Book Mole: The Iron Heel

Frann Michel reviews Jack London's 1908 novel, The Iron Heel (available online for download and through the Multnomah County Library). One of London's most socialist novels, it tells the story of how a failed revolution in the US leads to the centuries long reign of a fascistic oligarchy known as The Iron Heel. Ultimately the socialists prevail and the story is told from that glorious future. Frann credits London's perceptiveness in characterizing the direction capitalism would take society while also noting what his vision lacks (a gender or racial analysis).