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

by Jack London (Author), Gary Paulsen (Foreword) "Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tidewater dog, strong..." (more)
Key Phrases: dominant primordial beast, wild brother, fore legs, John Thornton, Santa Clara Valley, Lost Cabin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"a beautiful prose poem"
- Maxwell Geismar
"belongs on a shelf with Walden and Huckleberry Finn,"
- Franklin Walker
"a mordant parable - his masterpiece."
- E. L. Doctorow --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689856741
• ISBN-13: 978-0689856747
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,032 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #2 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( L ) > London, Jack
  #5 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > London, Jack
  #6 in	Books > Teens > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Paulsen, Gary

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	A. Rand "Randy" (United States) - See all my reviews

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

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

A Kid's Review

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "How the Buck Did I End Up in Alaska?", November 23, 2004

By	Nathan Wright "liberlibri" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think I originally read this in 6th or 7th grade. I remember thinking it was okay, but not as good as White Fang. Well, it's a lot better than I remember. Though it may be generally regarded as a young person's novel, it also stands up well to the test of a true literary classic. Yes, it's about a dog, it's also about spirit, survival, will, and the primitive forces in anyone. It's a quick and easy read that I would recommend to anyone, regardless of reading level or interest.