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JACK LONDON

IRON HEEL

PREFACE

The notes of Avis Evergard cannot be considered a reliable historical document. The historian will find many errors in them, if not in the transmission of facts, then in their interpretation. Seven hundred years have passed, and the events of that time and their interconnection - everything that was still difficult for the author of these memoirs to understand - is no longer a mystery to us. Avis Everhard did not have the necessary historical perspective. What she wrote about concerned her too closely. Moreover, she was in the thick of the events described.
And yet, as a human document, the Everhard Manuscript is of great interest to us, although even here the matter is not without one-sided judgments and assessments born of the passion of love. We pass these misconceptions with a smile and forgive Avis Everhard the enthusiasm with which she speaks about her husband. We now know that he was not such a gigantic figure and did not play such an exceptional role in the events of that time, as the author of the memoirs claims.
Ernest Everhard was an outstanding man, but still not to the extent that his wife believed. He belonged to a large army of heroes who selflessly served the cause of the world revolution. True, Everhard had his own special merits in developing the philosophy of the working class and its propaganda. He called it “proletarian science”, “proletarian philosophy”, showing a certain narrowness of views, which at that time could not be avoided.
But let's return to the memoirs. Their greatest merit is that they resurrect for us the atmosphere of that terrible era. Nowhere will we find such a vivid depiction of the psychology of people who lived in the turbulent twenty years of 1912 - 1932, their limitations and blindness, their fears and doubts, their moral errors, their violent passions and unclean thoughts, their monstrous selfishness. It is difficult for us, in our reasonable age, to understand this. History claims that this was so, and biology and psychology explain to us why. But neither history, nor biology, nor psychology can resurrect this world for us. We admit its existence in the past, but it remains alien to us, we do not understand it.
This understanding arises in us when reading the Everhard Manuscript. We seem to merge with the characters in this world drama, living through their thoughts and feelings. And we not only understand the love of Avis Evergard for her heroic companion - we feel, together with Evergard himself, the threat of the oligarchy, a terrible shadow hanging over the world. We see how the power of the Iron Heel (isn't it a good name!) is advancing on humanity, threatening to crush it.
By the way, we learn that the creator of the term “ Iron heel“Ernest Everhard appeared in his time - an interesting discovery that sheds light on an issue that has long remained controversial. The name “Iron Heel” was believed to have first appeared in the pamphlet “You Are Slaves!” by the little-known journalist George Milford, published in December 1912. No other information about George Milford has reached us, and only the Everhard Manuscript briefly mentions that he died during the Chicago Massacre. In all likelihood, Milford heard this expression from the lips of Ernest Everhard - most likely during one of the latter's election campaign speeches in the fall of 1912. Everhard himself, as the manuscript tells us, first used it at a dinner with a private person back in the spring of 1912. This date should be recognized as the original one.
For the historian and philosopher, the victory of the oligarchy will forever remain an insoluble mystery. The alternation of historical eras is determined by laws social evolution. These eras were historically inevitable. Their arrival could be predicted with the same certainty with which an astronomer calculates the movements of the stars. These are legitimate stages of evolution. Primitive communism, slave society, serfdom and wage labor were necessary steps social development. But it would be ridiculous to say that the dominance of the Iron Heel was an equally necessary step. We are now inclined to consider this period an accidental deviation or retreat to the cruel times of tyrannical social autocracy, which at the dawn of history was as natural as the triumph of the Iron Heel subsequently became illegal.
Feudalism left a bad memory, but this system was historically necessary. After the collapse of such a powerful centralized state as the Roman Empire, the onset of the era of feudalism was inevitable. But the same cannot be said about the Iron Heel. There is no place for it in the natural course of social evolution. Her rise to power was not historically justified or necessary. He will forever remain in history as a monstrous anomaly, a historical curiosity, an accident, an obsession, something unexpected and unthinkable. Let this serve as a warning to those rash politicians who talk so confidently about social processes.
Capitalism was considered by sociologists of those times to be the culmination of the bourgeois state, the ripened fruit of the bourgeois revolution, and in our time we can only join this definition. After capitalism, socialism was supposed to come; This was stated even by such outstanding representatives of the hostile camp as Herbert Spencer. They expected that from the ruins of selfish capitalism, a flower nurtured over centuries would grow - the brotherhood of man. But instead, to our surprise and horror, and even more so to the surprise and horror of the contemporaries of these events, capitalism, ripe for collapse, gave rise to another monstrous escape - oligarchy.
The socialists of the early twentieth century discovered the coming of the oligarchy too late. When they realized it, the oligarchy was already there - as a fact, imprinted in blood, as a cruel, nightmarish reality. But at that time, according to the Everhard Manuscript, no one believed in the durability of the Iron Heel. The revolutionaries believed that overthrowing it would take several years. They understood that the Peasant Revolt arose contrary to their plans, and the First broke out prematurely. But no one expected that the Second Uprising, well prepared and fully matured, was doomed to the same failure and even more brutal defeat.
Obviously, Avis Evergard wrote her notes in the days preceding the Second Uprising, there is not a word in them about its ill-fated outcome. No doubt she also hoped to publish them immediately after the overthrow of the Iron Heel in order to pay tribute to the memory of her deceased husband. But then disaster struck, and, preparing to flee or in anticipation of arrest, she hid the notes in the hollow of an old oak tree at WakeRobinlodge.
Further fate Avis Evergard is unknown. In all likelihood, she was executed by mercenaries, and during the Iron Heel, no one kept records of the victims of numerous executions. One thing is certain: hiding the manuscript in a hiding place and preparing to escape, Avis Evergard did not suspect what a terrible defeat the Second Uprising suffered. She could not foresee that the tortuous and the hard way social development will require, in the next three hundred years, the Third and Fourth uprisings and many other revolutions, drowned in a sea of blood, until the labor movement finally wins victory throughout the world. It never occurred to her that her notes, a tribute to her love for Ernest Everhard, would lie for seven long centuries in the hollow of an ancient oak tree in Wake Robinlodge, undisturbed by anyone's hand.
Anton Mereditnote 1
Ardis. November 27, 419 of the Brotherhood of Man era.
Earth Theater! We feel shame and grief -
Pictures of familiar carousels...
But be patient, you'll find out soon
Crazy Drama meaning and purpose!

CHAPTER ONE. MY EAGLE

A light summer breeze rustles in the mighty sequoias, the playful Savage incessantly murmurs between the mossy stones. Butterflies flicker in the bright rays of the sun; the air is filled with the drowsy hum of bees. There is silence and calm all around, and only I am oppressed by thoughts and anxiety. The serene silence breaks my soul. How deceptive she is! Everything is hidden and silent, but this is the calm before the storm. I strain my ears and catch her approach with my whole being. If only it didn't break out too early. Woe, woe, if it breaks out too soon! note 2
I have many reasons to be worried. Thoughts, persistent thoughts do not leave me. I have lived a busy, active life for so long that peace and quiet seem like a heavy dream to me, and I cannot forget the furious storm of death and destruction that is about to fly over the world. The cries of the defeated are ringing in my ears, and before my eyes are the same ghosts of the past. Note 3. I see abused, tormented human flesh, I see how violence tears the soul out of a beautiful, proud body in order to throw it in an evil fury to the throne of the creator. So we, people, through blood and destruction, move towards our goal, striving to establish peace and joy on earth forever.
And loneliness... When I don’t think about what will happen, my thoughts turn to what was and will not return again - to you, my eagle, soaring on powerful wings, directed upward, to the sun, for the sun was bright for you ideal of freedom. I am unable to sit and wait idly for the coming of great events that my husband brought into being, even though he was not destined to see their birth. He gave his own to our cause best years and died for him. These are the fruits of his labors, his creationnote 4.
So, I want to devote these languid days to memories of my husband. There are many things that only I of all living people can tell about, but no matter how much you tell about a person like Ernest, everything is not enough. There was a great soul in Ernest, and when in my love everything personal is silent, I grieve most of all at the thought that he will not be here tomorrow to greet the dawn of a new day. There can be no doubt that we will win. He built so firmly, so reliably, that the building would stand. Death to the Iron Heel! The day is near when fallen man will raise his head. As soon as this news spreads throughout the world, armies of labor will rise up everywhere. Something that history has never known will happen. The solidarity of the workers is ensured, which means that the international revolution will unfold for the first time in all its immense breadthnote 5.
As you can see, I am completely at the mercy of upcoming events. I lived this day and night - for so long that I couldn’t think about anything else. And even more so, speaking about my husband, how can I not talk about his business! He was the soul of this great endeavor, and for me they are inseparable.
As I said, there is a lot that only I can say about Ernest. Everyone knows that he worked for the revolution without sparing himself and suffered a lot. But how he worked and how much he endured, I alone know. Twenty terrible years we were inseparable, and I, more than anyone, know his patience, his inexhaustible energy and boundless devotion to the cause of the revolution, for which he laid down his head two months ago.
I will try to tell simply and in order how Ernest came into my life - about our first meeting, about how he gradually took possession of my soul and turned my whole world upside down. And then you will see him through my eyes, you will recognize him as I knew him, except for the most cherished and dear things that words are powerless to convey.
We met in February 1912, when Everhard, at the invitation of my father, came to our mansion in Berkeley for a dinner party. I can’t say that I liked him at first sight - rather the opposite. In the living room, where the whole company had gathered, Ernest made a strange, not to say wild, impression. Among the venerable ministers of the church at this dinner, which my father jokingly called the “Sanhedrin,” Everhard seemed like a man from another planet.
First of all, he was dressed terribly. The suit, made of cheap dark cloth, bought from a ready-to-wear store, fit him like a killer. Yes, Ernest, with his constitution, could not buy anything ready-made. His heroic muscles bulged out from under the thin cloth, folds appeared on his athletic shoulders. Looking at his neck, massive and muscular, like a professional boxernote 7, I couldn’t help but think: so this is it, latest hobby Dad is a philosopher-sociologist, in the recent past a blacksmith's apprentice. Even now he resembles a blacksmith - just look at those muscles and bullish scruff; must be, from these nuggets, "Blind Tom" note 8 of the working class.
And his handshake! It was strong and commanding, and the gaze of its black eyes, too inquisitively, it seemed to me, lingered on my face. This is how I reasoned, a child of my environment, a girl with class prejudices. I would not forgive a person of my circle such courage. I remember that I involuntarily lowered my eyes and with a feeling of relief hurried to meet Bishop Morehouse, our old friend - he was a charming middle-aged man, with a face and gentle disposition reminiscent of Christ, and also very well-read and educated.
Meanwhile, the courage that offended me was, perhaps, the main feature of Ernest Everhard. A man of direct and open soul, he was not afraid of anything and despised conventions. “I liked you,” he explained to me later. “Isn’t it natural to look at what you like?”
As I already said, Ernest was not afraid of anything. He was an aristocrat by nature, despite his belonging to a completely opposite social league. Nietzschenote 9 would recognize in him his superman, or, as he put it, a “blond beast,” with the significant difference that Ernest gave his heart to democracy.
Busy with the guests, I forgot to think about the unpleasant philosopher from the workers, but when we sat down at the table, my attention was suddenly attracted by the sparkles of laughter in his eyes, obviously caused by the conversation of their reverends. “He is not without humor,” I thought and almost forgave the guest for his awkward suit. But time passed, the dinner was drawing to a close, and Evergard still said nothing in response to the endless speeches of the priests about the church and the working class, about what the church had done and what it was going to do for the benefit of the workers. I noticed that dad was upset by his protégé’s stubborn silence. Taking advantage of a slight lull in the conversation, he directly addressed Ernest and invited him to express his thoughts. He just shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently: “I don’t have any ideas,” and after which he began to work on salted almonds with redoubled zeal.

I became friends with evil spirits,

And in the mirror one day I

Sorcerer of the fate of the dear fatherland

Showed everything in private...

(Beranger)

Frankly, I missed the mark with this London novel. From what I heard about The Iron Heel, I expected a dystopia in the spirit of Orwell, but, of course, written from a socialist perspective. And she didn’t immediately realize that the writer had cheated: under the guise of a novel, he slipped readers a Marxist political pamphlet. Actually, dystopia only completes it. So if you suddenly have urgent need in mastering Marxist political economy, and “Capital” seems too voluminous - go ahead! Ernest Everhard will present all the main ideas to you, as simply and convincingly as possible.

But don't expect a novel as such. It is not living people who walk through the book, but ghosts, not even excluding the main characters. “Men and women, our best, most beloved comrades, disappeared without a trace. Today we still saw friends in our ranks, and tomorrow we were no longer counted of them and knew that this was forever, that they had lost their lives in the fight,” complains Avis Evergard. But we see all these men and women only briefly. They remain a set of names. Only the mad Bishop Morehouse evokes sympathy.

The plot, like the characters, is subordinated to the presentation of the author’s view of contemporary capitalism. So you don’t have to expect much here either. Only at the very end can the reader be rewarded with grandiose scenes of the Chicago uprising.

But the book is full of ideas. “The Iron Heel” is an indictment against capitalism, a warning, a prophecy, cut off mid-sentence - and what a warning! “If you remember...” Yes, that’s right. It can be fully appreciated only if we remember... well, at least the history of the 20th-21st centuries. And then you can see how, behind the lines written at the very dawn of the last century, its contours emerge - either the Great Depression, or the burning of the Reichstag, or even our reality. Cities of the “golden billion” in comparison with the third world - aren’t these the same “miracle cities” that London writes about? And the worker ghettos, where “the beast from the abyss lurks,” also exist - it’s just that globalization has made it possible to geographically separate them from those suburbs where the Western labor aristocracy has settled so comfortably. And are Western democracies really that different from the Iron Heel? You can at least ask the residents of Ferguson about this.

In general, the novel is very controversial with artistic point vision - but full of brilliant insights.

Rating: 8

Apparently, Jack London read Marx’s “Capital” and this opus pretty much plowed him up. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain why a talented storyteller and master of creating atmosphere suddenly took and sculpted crude and clumsy anti-capitalist propaganda. Artistic value the book is minimal, it’s not even a novel, but rather a retelling of an economics textbook in its own words - there is no such thing as a plot, the characters suffer from a fair amount of veneer, and the fake diary format used by the author only makes everything worse: London wants to show the whole picture of the horrific situation of the workers of America (and it was even worse a hundred years ago than in Tsarist Russia) and their struggle with the oligarchs (the author understands this word somehow strangely, it is enough to point out the use of the neologism “micro-oligarch”), but the result is a confusing synopsis. As a dystopia, “The Iron Heel” is very remarkable - quite logical (the threat of the degradation of capitalism into oligarchy was very real, and it was buried by the very crisis of overproduction that was described with such gusto in the book), all stages of formation are described in great detail (sometimes it was thought - no , this definitely can’t happen, and then I remembered the Soviet Union and realized that anything could happen; money loves blood no less than ideology), and despite the fact that the book is boring as hell, it deserves to be on the same shelf with “ 1986 by Orwell and Brave New World by Huxley.

Rating: 6

The beginning of summer is a period that does not encourage the teacher to read: tests, exams, preparing reports. Vacation seems out of reach...

But I bought and read “The Iron Heel” by Jack London. Because for last month three different, unrelated people advised me to do this.

Impressed.

The Iron Heel is an interesting example of how old book suddenly unexpectedly updated. The fact that three people spoke complimentarily about this novel speaks in favor of actualization. And I myself, fidgeting in my chair, caught myself saying that “this is about us.”

According to the plot of Jack London, described really briefly, as in a political economy textbook, between 1912 and 1932 events occurred that led to the establishment of the regime of the World Capitalist Oligarchy - the Iron Heel. Which lasted 300 years. Instead of the Socialism desired by the progressive forces. And even in those countries where, after the unsuccessful and unprepared First Uprising, socialism was established - Germany, France, Italy, Australasia - oligarchic coups took place after the suppression of the Second Uprising... And even 700 years after the events described, scientists do not undertake to rationally explain the phenomenon Iron heel.

“And what do we have with Guska, Pan Ksenzhe?” (With)

Firstly, we have socialism, which seems to have already begun, but was postponed until long term. By returning a handful of socialist countries to oligarchic capitalism. Moreover, the return took place through the oligarchy of the United States of America, which united the entire continent from Panama to Labrador under its rule, and then took advantage of the unsuccessful Second Uprising to blackmail and interfere in the affairs of socialist governments (sic!).

Secondly, Jack London shows that the revolution is not needed by the okhlos, but by lone revolutionaries like the scientist-nugget from the workers Ernest Everhard, who proves the inevitability of the socialist revolution. But his reasoning (a retelling of the classical Marxist scheme) now seems scholarly. Yes, London quite accurately predicted the Great Depression, describing it first through the mouth of the hero, and then expanding it into detailed picture, but a lot has changed since then. It turned out that you can refuse altogether material production, transferring it to developing countries (according to Erenst Everhard), and remain a world hegemon through control of world finance. True, the prospect of a new Great Depression is now looming, but, as in London’s book, the oligarchs will not have problems with the people turned into ochlos. So 300 years of oligarchy is not enough.

Thirdly, everything that Jack London said about the American “free” press of the early twentieth century can be applied without any reservations to the Russian press beginning of the XXI century. The same information filters, the same manipulation of public opinion. And the courts in the writer’s description, when American padvas, rezniks, and coachmen defend unfortunate companies and trusts from these persistent and shameless ordinary people... “I’m poisoning, poisoning!” (With)

Fourthly, the oligarchs in the fight against the revolution use mercenaries - read “private military companies” and “Pinkertons” - read “private security companies”. It was the mercenaries (private military companies) who suppressed the First Uprising and were preparing, according to the London scenario, to suppress the Second, and the “Pinkertons” (private security companies) tracked down Ernest and Evis Evergard and dealt with them. A brilliant example of prediction, considering the power of various Blackwater Security Consulting, Erinys Iraq Limited, Hart Group, Vinnell Corporation in the current reality. Already now the power of the created private armies is enough to suppress any social protest...

Fifthly, the suppression of the Chicago Uprising (aka the notorious First Uprising) at first was no different from the description of the battles on Presnya in December 1905 in the form in which the foreign press presented it to its readers. But in Jack London it (suppression) suddenly develops into something reminiscent of Stalingrad... With “Pavlov’s houses” and the “rat war”, as the Germans called it.

In general, I am very tempted to say that Jack London predicted both the fall of the USSR and the modern moment when oligarchs around the world, taking advantage of the lack of coordination in the actions of the working people, break off their horns.

Rating: 8

IN literary world Jack London is primarily associated with adventure novels filled with the romanticism of the Gold Rush or the mysteries of Alaska, sea voyages or stories about the Indians.

But Mr. London once departed from the canons he himself had established and wrote something completely uncharacteristic of him. Who could have known that his next work after “ Sea wolf", "White Fang" and "Adventures", there will be a dystopia with a slight touch of fantasy called "The Iron Heel". Moreover, London showed what was not expected from it. It turned out that London is well versed in economics, socialism, capitalism, and the history of Tsarist Russia is not alien to it. How did it happen that London wrote so strong work completely out of style?

Oddly enough, the plot in a dystopia is not the main thing. The idea and its description and implementation come to the fore here. But this does not mean that the plot here should be completely flawed.

The plot of “The Iron Heel” cannot be called flawed. True, exciting and interesting too. Rather, this is a companion story. And not a bad one. The author approached the presentation of history in a rather original way, especially for the beginning of the twentieth century. A certain correspondent from a distant, even for us, future finds the memoirs of Avis Everhard, a revolutionary of the early 20th century. Thus, we get a novel from the first person, with frequent comments and observations from the correspondent. The correspondent, by the way, lives in the era of the Brotherhood of Man, in the era utopian socialism and, at times, his remarks bring a smile to the modern reader.

Although the novel comes from the perspective of Evis Everhard, the main character here is her husband, one of the founders of the revolutionary movement, Ernest Everhard. Events develop at the beginning of the 20th century. Ernest is one of the first to sense the trouble looming over the United States. The fact is that, according to Ernest, capitalism is degenerating, and socialism should very soon replace it. But, power in the USA is completely seized by oligarchs such as Rockefeller (the author devoted a couple of pages to him). With the help of their countless dollars, they bribe the authorities and create huge trusts. In general, everyone runs the country and thus prevents the overthrow of capitalism.

Thus, the Iron Heel, the so-called plutocracy, the power of the oligarchs, comes to power in the United States. They either eliminate all those who are dissatisfied or turn them into their slaves. On such fertile soil it sprouted revolutionary movement. If the first half of the book is devoted to getting to know Ernest’s ideas and fairly fair and justified criticism, in contrast to Dreiser, of capitalism, then the second half is given entirely to Avis’s story about the revolutionaries, their deeds and the atrocities of the Iron Heel.

Overall, there is nothing outstanding in the story itself. But she is greatly enlivened by Ernest’s performances in front of the public. His criticism of capitalism sometimes even makes one think about the current state of affairs on our glorious planet. In addition, the author describes several atrocities of the Iron Heel and the plight of ordinary workers and revolutionaries, the basis of the socialist system. It was a good story with interesting comments.

Many critics saw in The Iron Heel a prediction of the imminent arrival of fascism. One can argue with this. London looked much further into the future than some of its contemporaries could have imagined. The main idea of the novel is the triumph of utopian socialism, that is, ideal, when all people are brothers and everyone is equal to each other. It is opposed first by capitalism, and then by plutocracy.

London brilliantly revealed all the shortcomings of capitalism and literally predicted the Great Economic Depression of the 30s. As the author correctly noted, people must go through all stages of evolution social order to come to socialism. For example, capitalism has long looked less brutal than before. Thanks to evolution, various worker unions have emerged, and courts have become fairer. True, power still remains with the rich and money rules the show, but thanks to competent PR, all major shortcomings are greatly smoothed out. In Russia, of course, everything is completely different, since capitalism has only just begun its formation, so the novel “The Iron Heel” largely reflects Russian reality, but in a rougher and crueler form.

The author also highlighted the Iron Heel as a completely unnecessary stage of evolution for the development of society. Only in this can one find similarities between fascism and the Iron Heel created by London. Most of all, the power of the Iron Heel is suitable for the future of cyberpunk created by the writers. In essence, the Iron Heel is a united group of powerful corporations that, in terms of strength, power, and money, are ahead of all the states of the planet combined.

Overall, London has shown impressive research into the future of man. He was excellent at identifying and describing in simple language all the shortcomings of capitalism, create a truly terrible and terrible Iron Heel and clearly identify its goals and stages of development. In addition, all this makes you really think and describes the state of affairs in our state very well. And it is not surprising that for his socialist revolutions he chose the first Russian revolution and predicted the second.

As mentioned above, the work is constructed in a rather original way, which allows the author to show two points of view on some events at once. That is, the point of view of Avis, a resident of the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, and Antonia Meredith, a correspondent from the 27th century. Well, depending on what century this book is read in, there is a third point of view, the reader’s own. That is, the author managed to establish a connection with the reader and make him think and reflect, which, for example, is very rare in our time.

The text itself is replete with descriptions of how rich life wealthy US citizens and ordinary workers. Ernest's monologues and polylogues with his participation stand out especially. In which the whole meaning of the work is hidden. In the second part of the novel, London pays more attention to describing the affairs of the revolutionaries and their future.

The text itself is light and not overloaded with abstruse words; the author expresses all his thoughts in a form that anyone can understand. There is quite a bit of dialogue; there are rarely just two people talking here. The only thing missing from the text is the action, as in more early works London, only at the very end there are a couple of episodes in which a couple of active moments occur.

London managed to create an original world for that time and describe it well. If everything is clear about originality, this is the first novel about plutocracy and oligarchs in the history of literature, perhaps it is also one of the first books criticizing capitalism and, moreover, with an excellent vision and prediction of the future of humanity.

London managed to create the world of his work quite convincing, largely thanks to the provision obvious facts and a successful description of the formation of the Iron Heel. The cruelty of the Iron Heel, the misfortunes of the working class, the deplorable state of the US middle class at that time (the main class of the capitalist system) all this was shown in London. In addition, he studied the first Russian socialist revolution in detail and reflected much of it in his work.

London did not pay much attention to the characters, which is also not typical for his work. Only Ernest Everhard received detailed study. This is a strong person both spiritually and physically. Although he comes from the working class, he understands philosophy and economics much better than many scientists. At times his self-confidence can infuriate even the reader.

His wife Evis said almost nothing about herself. We can only learn about her from her actions and Ernest’s rare remarks. She showed herself to be an ardent revolutionary, a good actress, loving wife and a person who can change his point of view if convincing arguments are given to him.

The remaining characters appear only occasionally, their appearance lasting at most two pages. It is almost impossible to see rather weak characters in London, but “The Iron Heel” is, unfortunately, an exception. And weak characters are not an excuse for a dystopia, because Orwell did them beyond all praise.

Despite the weak characters and the usual plot, “The Iron Heel” is one of the strongest books of that time and one of the best dystopias in general. London showed itself from a completely different, unknown side. An excellent book, a true classic, recommended reading for absolutely everyone!

Rating: 9

This book is “Dunno on the Moon”, only for adults. Actually, it quite clearly shows the attitude of big capital not only to employees, but also to small/medium businesses. In our time, when big capital is completely fused with the state, all these “grimaces” manifest themselves in real life, starting with the forced closure of small shops in favor of large ones retail chains. The language of the book is, of course, rather dry and not “artistic”, since it expresses the political position of the author, which should not be retouched artistic techniques. I think it’s good for everyone to read a book once in their life. It is not at all necessary to re-read and put it on some top lists; this book is useful in the same way as books that describe a person’s real relationship with wildlife, including encounters with predators, poisonous snakes, etc.

Rating: 10

“The Iron Heel” is journalism in its purest form. The heroes are practically ethereal. The plot is interesting when it concerns global events. Dialogues - The dialogues are similar to the editorials of old newspapers. What could be interesting about journalism from a hundred years ago? First of all, a political and social forecast. Let's talk about the forecast.

“The Iron Heel” was published in 1908. Its forecast for the next 15-20 years is a deep crisis, workers’ revolutions in France and Germany, brutal suppression of farmers’ and workers’ protests in the USA, the establishment of an oligarchic regime, an attempt at revolution with outside support, the destruction of workers’ republics in Europe and the final victory of the international oligarchy with the impoverishment and degradation of 90% of the population. The real trends in the history of the 20th century are the strengthening, at least formally, of democracy (in fact, communism and even fascism are also children of democracy), the reduction of social barriers, fairly stable economic growth, and an increase in the social status and standard of living of 90% of the population. Everything is exactly the opposite. But the end result is the same international oligarchy. Only Jack London's oligarchs are cruel, intelligent and cynical people capable of ensuring the three-hundred-year rule of their caste. Today's oligarchs are much softer, more humane, and, no, not stupider, but more limited. Life under their rule is much easier than under the rule of the Iron Heel, but they can destroy civilization much faster.

The oligarchs are opposed by socialists, fighters for the cause of the people. Who are their people? Farmers and other small owners are slag, doomed to destruction even before the victory of the oligarchy. People of intellectual and organizational labor are servants of the oligarchs, everything is clear with them. Unskilled workers are drunken rabble. They can be driven to death in hundreds of thousands in order to divert the attention of the soldiers from the real revolutionaries. Skilled workers again sold themselves to their owners. In the future, entire cities will have to be blown up in order to deprive the oligarchy of its mass base. It turns out that the working class are professional revolutionaries. After victory, they will form a new oligarchy, formed on the basis not of wealth, but of ideological purity.

In fact, socialists of this type were rare even in the days of Jack London. Even the Bolsheviks are a completely different story. Most of all, these people resemble our Social Revolutionaries of a hundred years ago. And the methods are the same, and the organizational structure, and the same ability to ruin any business they take on. Also interesting is Evis’s own remark that Nietzsche would recognize his blond beast in Everhard. Since then, they managed to forget both the beast and the Socialist-Revolutionaries. But a hundred years later, such fighters against the system began to multiply all over the world at an alarming rate. True, now these beasts are not blond, and their gaze is turned to the past, and not to the future, but this makes it easier for anyone.

Rating: 5

PS It seems that the respected author had too high an opinion of the oligarchs. He believed that the Iron Heel would patronize the arts and artists would be able to create something amazing. If only it were so! Well, relatively recently, many in our country argued that with the development big business new Morozovs and Ryabushinskys will appear in countless numbers.

"Iron heel", work of art, in which London’s socialist views were most clearly manifested, is not included in the list of the writer’s “top” works. The name of London is more likely to be associated with “ White Fang", "Call of the Wild", "Northern Stories". This novel by London opens up new facets in the figure of the author. London was not only the creator of popular adventure literature for young people, but also a convinced socialist, freedom fighter, and harsh social critic.

However, not all of his contemporaries perceived the novel in this vein, and there were certain reasons for this.

Novel in creative writing

"Iron Heel", like another pretty famous novel London "Martin Eden" turned out to be misunderstood by most readers. The consistent debunking of the myth of the “self-made man,” which was the ideological basis of Martin Eden, was perceived by the reader as a celebration of human potential. But the Iron Heel was less fortunate - London's colleagues in the Socialist Party condemned the novel, calling it a work that repels new potential members rather than attracts them.

And most publications involved in the distribution of “adventure fiction” in London simply ignored the appearance of the novel.

In our opinion, the reasons for the relative failure of the novel, which, without a doubt, was conceived not only as a contribution to the utopian genre, but also as a way to “promote socialist ideas to the masses,” partly lie in the genre heterogeneity of the work.

The duality of the novel

The text of the novel is divided into two main parts. One is a kind of historical document, the diary of the protagonist's wife. The events reflected in the diary of Avis Everhart date back to 1912 - 1932.

In essence, the events described represent the story of a failed uprising against an economic oligarchy, organized by a group revolutionaries led by the main character, Ernest Evergart. And it is precisely this part, replete with gloomy descriptions of the social hell into which the working class was sinking deeper and deeper through the efforts of capitalists, that forms the so-called “dystopian” component of the work. But the novel also has a second utopian layer, represented by the comments of the historian Anthony Meredith, who lives in the 27th century, in the era of emerging socialism.

Both ideological layers of the novel interact with each other, ideologically complementing each other, which significantly deepens ideological basis works.

Brief theoretical background on the genre

Dividing the novel into two parts, utopian and dystopian, is a convention. In fact, utopia and dystopia are almost impossible to separate from each other; they are variants of the same genre and represent literary embodiments of different theories about social development.

The metaphor of utopia is aimed at the future and serves rather a propaganda function in relation to the reader. As classic style utopian novel The late 19th century can be called the bestseller of that time “Looking Back: 2000-1887” by E. Bellamy.

Specifics of the Anglo-American literary situation at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. was that dystopia during this period, in contrast to the progressive genre of utopia, tended towards conservatism. It embodied public concern about the future, which was guessed from current social processes. The dystopian was afraid of all sorts of risks that could accompany the change and development of society. The dystopia of that time was a kind of defense mechanism against potential changes in public environment.

Dystopia at that time was a kind of defense mechanism against potential changes in the social environment. This goal was achieved through the creation of satires on contemporary social movements, as well as on previous utopian works.

This goal was achieved through the creation of satires on contemporary social movements, as well as on previous utopian works. The most popular dystopias of that time include the following works: “Caesar’s Column. History of the 20th century” by I. Donnelly; “The Time Machine” and “When the Sleeper Awakens” by H. Wells.

At the end of the 19th century it became clear that utopia was an adequate literary way of expressing socialist ideas. The point is that in its own way genre definition utopia was intended to describe an “ideal society,” the end of human history, the end point of social progress. For its part, socialism was a designation of the same ideal state human society devoid of any shortcomings. This correspondence of form and content was found in the time period indicated above.

Therefore, London’s very idea of creating a socialist utopia based on modern material with some propaganda task looked quite organic and fit into the framework of the earlier literary tradition. As a consequence, and within the framework of this article, we will have to touch upon the socialist views of London and trace their reflection in the novel.

The dystopian (dystopian) component of The Iron Heel

The “Iron Heel” was created directly under the impression of unsuccessful revolutionary events 1905 in Russia. According to London's daughter, Joan, the defeat that the Russian revolutionaries suffered in 1905 in London's eyes did not weaken the idea of the reality of the revolution, but only convinced him that it was necessary to act in a violent way rather than diplomatically.

Descriptions of the terrible life of workers, whom society made like wild, dirty animals,

dull from constant unbearably hard work and hunger, were unpleasant modern readers London is predominantly middle class. The most terrible thing for them in the descriptions of the life of the workers was that the element of fiction was very insignificant. As an example of the power of the influence of descriptions of London, we can cite an excerpt from an argument between the protagonist and his future wife, who at that time did not think about the social situation in society:

“As far as I know, you or your father, which is the same thing, are shareholders of the Sierra Company.”

- What does this have to do with our dispute? - I was indignant.

- Absolutely none, except for the fact that the dress you are wearing is spattered with blood. The food you eat is flavored with blood. The blood of little children and strong men flows down from this ceiling. As soon as I close my eyes, I can clearly hear how it fills everything around me, drop by drop.

Readers had to deal not with an abstract description of the industrial horrors of the distant future, but with reality, only lightly veiled under literary fiction. For example, it is believed that the events of the final episodes of the novel (the description of the defeat of the uprising organized by Ernest, his arrest and the death of many of his comrades) were directly inspired by real events. Namely, in 1886, a whole series of strikes took place in the United States, starting with the Haymarket uprising in Chicago. During this uprising, a bomb exploded in the ranks of the police, called to pacify the protesters. The leaders of the uprising were sentenced to death penalty, a few years later their innocence was proven, and the explosion was considered a provocation undertaken against the dissatisfied.

The descriptions of the "social abyss" in The Iron Heel are supported by explanations of the reasons for the creation of such plight of the working class. These explanations are given through the mouth of the main character, Ernest Evergart, to whom Jack London “gave” almost all of his ideas expressed in his journalistic essays (“Revolution and Other Essays”; “War of the Classes”).

It is worth noting that the utopia genre, as a rule, presupposes the presence of a stranger character who finds himself in a new world for him (the structure of the world can be given with a plus sign - utopia, or with a minus sign - dystopia), as well as the presence a character belonging to this world whose role is to provide explanations to the alien protagonist. Unusual feature novel in this context will be that the stranger is not himself main character, but the narrator, and the new world for her will not be another country or universe, but another social class. The role of the explanatory character was given to the main character, Ernest Evergart.

As an argument for the urgent need for social reforms, Jack London uses modern sociological theories (social Darwinism, Marxism, etc.) and statistical data. However, to create images of revolutionaries, London uses a kind of “anti-scientific technique”, attracting cultural tradition, namely, Christian symbolism. The novel contains a gallery of idealized images of revolutionaries, who are elevated to the rank of saints and martyrs of the revolution, and the revolution itself is identified with the altar of freedom. Ernest is compared to Christ, the crucified herald of truth. Against this background final scenes novel - pictures of the suppression of a spontaneous uprising provoked by the authorities in Chicago, acquire apocalyptic significance: a colossal massacre is depicted, disgusting portraits are given of the “inhabitants of the abyss”, the proletariat, which, ideally, should have become driving force revolution.

Thus, taking the reader through terrible pictures of social reality, equipped with popular scientific sociological explanations, London paints, in truth, a colossal picture of the defeat of the uprising, the life’s work of the protagonist.

The novel contains a gallery of idealized images of revolutionaries, who are elevated to the rank of saints and martyrs of the revolution, and the revolution itself is identified with the altar of freedom.

Utopian component

Gloomy, oppressive descriptions of the social ills of the working class and the unbearably difficult and bloody ending of the novel are to some extent balanced by the presence of a utopian component of the work. As mentioned earlier, to create the utopian layer of the novel, London introduced the figure of the historian Anthony Merredith.

His comments are divided into several groups: comments on the chronology of the “manuscript” and a description of the perspective historical events, given from the perspective of the science of the “Era of Universal Brotherhood”; comments regarding certain realities of the historical time described in the novel (data from the point of view of a person of the 27th century); finally, a not very large group of comments are those that relate to the position of the narrator.

This layer of text practically does not give the reader any idea of life in the 27th century, it only states. And his arrival and the events described in the manuscript are separated by another seven centuries of revolutionary struggle. Not much can be extracted from the commentator’s notes: the society of the 27th century has overcome almost all the shortcomings of modern society, having gotten rid of not only social vices, but also from base aspirations imposed by the capitalist structure of the economy. Meredith has a lot of modern realities in the novel it seems wild and barbaric. And base human aspirations, which played a prominent role in the 20th century, were preserved only as echoes of distant, outdated instincts, briefly manifested in the behavior of small children of the 27th century.

Most likely, this arrangement of emphasis in the work was also due to the fact that the writer himself was more interested in the ways of coming to socialism, and not in the structural structure of society after his arrival. In this spirit, the already mentioned utopia of E. Bellamy “Looking Back: 2000-1887” was created. Knowing the enormous popularity of this work among contemporaries, it is very difficult to imagine that Jack London himself was not familiar with this book.

After reading the article, you, like many of London’s contemporaries, might be left with a feeling of bewilderment. Why, being a convinced socialist who advocated the strict necessity of social reforms, offer the reader such controversial romance? The gloomy episodes of “The Iron Heel” could well outweigh the optimistic fact of stating the advent of socialism in the eyes of the reading public.

It is extremely difficult to answer this question, or try to somehow justify the genre duality of the novel. Perhaps Jack London, like his hero, foresaw what a colossal amount of time would have to pass in intense revolutionary work and propaganda (for example, another 7 centuries) for people to finally come to a rational structure of society. But at the same time, he understood that few of the starving workers, but even from the circles of idealistic revolutionaries, would agree to sacrifice their strength and lives for the sake of a vague result, which even the grandchildren of the modern generation would not be able to enjoy.

The author, however, does not allow his doubts to unfold in full force, he seems to be making concessions to himself and, in the end, still wins a happy ending for all humanity. In support of this point of view, we can cite a fragment from a letter to Claudsley Jones (one of the first devoted readers and admirers of London with whom he began to correspond) dated 1900: “I would like to live under socialism, although I realize that socialism does not is the next step; I know that capitalism must first have its day.

First the world must be squeezed to the limit, first there must be a life-and-death struggle between nations, more cruel, more intense and more widespread than before. I would prefer to wake up tomorrow in a socialist state where life flows calmly and smoothly; but I won't wake up; I know that a child must overcome all his childhood illnesses in order to become a man...” ■

Alina Zakharova

Buy a book Comments

r31415926 this is volume 10 Full meeting essays

Alexkurt wrote:

They say that sooner or later the truth always comes out. I kind of doubt it. Nineteen years have passed now, and despite all our efforts, we have not been able to discover who threw the bomb.

Another 3 years have passed, and Kurginyan names the names of the “bombed heroes”

goka

OrthodoxLex wrote:

50076830The book is not complete, unfortunately. The preface, which explains a lot, was not voiced....

Quote:

Let this serve as a warning to those rash politicians who talk so confidently about social processes. ( from the preface)

Practice shows that recipes are selected more quickly.

hidden text

PREFACE
The notes of Avis Evergard cannot be considered a reliable historical document. The historian will find many errors in them, if not in the transmission of facts, then in their interpretation. Seven hundred years have passed, and the events of that time and their interconnection - everything that was still difficult for the author of these memoirs to understand - is no longer a mystery to us. Avis Everhard did not have the necessary historical perspective. What she wrote about concerned her too closely. Moreover, she was in the thick of the events described.
And yet, as a human document, the Everhard Manuscript is of great interest to us, although even here the matter is not without one-sided judgments and assessments born of the passion of love. We pass these misconceptions with a smile and forgive Avis Everhard the enthusiasm with which she speaks about her husband. We now know that he was not such a gigantic figure and did not play such an exceptional role in the events of that time, as the author of the memoirs claims.
Ernest Everhard was an outstanding man, but still not to the extent that his wife believed. He belonged to a large army of heroes who selflessly served the cause of the world revolution. True, Everhard had his own special merits in developing the philosophy of the working class and its propaganda. He called it “proletarian science”, “proletarian philosophy”, showing a certain narrowness of views, which at that time could not be avoided.
But let's return to the memoirs. Their greatest merit is that they resurrect for us the atmosphere of that terrible era. Nowhere will we find such a vivid depiction of the psychology of people who lived in the turbulent twenty years of 1912 - 1932, their limitations and blindness, their fears and doubts, their moral errors, their violent passions and unclean thoughts, their monstrous selfishness. It is difficult for us, in our reasonable age, to understand this. History claims that this was so, and biology and psychology explain to us why. But neither history, nor biology, nor psychology can resurrect this world for us. We admit its existence in the past, but it remains alien to us, we do not understand it.
This understanding arises in us when reading the Everhard Manuscript. We seem to merge with the characters in this world drama, living through their thoughts and feelings. And we not only understand the love of Avis Evergard for her heroic companion - we feel, together with Evergard himself, the threat of the oligarchy, a terrible shadow hanging over the world. We see how the power of the Iron Heel (isn't it a good name!) is advancing on humanity, threatening to crush it.
By the way, we learn that the creator of the term “Iron Heel”, which has become established in literature, was Ernest Everhard - an interesting discovery that sheds light on an issue that has long remained controversial. The name “Iron Heel” was believed to have first appeared in the pamphlet “You Are Slaves!” by the little-known journalist George Milford, published in December 1912. No other information about George Milford has reached us, and only the Everhard Manuscript briefly mentions that he died during the Chicago Massacre. In all likelihood, Milford heard this expression from the lips of Ernest Everhard - most likely during one of the latter's election campaign speeches in the fall of 1912. Everhard himself, as the manuscript tells us, first used it at a dinner with a private person back in the spring of 1912. This date should be recognized as the original one.
For the historian and philosopher, the victory of the oligarchy will forever remain an insoluble mystery. The alternation of historical eras is determined by the laws of social evolution. These eras were historically inevitable. Their arrival could be predicted with the same certainty with which an astronomer calculates the movements of the stars. These are legitimate stages of evolution. Primitive communism, slave society, serfdom and wage labor were necessary stages of social development. But it would be ridiculous to say that the dominance of the Iron Heel was an equally necessary step. We are now inclined to consider this period an accidental deviation or retreat to the cruel times of tyrannical social autocracy, which at the dawn of history was as natural as the triumph of the Iron Heel subsequently became illegal.
Feudalism left a bad memory, but this system was historically necessary. After the collapse of such a powerful centralized state as the Roman Empire, the onset of the era of feudalism was inevitable. But the same cannot be said about the Iron Heel. There is no place for it in the natural course of social evolution. Her rise to power was not historically justified or necessary. It will forever remain in history as a monstrous anomaly, a historical curiosity, an accident, an obsession, something unexpected and unthinkable. Let this serve as a warning to those rash politicians who talk so confidently about social processes.
Capitalism was considered by sociologists of those times to be the culmination of the bourgeois state, the ripened fruit of the bourgeois revolution, and in our time we can only join this definition. After capitalism, socialism was supposed to come; This was stated even by such outstanding representatives of the hostile camp as Herbert Spencer. They expected that from the ruins of selfish capitalism, a flower nurtured over centuries would grow - the brotherhood of man. But instead, to our surprise and horror, and even more so to the surprise and horror of the contemporaries of these events, capitalism, ripe for collapse, gave rise to another monstrous escape - oligarchy.
The socialists of the early twentieth century discovered the coming of the oligarchy too late. When they realized it, the oligarchy was already there - as a fact, imprinted in blood, as a cruel, nightmarish reality. But at that time, according to the Everhard Manuscript, no one believed in the durability of the Iron Heel. The revolutionaries believed that overthrowing it would take several years. They understood that the Peasant Revolt arose contrary to their plans, and the First broke out prematurely. But no one expected that the Second Uprising, well prepared and fully matured, was doomed to the same failure and even more brutal defeat.
Obviously, Avis Evergard wrote her notes in the days preceding the Second Uprising, there is not a word in them about its ill-fated outcome. No doubt she also hoped to publish them immediately after the overthrow of the Iron Heel in order to pay tribute to the memory of her deceased husband. But then disaster struck, and, preparing to flee or in anticipation of arrest, she hid the notes in the hollow of an old oak tree at Wake Robinlodge.
The further fate of Avis Evergard is unknown. In all likelihood, she was executed by mercenaries, and during the Iron Heel, no one kept records of the victims of numerous executions. One thing is certain: hiding the manuscript in a hiding place and preparing to escape, Avis Evergard did not suspect what a terrible defeat the Second Uprising suffered. She could not foresee that the tortuous and difficult path of social development would require, in the next three hundred years, the Third and Fourth uprisings and many other revolutions, drowned in a sea of blood, until the labor movement finally won victory throughout the world. It never occurred to her that her notes, a tribute to her love for Ernest Everhard, would lie for seven long centuries in the hollow of an ancient oak tree in Wake Robinlodge, undisturbed by anyone's hand.
Anton Mereditnote 1
Ardis. November 27, 419 of the Brotherhood of Man era.
Earth Theater! We feel shame and grief -
Pictures of familiar carousels...
But be patient, you'll find out soon
Crazy Drama meaning and purpose!

PS
PREFACE 001 - Chapter01 - 00.mp3 ( Rubber Heel / January 12 / Jack London is Born (1876))
I highly recommend it.

And yet, as a human document, the Everhard Manuscript is of great interest to us, although even here the matter is not without one-sided judgments and assessments born of the passion of love. We pass these misconceptions with a smile and forgive Avis Everhard the enthusiasm with which she speaks about her husband. We now know that he was not such a gigantic figure and did not play such an exceptional role in the events of that time, as the author of the memoirs claims.

Ernest Everhard was an outstanding man, but still not to the extent that his wife believed. He belonged to a large army of heroes who selflessly served the cause of the world revolution. True, Everhard had his own special merits in developing the philosophy of the working class and its propaganda. He called it “proletarian science”, “proletarian philosophy”, showing a certain narrowness of views, which at that time could not be avoided.

But let's return to the memoirs. Their greatest merit is that they resurrect for us the atmosphere of that terrible era. Nowhere will we find such a vivid depiction of the psychology of people who lived in the turbulent twenty years of 1912 - 1932, their limitations and blindness, their fears and doubts, their moral errors, their violent passions and unclean thoughts, their monstrous selfishness. It is difficult for us, in our reasonable age, to understand this. History claims that this was so, and biology and psychology explain to us why. But neither history, nor biology, nor psychology can resurrect this world for us. We admit its existence in the past, but it remains alien to us, we do not understand it.

This understanding arises in us when reading the Everhard Manuscript. We seem to merge with the characters in this world drama, living through their thoughts and feelings. And we not only understand the love of Avis Evergard for her heroic companion - we feel, together with Evergard himself, the threat of the oligarchy, a terrible shadow hanging over the world. We see how the power of the Iron Heel (isn't it a good name!) is advancing on humanity, threatening to crush it.

By the way, we learn that the creator of the term “Iron Heel”, which has become established in literature, was Ernest Everhard - an interesting discovery that sheds light on an issue that has long remained controversial. The name “Iron Heel” was believed to have first appeared in the pamphlet “You Are Slaves!” by the little-known journalist George Milford, published in December 1912. No other information about George Milford has reached us, and only the Everhard Manuscript briefly mentions that he died during the Chicago Massacre. In all likelihood, Milford heard this expression from the lips of Ernest Everhard - most likely during one of the latter's election campaign speeches in the fall of 1912. Everhard himself, as the manuscript tells us, first used it at a dinner with a private person back in the spring of 1912. This date should be recognized as the original one.

For the historian and philosopher, the victory of the oligarchy will forever remain an insoluble mystery. The alternation of historical eras is determined by the laws of social evolution. These eras were historically inevitable. Their arrival could be predicted with the same certainty with which an astronomer calculates the movements of the stars. These are legitimate stages of evolution. Primitive communism, slave society, serfdom and wage labor were necessary stages of social development. But it would be ridiculous to say that the dominance of the Iron Heel was an equally necessary step. We are now inclined to consider this period an accidental deviation or retreat to the cruel times of tyrannical social autocracy, which at the dawn of history was as natural as the triumph of the Iron Heel subsequently became illegal.

Feudalism left a bad memory, but this system was historically necessary. After the collapse of such a powerful centralized state as the Roman Empire, the onset of the era of feudalism was inevitable. But the same cannot be said about the Iron Heel. There is no place for it in the natural course of social evolution. Her rise to power was not historically justified or necessary. It will forever remain in history as a monstrous anomaly, a historical curiosity, an accident, an obsession, something unexpected and unthinkable. Let this serve as a warning to those rash politicians who talk so confidently about social processes.

Capitalism was considered by sociologists of those times to be the culmination of the bourgeois state, the ripened fruit of the bourgeois revolution, and in our time we can only join this definition. After capitalism, socialism was supposed to come; This was stated even by such outstanding representatives of the hostile camp as Herbert Spencer. They expected that from the ruins of selfish capitalism, a flower nurtured over centuries would grow - the brotherhood of man. But instead, to our surprise and horror, and even more so to the surprise and horror of the contemporaries of these events, capitalism, ripe for collapse, gave rise to another monstrous escape - oligarchy.

The socialists of the early twentieth century discovered the coming of the oligarchy too late. When they realized it, the oligarchy was already there - as a fact, imprinted in blood, as a cruel, nightmarish reality. But at that time, according to the Everhard Manuscript, no one believed in the durability of the Iron Heel. The revolutionaries believed that overthrowing it would take several years. They understood that the Peasant Revolt arose contrary to their plans, and the First broke out prematurely. But no one expected that the Second Uprising, well prepared and fully matured, was doomed to the same failure and even more brutal defeat.

Obviously, Avis Evergard wrote her notes in the days preceding the Second Uprising, there is not a word in them about its ill-fated outcome. No doubt she also hoped to publish them immediately after the overthrow of the Iron Heel in order to pay tribute to the memory of her deceased husband. But then disaster struck, and, preparing to flee or in anticipation of arrest, she hid the notes in the hollow of an old oak tree at Wake Robinlodge.

The further fate of Avis Evergard is unknown. In all likelihood, she was executed by mercenaries, and during the Iron Heel, no one kept records of the victims of numerous executions. One thing is certain: hiding the manuscript in a hiding place and preparing to escape, Avis Evergard did not suspect what a terrible defeat the Second Uprising suffered. She could not foresee that the tortuous and difficult path of social development would require, in the next three hundred years, the Third and Fourth uprisings and many other revolutions, drowned in a sea of blood, until the labor movement finally won victory throughout the world. It never occurred to her that her notes, a tribute to her love for Ernest Everhard, would lie for seven long centuries in the hollow of an ancient oak tree in Wake Robinlodge, undisturbed by anyone's hand.

Earth Theater! We feel shame and grief -

Pictures of familiar carousels...

But be patient, you'll find out soon

Crazy Drama meaning and purpose!

CHAPTER ONE. MY EAGLE