The Book
The Call of the Wild (1905), considered a classic, is a story of survival and grid. It is the enduring tale of Buck, the half sheepdog, stolen from his comfortable Californian home to work as a sledge dog in the Northland. London creates an imaginative natural universe, where the main character, the dog Buck behaves and thinks with rational dog-logic.
The Author(s)
Jack London (1876-1916) was born in San Francisco and grew up on the waterfront of Oakland. His childhood was spent in poverty and hardship. But that did not lessen his great desire for reading. He spent hours in the public library to get away from the misery of his lot. In 1896 he joined the Klondike gold rush but could not make a fortune and returned to Oakland to write about his experiences there.