3.9. Jack london

The novelist and short-story writer Jack London was, in his lifetime, one of the most popular authors in the world. After World War I his fame was eclipsed in the United States by a new generation of writers, but he remained popular in many other countries, especially in the Soviet Union, for his romantic tales of adventure mixed with elemental struggles for survival.

John Griffith London was born in San Francisco on January 12, 1876. His family was poor, and he was forced to go to work early in life to support himself. At 17 he sailed to Japan and Siberia on a seal-hunting voyage. He was largely self-taught, reading voluminously in libraries and spending a year at the University of California. In the late 1890s he joined the gold rush to the Klondike. This experience gave him material for his first book, 'The Son of Wolf', published in 1900, and for 'Call of the Wild' (1903), one of his most popular stories.

In his writing career of 17 years, London produced 50 books and many short stories. He wrote mostly for money, to meet ever-increasing expenses. His fame as a writer gave him a ready audience as a spokesman for a peculiar and inconsistent blend of socialism and racial superiority. London's works, all hastily written, are of uneven quality. The best books are the Klondike tales, which also include 'White Fang' (1906) and 'Burning Daylight' (1910). His most enduring novel is probably the autobiographical 'Martin Eden' (1909), but the exciting 'Sea Wolf' (1904) continues to have great appeal for young readers.

In 1910 London settled near Glen Ellen, California, where he intended to build his dream home, "Wolf House." After the house burned down before completion in 1913, he was a broken and sick man. His death on November 22, 1916, from an overdose of drugs, was probably a suicide.

3.10. New york city

Although New York is not the capital of the United States, it is the biggest and most important city of the country. New York is situated on the Atlantic coast, in the North-East of the country, in the state of New York at the mouth of the deep Hudson River. It is the financial and media capital of the world, the center of the American cultural life and the national leader in fashion and entertainment.

The “Big Apple” is nickname of the city. New York , with the population of 16 million people, is the second largest city and the biggest sea port in the world. It was founded in 1613 by Dutch settlers. It consists of 5 large boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond. There are a lot of places of interest in New York.

The most famous of them is The Statue of Liberty, given to the USA by France in 1886. Its torch towers about 200 feet above the harbor and can be seen at night for many miles. It is the largest statue in the world. The Empire State Building used to be the first, but now it is only the third tallest building in the world. It is a 102- stored building with an observatory on the 86 floor. Broadway is the longest street in the world. It is 12 miles long. It is the center of entertainments.

The Metropolitan Museum is by now probably the richest museum in the world in painting and other objects of Art, due to what had been bought from Europeans after World War Two. Besides, we can see the works of American painters there. The Central Park is the largest park in the world. The Fifth Avenue has the best houses, hotels and fashionable shops. Times Square is known as New York’s theatre land the Metropolitan Museum of Art and many other museums are situated there. The Rockefeller center belongs to the Rockefeller family. It is 15 skyscrapers housing several large corporations. It is also known as “Radio City”. There is a theatre, too. The United Nations Headquarters was built in 1952. The building and the grounds contain sculptures and other works of art, donated by member nations.