The Call of the Wild in Around the Year in 52 Books

Jul 23, 2011 Marta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, classics, own-ebook

I was surprised how great the writing is, yet so easy to read. A classic allegory of man's relationship with nature, through a story of the ultimate alpha dog. Every man secretly wishes to be Buck. But there can be only one alpha dog. ...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: classic, nature, audio, concierge, dogs, library

I am not a “dog person” and did not expect to like this classic tale, but I’m really glad I read this when I did. My father was a great outdoorsman and he loved animals, but especially our dogs. I listened to the first half on audio, but then finished by reading the actual book. This last half is when Buck, a St Bernard / Shepherd mix has finally found a man he loves and who loves him. They respect one another, and the hierarchy of the camp, but Buck is increasingly called to the wild. The writi ...more

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Sep 07, 2014 Katt Hansen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: animals, adventure, dogs, classics

I'd never read this before and was glad I finally sat down to remedy the situation. Buck is a figure not meant to be pitied. The tale is harrowing, at times even gruesome. Gives a lot of theory of the whole genetic memory thing which surprised me given when the book was written. Interesting and easy to see why this is a classic. ...more

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Mar 12, 2022 Tweller83 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, adventure, pbs-great-american-read, own-read

This book was brutal, dogs fighting with dogs, man beating and whipping dogs, and just the overall harshness of the environment, but I had been prepared for that. What was interesting was the "call of the wild" that Buck seems to hear. I just wonder how this book differs from White Fang so looks like I'll have to put that on my "to read" list now so I can compare. It is brutal so be warned before you give it to a sensitive littler person, but overall I'm glad I read it. Another PBS Best 100 Book ...more

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