The Call of the Wild (Aladdin Classics) [Paperback]

Jack London (Author), Gary Paulsen (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Aladdin Classics

First published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is regarded as Jack London's masterpiece. Based on London's experiences as a gold prospector in the Canadian wilderness and his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence, The Call of the Wild is a tale about unbreakable spirit and the fight for survival in the frozen Alaskan Klondike.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jack London (1876-1916) was a prolific American novelist and short story writer. He is also known for his books The Call of the Wild and The Sea-Wolf. He was born in San Francisco, California.

Gary Paulsen is one of the most honored writers of contemporary literature for young readers. He has written more than one hundred book for adults and young readers, and is the author of three Newbery Honor titles: Dogsong, Hatchet, and The Winter Room. He divides his time among Alaska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and the Pacific.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689856741
• ISBN-13: 978-0689856747
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( L ) > London, Jack
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > London, Jack
  • #5 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Paulsen, Gary

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping story of survival, October 16, 2006

By 

Brian & Randy "Two Brothers" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Call of the Wild (Aladdin Classics) (Paperback)

London is a tremendously talented writer and his understanding of life matches his tremendous knowledge of the snow-enshrouded world of the upper latitudes. His writing is beautiful, poignant, and powerful, yet also somber, morose, and infinitely real. This isn't a story to read when you are depressed. Although The Call of the Wild is a short novel and on the surface a dog's story, it contains as much truth and reality of man's own struggles as that which can be sifted from the life's work of many other respected authors. The story he tells is stark and real, and as such, it is not pretty picture he paints, nor an elevating story he writes.

As an animal lover, I found parts of this story heartbreaking from Buck's removal from the civilized Southland in which he reigned supreme among his animal kin to the brutal cold and even more brutal machinations of hard, weathered men who literally beat him and whipped him full of lashes. Even sadder are the stories of the dogs that fill the sled's traces around him. Good-spirited Curly never had a chance, while Dave's story is only made bearable because of his brave, undying spirit. Even Spitz, the harsh taskmaster, has to be pitied, despite his harsh nature, for the reader knows this harsh nature was forced upon him by man and his thirst for riches.

Buck's travails are long and hard, but it is his nobility of his spirit that makes of him a hero, despite the primitive animal instincts and urges that dominate him. Buck not only conquers the weather, the harshness of the men, the other dogs and the wolves he comes into contact with, he thrives. Hopes for redemption with John Thornton are dashed in the end, and that's when Buck finally gives in fully to "the call of the wild," becoming a creature of nature only. While this is a sad ending, the reader also feels joy and satisfaction at Buck's refusal to surrender and his ability to find his own kind of happiness in the harsh world in which he is placed.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Age-Old Tale of Will and Survival, March 2, 2006

By 

Sean K (Anaheim, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Call of the Wild (Aladdin Classics) (Paperback)

Jack London presents an enthralling tale about the Yukon Gold Rush of the 1890s through the eyes of one dog, Buck. Buck is ripped from his home in sunny California and forced into one of various dog-sled teams in the frozen tundra of Alaska. Buck must learn how to survive in this wilderness and he manages to not only survive, but thrive. Although his masters change, he grows most fond of his last master, John Thornton. However, even his love for John Thornton cannot supress his desire to roam free and wild, like his wolf brethren.

"Call of the Wild" presents a stark contrast between the civilized and uncivilized worlds that Buck inhabits. It is in this uncivilized world that Buck grows to love and eventually becomes a master himself, first as leader of the dog sled team, then as a legendary leader of a wolf pack. Buck quickly learns the "law of club and fang," that is, kill or be killed.

Although it's told from a dog's perspective, the novel is not gimmicky or unrealistic in any way. Buck's yearning to be free may represent a human desire to be free of civilization and all its rules and handicaps. For only in the wild is Buck truly free, as many of us may wish to escape from the civlization that we are trapped in.

Overall, this is a short, yet well-told and thought-provoking story that is enjoyable to readers of all ages.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Call of the wild, April 2, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Call of the Wild (Aladdin Classics) (Paperback)

Eric Godsey

Call of the Wild

I read the book The Call of the Wild by Jack London. The author used a lot of emotional feelings in this story about a dog named Buck. He experiences a lot of feelings from beginning to end.

One day Buck gets kidnapped from his owner. He felt very sad and confused. If I was kidnapped I would feel the same way as Buck did. Buck tried to escape from the kidnapers. The kidnapers saw him try to escape. Then they hit Buck with a club to make him obey. This made Buck feel very angry. He learned never to fight someone who has a club.

The kidnappers sold Buck because they needed dogs for the gold rush in Canada. When he was sold, he was sold to people that took very good care of him. Buck trusted them. Buck felt more like a dog than a pet because he used his instincts to survive in the wild like digging a hole in the ground so he could sleep with warmth.

Buck felt like a dog because he got to pull the sled with the other dogs, he became strong and muscular, braver and he was able to run fast. There was one dog that Buck did not like. His name was Spitz. Spitz had been attacking and biting Buck and the other sled dogs. Buck wanted to become the leader of the pack. One day Buck killed Spitz, in order not to be killed. Buck became the leader and the team worked as a group. Buck felt very confident at this time.

The two owners of the dogs had to sell all of the dogs to some people that didn't know how to take care of them. The people that bought the dogs were not nice to Buck. Buck was always upset with them because they worked the dogs too hard and did not let them rest. They had hardly enough food for the dogs. They were very strict. Some of the team starved to death or were close to dying, even Buck. Buck felt he would die and was hopeless.

One time the owners forced Buck and the rest of the dogs to pull the sled on thin ice. The sled weighed a lot. Buck refused to cross the ice and was beaten for this. John Thornton was a man that loved dogs and took good care of them. Thornton saved Buck from death. The rest of the team and the owners fell into the ice and died.

Buck felt love for the first time in his life and would do anything to help John Thornton. One day Buck went out into the wild away from camp where John Thornton was because he heard a little call from the wild. When he was in the forest he killed a black bear blinded by mosquitoes. He felt very confident.
When he went back to camp, he saw Indians. They had killed many of his best friends, including John Thornton. He felt very angry and depressed at the loss of John. I can't imagine how I would feel if that happened to me.

When Buck killed the Indians, the wild wolves came to Buck. He remembered one call from the wild, a lone wolf he had become friends with. Buck decided to join the wolf pack. Buck felt peaceful because he had returned to the time of his ancestors.

You can see by the range of feelings that happened in this story, that the author used great emotions in the text. If you read this book, I think you will be in Buck's "shoes" and experience the same emotions.