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The Call of the Wild is Jack London's most widely read novel, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Buck. The story opens at a ranch in Santa Clara Valley, California, when Buck is stolen from his home and sold into service as a sled dog in Alaska. He becomes progressively more primitive and wild in the harsh environment, where he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs. By the end, he sheds the veneer of civilization, and relies on primordial instinct and learned experience to emerge as a leader in the wild.
About the author
Jack London was a social activist, war correspondent, and the highest paid novelist of his day. His early poverty, love for animals, and travel adventures are all reflected in his twenty-three novels and hundreds of short stories, poems, and essays. In addition to The Call of the Wild, he is best known for his novels White Fang and The Sea Wolf and short stories like "To Build a Fire."
