SOURCE: "The Natural History Controversy Between Theodore Roosevelt and Jack London…," in Jack London Newsletter, Vol. 14, No. 2, May-Aug., 1981, pp. 80-2.

In the following essay, Gershenowitz defends the authority of Jack London as a naturalist with respect to Roosevelt's criticism of him as a "Nature-Faker."

The controversy between President Theodore Roosevelt and Jack London concerning animal strength and ability to survive in battle has not been resolved. It is possible that the disputation was fueled by the decreasing popularity of President Roosevelt's writings dealing with his wild-life adventures and the mounting interest in London's stories of the land in the north.

Both the President and London were advocators of biological and social Darwinism. In spite of London's humanitarian philosophy and Utopian dreams, he still believed in the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest. These basic biological principles of animal behavior and development appeared in many of...