Product Description

FictionU.S.A. $7.95
Canada $10.95

To this day Jack London is the most widely read American writer in the world," E. L. Doctorow wrote in The New York Times Book Review. Generally considered to be London's greatest achievement, The Call of the Wild brought him international acclaim when it was published in 1903. His story of the dog Buck, who learns to survive in the bleak Yukon wilderness, is viewed by many as his symbolic autobiography. "No other popular writer of his time did any better writing than you will find in The Call of the Wild," said H. L. Mencken. "Here, indeed, are all the elements of sound fiction."
White Fang (1906), which London conceived as a "complete antithesis and companion piece to The Call of the Wild," is the tale of an abused wolf-dog tamed by exposure to civilization. Also included in this volume is "To Build a Fire," a marvelously desolate short story set in the Klondike, but containing all the elements of a classic Greek tragedy.
"The quintessential Jack London is in the on-rushing compulsive-ness of his northern stories," noted James Dickey. "Few men have more convincingly examined the connection between the creative powers of the individual writer and the unconscious drive to breed and to survive, found in the natural world. . . . London is in and committed to his creations to a degree very nearly unparalleled in the composition of fiction."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #213501 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-08
• Released on: 2002-01-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From the Inside Flap
Fiction        U.S.A. $7.95
Canada $10.95

To this day Jack London is the most widely read American writer in the world," E. L. Doctorow wrote in The New York Times Book Review. Generally considered to be London's greatest achievement, The Call of the Wild brought him international acclaim when it was published in 1903. His story of the dog Buck, who learns to survive in the bleak Yukon wilderness, is viewed by many as his symbolic autobiography. "No other popular writer of his time did any better writing than you will find in The Call of the Wild," said H. L. Mencken. "Here, indeed, are all the elements of sound fiction."
        White Fang (1906), which London conceived as a "complete antithesis and companion piece to The Call of the Wild," is the tale of an abused wolf-dog tamed by exposure to civilization. Also included in this volume is "To Build a Fire," a marvelously desolate short story set in the Klondike, but containing all the elements of a classic Greek tragedy.
        "The quintessential Jack London is in the on-rushing compulsive-ness of his northern stories," noted James Dickey. "Few men have more convincingly examined the connection between the creative powers of the individual writer and the unconscious drive to breed and to survive, found in the natural world. . . . London is in and committed to his creations to a degree very nearly unparalleled in the composition of fiction."

About the Author
Jack London (1876-1916), by turns a renegade adventurer,
a war correspondent, and an avowed socialist, first achieved fame with The Son of the Wolf (1900), a collection of short stories drawn from his experiences in the Klondike gold rush. "The greatest story Jack London ever wrote was the story he lived, said Alfred Kazin.

Customer Reviews

Three classics in one!
I remember reading "To Build a Fire" in school in eighth grade. It is a fairly short story about a man travelling in extremely cold conditions who falls in a creek and, in order to stay alive, has to build a fire. It by itself is a great story, but along with "White Fang" and "The Call of the Wild," this is just an excellent book for anyone who likes life and death struggles and, well, dogs and wolves.

Jack London's Finest Fictional Work (?)
These three stories are amongst London's best fictional works- some say they *are* the best, especially, "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang", it all depends on one's taste, of course, but rest assured, these stories are gripping and the intrigue of their moving plots keeps one glued to the book.

As a freind once said of "Call..." and "...Fang": "These are just about the two doggone best [canine] stories I have ever had the pleasure to read!". Indeed.

All three stories are set in Alaska during the gold rush days of the late 1800's and London spent time there to absorb the feeling of this beautiful, but unforgiving land. He is so descriptive of the landscape, one feels like they are there themselves. This is the magic of London's writing- he so expertly drops the reader right into the scenery and the characters. Indeed, we see and feel what they see and feel- even the animals- especially, the animals, for they have personalities that engage and create both sympathy and admiration for their trials, tribulations and triumphs. London is one of those that the measure of literary genius is judged by and taking in just about any of his works will demonstrate why.

The basic storyline of the "The Call of the Wild" has a dog named "Buck" who is living in a comfortable setting in California, suddenly yanked away by black-market dog thieves who are selling them to the ravenous needs of the gold prospector's supply market where they are then pressed into the tortuous dogsled industry. Buck eventually gets free and joins his native soul-brothers, the wolves. From the human world back to his ancestral roots, hence, the calling of the wild instinct.

"White Fang" is the antithesis of Buck`s situation: a wolf pup raised partly by Indians, wolves, and eventually being absorbed all the way into the human world... you guessed it, in California where he settles into the same basic comfortable world that Buck was torn from. The tale of how that turn-of-events happens is as engaging as Buck's story.

"To Build A Fire" is a very short read and describes a man and the unforgiving, harsh winter of the Alaskan outback. He finds himself trapped by an intense snow storm and soon realizes that this normally easy trek is turning dangerous. What will happen? London skillfully gives us the psychological drama of harsh realities setting in.

For those that have not yet taken in any of London's work, this book is a good place to start. One might then want to take in more, including London's non-fictional work.

Tim's Book Review For White Fang
The book White Fang was about a wolf-dog that lived with his
owner.Then one day his master got drunk by drinking and his master
sold him to a mean man.