The Star Rover

Condemned to die in San Quentin, Professor Darrell Standing endures the brutal 'jacket'—a straitjacket torture that drives most men mad. But Standing discovers an extraordinary escape: by willing his spirit free, he travels across centuries and continents, living the lives of his past selves. He is a French nobleman on a doomed Crusade, a shipwrecked sailor on a Pacific island, a boy on the American frontier, a Mongolian hunter on the steppes, and many more. Each life teaches him something about courage, love, and the eternal nature of the soul. Yet the present keeps pulling him back—to the cold cell, the guards, and the gallows. Can a man who has glimpsed infinity still face his own death? This faithful retelling brings Jack London's visionary tale into vivid, present-day English, preserving its power and wonder. Part of Timeless Classics.