The Call of the Wild and Selected Stories

by Jack London, Tobey Hiller (Afterword), Alex Kershaw (Introduction)

Inspired by the rugged landscape of the wild Northwest frontier, Jack London's immortal "The Call of the Wild" has captivated readers of all ages with its unique perspective - a narrative from the viewpoint of a sled dog named Buck - and its theme of man's instinctive return to primitive behavior when pitted against the brute force of nature. Based on London's own adventures in the Great White North.

Includes:

- The Call of the Wild
- Diable -- A Dog
- An Odyssey of The North
- To The Man On Trail
- To Build A Fire
- Love of Life

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Animals, Literature, Adventure, Survival

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

About the author

John Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.

London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.

His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".

Reviews

[Franchescanado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal and poignant. I am endlessly fascinated by humanity's interest in exploring and surviving harsh environments.

[Izzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

2.75 ⭐️⭐️🌟

So far my American lit reading list is going off on a terrible start 🫤
It was a nice story but also was pretty sad overall and the amount of times I wanted to get back at the people who mistreated Buck 😡😤
Hopefully the future books will be better but as for now I shall sit here and wait…






*still waiting*

🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this because I wanted to read Christophe Chabouté's new graphic novel adaptation, Jack London's To Build a Fire. As a bonus, while I have read and watched several adaptations of The Call of the Wild, I have never read the original story. Finally, it is so slim, I figured I could knock it out in a couple days.

But I did not realize how dense London's prose is, how dull it can get. At times I trudged through it like one of his many prospectors through waist-deep snow. But while they may be overwritten and overwrought, there are some pretty good stories here about man's struggle against nature and his fellow man during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Huge caveat 1: As a product of its time, this book has many racist elements. I was startled to see the N-word used casually a couple times in the name of some bush that grows in the region. Indigenous people are simply villains.

Huge caveat 2: Animal abuse is also rampant in most of the stories.

For having such a reputation as an adventure tale, Call of the Wild was a bit tamer than I expected. But I couldn't keep a dry eye when Buck was hitched to that half-ton sled of flour.

"Diable - A Dog" was a rather fascinating tale of a man and dog caught in a spiral of mutual assured destruction. More like a Stephen King story than what I would have associated with London.

"An Odyssey of the North" and "To the Man on Trail" were detached tales told with framing sequences featuring a recurring character named Malamute Kid who doesn't seem to actually do much himself.

"To Build a Fire" justly earns its reputation as a classic short story. "Love of Life" falls flat as pale retread of "To Build a Fire."

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this selection of Jack London’s writings. I realized while reading this book that I read “To Build a Fire” back in middle school English class. It felt like my first exposure to his writing up until then, though. I thought many of these stories were pleasantly surprising. I didn’t expect them to go where they did. I was amazed that he could write a whole story just about a non-anthropomorphic dog and have it be so engaging. His painting of the far North is vivid and creates a livable atmosphere. Also, I think that his tales of survival are so intense, they feel like very real horror stories of impending, uncaring death by a hostile nature and environment. Beautiful.

[Enrique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magnificent and relentless. This book is comprised of Six stories set in the Yukon Territory at the end of the 19th Century. Most deal with man against nature and the resulting reversion into animalistic instinct. It was merciless in its plot and almost flawless in its execution. ps. This is definitely not for 🐕 lovers

[Virginia Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since there are several stories I think the best way to review this is to do each story individually as I finish them.

Call of the Wild (finished 10/20/20): I've wanted to read this after watching the movie (which I loved btw) And I was hoping the book would be just as good as the movie. Spoiler- the book is better! Buck was portrayed much more savage and deadly in the book and I think that's more realistic. My heart went out to poor Dave. The parts where Buck saw visions of the past were very interesting. Great somber ending! Overall I'm very glad I read it.

To Build a Fire (finished 10/21/20): For a short story the plot really held my interest and I ended up finishing it in one night. The bitter cold was so vividly described that I truly felt bad for the main character...even if it was of his own doing. So far this is one of my favorites.

An Odyssey of the North (finished 10/26/20): Half way through I considered skipping but with less than 10 pages left, I plowed through. The opening paragraph, vividly describing the endless bitter cold and the steady run of the sled, gave me hope that this was gonna be good. But it turned out to be a confusing mess that jumped here and there. New characters were introduced without much notice and it wasn't until the end that things started to make sense. I guarantee that if I were to reread this with the knowledge I now have, it would be an easier read. BUT... I have other things to read and time is short. Unto the next story! :)

Lost Face (finished 10/28/20): Another great short story! Finished in one night. This one and To Build a Fire are my favorites so far. It was easy to become engrossed in the character's sol desire to die without humiliation of torture and for a while, I was hoping that by some miracle his scheme would work.

A Piece of Steak (finished 10/30/20): This one was depressing. Plain and simple. I really felt for the poor guy. All he wanted was a lousy piece of steak. That, and to pay his debts and feed his family. Oddly enough, this story didn't take place in the desolate and freezing Alaskan wilderness, but in...Australia? Odd but still a great story.

The Law of Life (finished 11/3/20): Yet another depressing story about youth vs old age and old age= death and so forth. Yikes. Jack London doesn't sugar-coat or shy away when it comes writing tragic events. In fact, I think he lived for writing such emotional and despairing stories.

To the Man on Trail (finished 11/3/20): We revisited some familiar characters which was kinda neat. It was an okay read but not one of my favorites. my favorite part was the toast that the Malemute Kid gave: A health to the man on trail this night; may his grub hold out; may his dogs keep their legs; may his matches never miss fire.

The Wit of Porportuk (finished 11/3/20): I don't care if the man did buy her fair and square, Porportuk is a jerk. And just when I thought he was going to do something nice, he had to go and pull a stunt like that. Not sure whether I liked this one or not.

Love of Life (finished 11/3/20): More grime deaths. It was basically an icy version of Gollum's backstory. From sane adventurer to eating raw fish. Yup.

The Pearls of Parlay (finished 11/3/20): Despite all the excitement with the hurricane, I had trouble focusing and almost DNF.

Overall, I'm very glad I read this but once is enough for me. :)

[Ryan Traylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

For literature that was written over a century ago, this collection of some of Frost's writing of the Far North was surprisingly easy to read and impactful. Frost simultaneously captured the beauty and brutality of true wilderness

In order from most liked:

1. Call of the Wild
2. Love of Life
3. To Build a Fire
4. An Odyssey of the North
5. To the Man on the Trail
6. Diable

[Avery Engelstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

i kind of hated call of the wild. the other stories in the book though were alright

[literary appreciator Joe 🌲 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Call of the Wild itself was excellent, very good, quintessential classic Alaskana, incredible main character dog gotta love that. When he pulls the heavy ass sled? Hell yeah man that shit was tight I haven’t been that hyped reading a book in a minute. Reading that made me want a dog so fuckin bad

The other collected short stories in this copy were hit or miss, but old school Alaskan tales are fun nonetheless

[Ken R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read is The Call Of The Wild, by Jack London. This book is about a dog named Buck who gets taken away by Manuel, one of the garden helpers. Manuel took buck away to sell him as a sled dog, which were in high demand during the Klondike, which is the setting of the story. He stayed on a train for two days without food or water before getting shipped by van to a man known as the man in the red sweater. Buck tried to attack him and was beaten. Buck was soon bought by two French-Canadians named Perrault and François and became part of a sled-dog team. The team was like a pack of wild animals, where Buck started at the lowest position on the team. Over time, Buck rose up to the leader of the team after killing Spitz, another dog who used to be the head of the team. Then, Buck was then traded over to another team. The owners, Hal, Charles, and Mercedes, did not work well together and didn’t know how to properly run a sled dog team. They ran out of food and soon, Buck was rescued by a man named John Thornton. The two grew close together and Buck would never leave John Thornton’s side. Soon, Buck began to leave and go into the woods. One day in his visit, he met a wolf and followed him for a while, until Buck remembered about his owner. He headed back to find that John Thornton was dead. Buck took his revenge out on the Indians that had killed Jon Thornton and lived with the wolf pack that the wolf that he met earlier belonged to.

I liked the book a lot. It was well written and the story was very easy to follow. Although, there were a lot of words that hadn’t seen and didn’t know their definitions. The descriptions of characters and the events were clear and you could really understand each character and why they acted how they did. Also, even though it was a short book, it felt complete and that it wasn’t missing anything. Anyone who enjoys a good adventure story full of action and a good flowing story should read this book.

I would give this book a 4 out of 5. I would rate this book the way I did because it was a really good book overall but, some of the words were hard to understand and sometimes, the events didn’t make sense at first, but, it would make sense when you read on. I really liked the story and how the author executed the plot.

[Kunal]

The book, “Call of the Wild” by Jack London is about a dog, Buck who was taken from his house in San Diego by a gardener. The gardener sold Buck to a man, who sold Buck to other men, and eventually ended up with Francois and Perrault. Over time, Buck went through a different owners as a sled dog, and pulled sleds until he found an owner that he really loved, John Thornton. Eventually, as Buck becomes a wild dog as his ancestors from long ago, John Thornton is killed by Indians, and Buck kills them. After this, he loses his last connection to civilization and finally joins the wild.
This book is about Buck’s call to the wild and how this affects him and progresses throughout the whole book until he finally joins the wolves. This book tries to tell us what civilization is, and what the primitive ways are, and that the primitive ways hold us more than civilization. We want Buck to do good in times when he fights Spitz, or save John’s life, but we also want him to join the wild where he truly belongs, no matter how much he loves John Thornton. Buck even understands that he has died, yet even with his immense love, he does not mourn, but go back out into the wild looking for what he really wanted in the end, being a wild dog. In the beginning a little bit, and a lot towards the middle, there is no detail to what is happening, just describing what is happening, which makes the book kind of boring. The book is really interesting at the end when it zooms in on certain events and gives detail about Thornton and Buck’s friendship and love. I think this is a good read for anyone, but it can have so confusing words and language that wouldn’t be good for inexperienced readers. This book makes you take a good look at life around you and think about how we are.
This book was a good, classical book that helps us understand the primitive pull, brings us into London’s thought process, and tells us about life in general.

[Ria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this book was the worst book I have ever read. I did not enjoy the fighting, and the language the people talked in made it hard to understand. There were far too many characters introduced briefly, and I felt as if I couldn't remember any of the characters! I would never recommend this book to anyone unless they like old survival stories which can get boring.

[Stephanie]

DNF

[AnnMarie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cry too much when it comes to animals......

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to audio at start of COVID

[William Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume there are a number of short stories by Jack London, all of which are great reads. The most noteworthy thing about the writing of London here is how simple it is. There is no fluff. The way that London uses words to describe characters or setting is straightforward and uncomplicated. Sometimes when you read other authors you are constantly trying to read between the lines or look up words that you have never come across before; this doesn't happen here.

In terms of content there are a number of themes that London explores. Most of them focus of the idea of man vs. nature. As an outdoors-man and prospector during the Gold Rush in the Yukon, many of the stories Jack London writes are related to the experiences he had during this time. The image that I constantly got while reading these stories was a of a lone man or dog facing the elements and being put to the test by the forces of nature. The rugged determination of these characters are what I think makes these stories so popular. To some extent, it connects to something we understand as innately American. The spirit of the pioneer or frontiersman.

Lastly, the major story offered in this collection is the Call of the Wild, arguably one of his most popular. The main character in this novel is a dog named Buck. Here London is able to weave a compelling and exciting story told solely from the perspective of the dog. The stories here are fun and excited reads, recommended for first time readers of Jack London and for those feeling adventurous themselves.

[Lea McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clarification here: I only read The Call of the Wild by Jack London, not the selected other short stories that are included in this book. I don't know what I expected in the book, but what I got was an intense story from the dog's point-of-view. Buck is a big beautiful dog who lives at Judge Miller's place in the Santa Clara Valley. He rules the roost and is well cared for by his family. The story takes place during the Gold Rush, and the demand for good dogs is high, so one night Buck is stolen to be sold as a sled dog. The life is hard, and the author will have you holding your breath or wanting to fight some of the evil people who possess Buck. He learns quickly to follow the rules or be dead and forgotten. The "survival of the fittest" and "bow to power" themes here are painful in our current political climate whether author Jack London meant for them to be or not. The book will definitely stay with me, but I cannot make myself read the included short stories right now because the intensity is almost too much.

[Steph Lovelady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Call of the Wild as a child and my seventh-grader just brought it home from school. Re-reading as an adult, I remembered parts of it much better than others. I'm pretty sure the sometimes heavy-handed social darwinist philosophy of it soared over my head as a ten or twelve year old, reading without a teacher's guidance. Still, it's undeniably gripping and in places the writing is lovely. I liked some of the short stories that follow the novella better than COW itself. "To Build a Fire" is really masterful and "Love of Life" is memorable, too.

All in all, it's a good book to read in winter, if you're not much of a fan of winter. It keeps everything in perspective when you're facing down yet another snowstorm and possible school closure to think, well, I'm not going to starve or freeze to death.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not know what to expect in this story except that it was about a dog. Buck was not just a dog though. The most amazing thing about Buck was the fact that when he decided "you're not going to treat me that way anymore" it was final. I felt sorry for the dogs in his team that died, especially the last four that fell through the ice, but I never felt bad for the people, they brought that all on themselves. Was sad when his last master went missing and Buck knew he was dead. I like how the story ends, a ghost dog the Yeehats talk about, Buck is a legend now.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over twenty years ago, I taught this book to eight graders. It was really nice revisiting it, just to enjoy it again. And enjoy it I did! I hope Buck is still howling somewhere out there!

The short stories in here are all really good! The revenge tale twists right into madness! And two of them have a straight up horror vibe! London really has the ability to capture the outdoors and plop the reader right out there with his characters! I felt cold, I felt hungry, and I too feared ol' Diable!

“So a health to the man on trail this night; may his grub hold out; may his dogs keep their legs; may his matches never fire.”

“He was mastered by the verb to eat. He was hunger-mad.”

[Roma Giannina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed in the book as an adult reader. Simplistic formulaic writing- I love true tales of the north country, but cannot get into obvious fiction written by a bad poet. Couldn’t finish Call of the Wild and couldn’t make it past the intro paragraphs of subsequent short stories. Bummer. I was sure I’d love them, but I should really stick to nonfiction with the genre I suppose. Maybe if I were a 12 year old Boy Scout yearning to break free this would move me more.

[Liz S · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Call of the Wild is a novella, and quite good. Disney's recent adaptation was a pretty decent one, though definitely stayed from the story. Read the introduction after reading Call...it was fascinating to see London in that light after being immersed in Buck's land. If you like dogs definitely skip Diable-a Dog.

Since I wanted to read Call of the Wild I stopped after Diable, and skimming the remaining stories.

Four stars for Call, one for Diable.

[Julie Eastlick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these stories. They are definitely dark and violent but also exciting. I am glad I read a book with some of Jack London’s other short stories because when I finished The Call of the Wild, I was really curious about his other writing. I found it interesting that, just like reality, some survived and some did not. Like many older books, there is some writing that would be not as well accepted in today’s society but not as much as some from his era.

[Paul Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I could give this 6 stars; a new all-time favourite. An 89 page story about a dog is somehow the most life-affirming, heart-breaking book I’ve read.

The accompanying stories in this volume weren’t quite so impactful, but great in their own ways. “to build a fire” and “love of life” were especially good, and I wasn’t much of a fan of “an odyssey of the north” or “to the man on trail”.

[Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so this was my first time really reading the Call of the Wild, and l must say, it was well worth the read. The story isn’t super long or super difficult, but l have seriously never been moved in a way that Call of the Wild has moved me. The poetic language of this was gorgeous, and l thought the symbolism was very thought provoking. Would definitely recommend

[Abraham Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know a lot of people regard this book as a classic and I suppose it really is. However, in my opinion the book isn’t spectacular. The story is a nice following on ‘Buck’ the main dog but the general idea of it is just redundant and somewhat incoherent at points. Not my favorite, but I needed something to read on my flight, this did the job.

[Peter Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was hard. Between dog death, other animal death, and brutal human death, this was a slog. I am sure someone who can appreciate these dark stories would give this a better rating but this just made me sad and not in a good way. Beautiful setting that sometimes made me really appreciate the writing.

[Sean Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting primitive animal drive and human survival in a unique place in time - sledding and mining in the Yukon. Feeling them endure the tough conditions is a stark contrasts to my everyday conveniences and life of luxury (in comparison).

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent storyteller! London can move a narrative in such a strong way as to keep the reader enthralled in the details of the story. One of the better novels I've read in a long while.

[bluebunny80 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterpiece in its own way...