Independently published THE VALLEY OF THE MOON: UNABRIDGED ORIGINAL CLASSIC Hardcover – Unabridged

This book has been read and reviewed for a century. It is an autobiographical tale of how Jack and Charmian London discovered Glen Ellen as the perfect place and built their Beauty Ranch in Sonoma County California. A terrific read.

This is an often neglected work by Jack London but well worth tracking down a copy. But make sure that you get both volumes. I was given Volume One as a gift, and there was absolutely no indication that it was a multi-volume work on the cover or title page. I found out when I got to the last page which read, "The End, Volume One." However, the current book contains both volumes.What impressed me most about the book was the back-to-the-earth concept of the 1960s expressed nearly a half century earlier. The idea of leaving the polluted, overcrowded city for the clean air and wide open spaces of the country still rings true. Eating home-grown foods and pursuing an agrarian lifestyle remain timely subjects, so that it is easy for modern day readers to identify with the characters. Although I am not a California native, I was also interested in California as London described it a century ago. Left Coast dwellers will be familiar with the place names and geography as Billy and Saxon travel first south and then north across the length of California and into Oregon looking for their "Valley of the Moon." I kept a road atlas close at hand as I traced their journey.The story is told in two volumes. Part One describes Billy and Saxon's life in Oakland, early courtship, poor wages and working conditions, and labor unrest. In Part Two, the couple leave the city on foot to find a place where they can start again and live close to nature. Ironically, after years of travel, they find their "Valley of the Moon" only miles north of Oakland. This is as close to a happy ending as one will find in a Jack London novel, that is, unless you know that in reality, Jack and Charmian's dream house was burned by an arsonist before it was completed, and that London died soon after writing "Valley of the Moon" at the age of only 41.The novel is far from perfect, and Jack's views on Anglo-Saxon supremacy as expressed through Billy, often grated on this reader, although I have read most of his books and short stories. However, it is also true that Jack London's views on society and his fellow man were constantly evolving. Saxon usually softens the thinly veiled racism giving credit where credit is due, and often causing Billy to rethink his position. She is the more sympathetic of the two characters. Billy's pugnacious personality and tendency to literally box his way through every setback and conflict often turns him into a one dimensional character.

Buy this if you like decoding while you read. Horrendous and completely unreadable. No page numbers, scattered letters with symbols and numbers. Total rip off. See attached photo for what I mean. Feel like I was played for a fool!