting for the action. There is a strong current of violence, with Black Hundreds wrecking the socialist presses,a bomb exploding in the House of Representatives, and revolutionaries being hunted down by the military arm of the government known as the Iron Heel. The Everhard Manuscript breaks off in the middle of a sentence, a footnote explaining that history does not know if the author escaped or was captured.
The story is somewhat atypical for London in that it does not represent the white supermacist and male dominant vision of the world we usually find in his novels. London's message is the blatant warning that if you allow the Revolution to be defeated, then the ruling class will "grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces." Ultimately "The Iron Heel" is a novel whose importance clearly outstrips its literary quality. The problem is that with the end of World War II and the defeat (essentially) of Fascism that London's novel was no longer of interest as the world was confronted with a new set of problems. Yet, London's dytopian novel is one of the works in that genre that deserves to be reconsidered more often

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The Iron Heel (Forgotten Books) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this book.
Worth every piny of your money.
Best Book I read in a long time...


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Somewhat similar in structure to Donnelly's Caesar's Column, The Iron Heel is a novel of a grim 20th Century future and how it came to be that way. However, London is a much better novelist than Donnelly, and he is at the top of his form here. There are three separate narratives in this book: the story of how a brutal oligarchy seizes power in the United States; a love story centering on the narrator, the wife of the revolutionary hero; and a running commentary in the footnotes from the perspective of a post-capitalist civilization. This is one book where it pays to read the footnotes, which are set hundreds of years in the future; as well as tying up loose ends, they have to explain such obsolete concepts as private property, factory whistles, and prize fighting.There is the usual expository section where the viewpoint of each social strata is weighed in turn; London manages keep the interest during this section. Then there is the obligatory revolutionary action sequence: he evokes the failed 'Chicago Commune' uprising with style. Real persons including Upton Sinclair and W.R.Hearst appear in the historical narrative; these are intertwined with a cast of memorable fictional characters.London does not make many technological predictions; (he does, however, predict an attack on Pearl Harbor--by Germans--as a capitalist ruse to start a world war!). This is a novel of 'if this goes on...', one of the best ever, rivaling Orwell's 1984 for literary and historical significance. It also compares well with latter day science fiction Utopia/Dystopia stories such as Ursula LeGuins' The Dispossessed. (Quote from sacred-texts.com)About the AuthorJack London (1876 - 1916)Jack London (12 January 1876 - 22 November 1916) was an American author who wrote The

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The Iron Heel Review

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(More customer reviews)The Iron Heel shows the Marxist perspective of society in the early 20th century and how society could deteriorate into a brutal Oligarchy. The notes on the bottom of the page are often hilarious because they represent the views of the Brotherhood of Man a utopian arrangement of society after workers take control over the means of production and overthrow the government. The whole book is rather naive but purposeful in airing Jack London's bitter distaste for capitalism. Great dystopian/ utopian fiction and a good precursor to Zamaytin's We, Orwell's 1984, and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. I probably prefer Call of the Wild and White Fang for sentimental and stylistic reasons.

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A story of world revolution set in early 20th century America.

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