Jack London

The Call of the Wild Jack London

Publisher Marketing: The Call of the Wild is a novel by American author Jack London published in 1903. The story is set in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush-a period when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The novel's central character is a dog named Buck, a domesticated dog living at a ranch in California as the story opens. Stolen from his home and sold into the brutal existence of an Alaskan sled dog, he reverts to atavistic traits. Buck is forced to adjust to, and survive, cruel treatments, fight to dominate other dogs in a harsh climate. Eventually he sheds the veneer of civilization, relying on primordial instincts through lessons he learns, to emerge as a leader in the wild. London lived for most of a year in the Yukon and gained from that experience material for the book. The story was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in the summer of 1903; a month later it was released in book form. The novel's great popularity and success made a reputation for London. Much of its appeal derives from the simplicity with which London presents the themes in an almost mythical form. As early as 1908 the story was adapted to film, and it has seen several more cinematic adaptations since that time. Review Citations: School Library Journal 02/01/2014 pg. 58 (EAN 9781629230306, Compact Disc) Contributor Bio:  London, Jack Jack London was an American author, journalist, and adventurer. London's early careers as sailor, fisherman, and prospector provided inspiration for his later writing, and it was only when he returned from the Klondike that London decided to focus on social activism and journalism. He soon became a popular magazine columnist and author, and a prolific commercial writer, penning over two dozen novels, and numerous short stories and poems. His most famous works include The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, and the short stories "To Build a Fire," and "An Oddyssey of the North." London died in 1916.