This is a powerful tale of survival of the fittest in the Alaskan Wilderness. It's the story of Buck, a large St. Bernard/Collie kidnapped (or dognapped) for the Klondike Alaska Gold Rush of 1897. Mistreated and passed between human owners, Buck quickly learns to survive by stealing food, and fighting for leadership of the hounds pulling the dogsled. Buck happily comes under the ownerships of kindly John Thornton, but turns savagely vengeful after Thornton is killed. Later, he joins a wolf pack in the wild. This story is told from Buck's point of view, and the descriptions of a frigid, unforgiving wilderness inspire many readers. Others are moved by the author's take on the dark side of human nature and the Darwinian struggle to survive.

Author Jack London (1876-1916) knew of the stark wilderness from his participation in the 1897 Gold Rush. Readers might also like his other writings like SEA WOLF and WHITE FANG.

Perhaps Jack London's most famous (and shortest) novel, THE CALL OF THE WILD is an undeniably powerful book. Its reputation as a children's book is unfortunate, as this one has something to offer readers of all ages. It is more than the simple-seeming story of a dog taken from civilization and thrust into a harsh and brutal environment, where he is forced to thrive or die, kill or be killed. It is also a story of making the best of the worst, persevering against overwhelming obstacles, living up to ones potential, and reclaiming lost heritage. The emergence of Buck's instinctual fire for life and the almost ghostly visitations from his ancestors is really a joy to read. London's ability to draw you into his stories is also much in evidence here. Even though Buck is a dog, London is able to make him into one of the most intimately knowable and lovable characters in fiction, a remarkable feat when considering the brevity of the novel. Additionally, the sometimes extreme brutality of Buck's surroundings, and the graphic nature in which London describes it, certainly indicates that children were not the intended audience for this piece.

Buck's journey in the North and his transformation into the powerful adept of the Fang and the Club makes up a tale that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to readers of any age or experience. London's message is more than the straight forward story that it usually gets credit for. If you haven't yet read it, or haven't since your childhood, pick this one up for a few hours of enjoyable reading.

Jack London (1876-1916)was a man of the outdoors who wrote best about nature tooth and claw. In his great novel "The Call of the Wild" he tells one of the greatest dog stories ever written.
Buck is a dog living on the California ranch of Judge Miller. He is kidnapped and shipped to the gold fields of Alaska in the 1890's. Buck was placed in a cage and beaten with savagery by a man in a red shirt in Seattle. Buck was sold to two French fur traders; fought and won a horrific battle to the death with their lead sled dog Spitz and sold to a Scottish half breed. Buck almost dies as he and the team have to travel near the Arctic Circle and Canada for over 3000 miles. The dogs are ill kept being cold, hungry and abused. Later Buck is sold to two brothers and a woman who do not know how to survive in the wild. They too abuse Buck.
Buck is rescued when he stumbles into the cabin of the kindly John Thornton who restores him to health. Thornton is killed by Indians so Buck returns to the wild where he roams freely. Buck is a strong, independent dog who learns that only the strong survive in a cruel environment.
Jack London penned the novel in 1903. He believed that in the world only those who are tough can survive against enemies. London's world is a harsh, cruel place. The story of Buck and later White Fang in another novel remind us of how difficult life can be in a merciless and hellish setting. The book also reminds us of the need to be kind to animals.

I first read this book in junior high, and when I read it again the brutality of this book made me realize how cruel life can be. I had forgotten much of it and I was somewhat surprised how cruel this book was. Jack London uses human emotions and characteristics as he writes of Buck, the loyal, strong dog that goes from a passive life in Cailfornia to the barreness of the Alaska gold rush.

London's human characters are merely role players, cameos if you will, while the animals undergo a reverse evolutionary process from tranquil to ferocious beasts of the wild. In the end, the civilized dog, Buck, takes his rightful place at the head of a pack of wild wolves. Whether this is believable or not remains to the reader to decide, but London writes artfully and conviningly about his subject.

London lived part of what he wrote about, so the fact of the gold rush towns and personalities are true, but his dogs achieve a superior role that may or may not be really possible. Nevertheless, this truly is a gripping story and, while it is aimed at a male audience, any reader who enjoys this type of book will be rewarded with a good story.

Jack London's remarkable saga of Buck's adventures in the Klondike during the days of the Gold Rush should be read by every child, especially any child in a family considering adding a pet to the family.
Sharing the experience of the protagonist will instruct the reader and develop an understanding and love for man's best friend.
Samuel L. Kalush, M.D.

This story has affected many and helped people care about how animals are treated, making humans less brutish

This story has affected many and helped people care about how animals are treated, making humans less brutish

The story of the dog named Buck who is stolen from his owner's estate, sold into dog slavery as a sled dog in Alaska, and ultimately returns to his wild roots by joining a wolf pack. This is a classic tale that will appeal to boys of every age and a few dog loving girls. When you get tired of Harry Potter, pick this up. You won't regret it, then checkout White Fang which is also by Jack London.

This book is about a dog named Buck. He travels around the world with different musher's all trying to get to a gold mine on a land. Which people never come back once they go. This book is very good because they didn't talk during most of the book.



This book explained what happened when they were mushing and how they felt when they didn't get their way when they were done mushing. For me there wasn't enough action going around in the story. There were only certain parts in the story that were interesting. Like when Buck killed Indians because they killed his owner.



Another time was when Buck and a sleigh dog were forced to fight. Then in parts of the book I didn't understand some of the words. To me the author explained everything good enough to understand. This would be a good book for any body.

This book is about a dog named Buck. He travels around the world with different musher's all trying to get to a gold mine on a land. Which people never come back once they go. This book is very good because they didn't talk during most of the book.

This book explained what happened when they were mushing and how they felt when they didn't get their way when they were done mushing. For me there wasn't enough action going around in the story. There were only certain parts in the story that were interesting. Like when Buck killed Indians because they killed his owner.

Another time was when Buck and a sleigh dog were forced to fight. Then in parts of the book I didn't understand some of the words. To me the author explained everything good enough to understand. This would be a good book for any body.

This story is about a dog named Buck. He was a huge St. Bernard, four years old and he lived in the South. One day he was kidnapped from his home by gardener's helper and sold as a sled dog in the cold North. Since this time his life was hard. Everday he tried to survive. He was hungry, he was beaten and he fought with the other dogs. Soon he was strong, smart and the leader over the team of dogs.

I liked to read this book, because it is about interesting, hard life in Alaska long time ago, when people go there to look for gold.

I liked especially this part when Buck stole food (pg 28-29), because he was hungry. I liked also when he grew, he was strong (pg 30-31) and clever (pg 47). He won a fight with Spitz a very big, strong, Arctic dog (pg 51-52).

The book that I read was about a dog that was stolen out of his house. People were getting dogs because it was dog sledding time so they needed strong dogs that could be used during the winter. I think this book is called the called of the wild because, a dog was taken from his home and was taken far away, so the dog was not used to the wild so he got lost and was lost in the wild not knowing were to go so I think that means the call of the wild for him because he had to trough a lot of things to be able to get back home with his real owner not to the people who took him. This book is also about the guy that if he would read the newspaper he would have known that his dog was missing since the morning. This book is mostly for people who are interested in dog books but not only on that also in people who like books about adventure because this was kind of like it. Also people who like very good books like this one that I read.

The Call of the Wild

The book Call of the Wild is about this dog that got stolen from a wealthy family. Buck is the dog stolen. When he is stolen, he runs away from the people and goes to the wild. So, he meets a pack of wolves and started hanging around with them. But, there is a big problem with the leader of the pack and Buck. Spitz, the leader of the pack, doesn't like Buck. They get into a deadly fight, which turns out that Spitz lost the fight and runs away and disappears. The pack and Buck gets lost and each goes on their own. Buck then sees a man on the path and goes to help him because he is struggling with some ice broken. Most of this takes place in the North Yukon. Buck helps John win a race with John's other dogs. I didn't like this book too much because, it's only based on Buck. It only talks about Buck and some adventures that he does and the struggle that he goes through.

By: Sixto G.

I thought this book was very good. I felt the emotions of Buck very strongly. I would recommend this book for grades 5 and up.

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.

I have nothing against Jack London. He writes very well and some passages of this book are moving and intense. For a great portion of this book, however, I suffered from intense boredom. Call of the Wild drags on, inch per inch, just as our young canine hero, Buck, trudges along in the snow.
I can't say that I really got any enjoyment out of reading it at all. I was very mericiful by giving it three stars, but one of those stars is because I liked the ending, one of them is because it was well written, and the other was because the book was short.
I would rather watch paint dry than have to read this again. Once more, it is WELL-WRITTEN... the descriptions are good and the relationships among the dogs is interesting at times, but the book itself is no joy to read. I hope that the ghost of Jack London does not send a pack of wild, hungry, Alaskian wolves to maul me after writing this, but I did not like this book!

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.

I like the book because it was very different. It was moving and suspenceful at times. It was about a dog and his many owners. He was at Judge Miller`s, train, two sled dog owner and John Thornton. Buck goes through a lot. He pulls a 1000 pound sled. He races a sled to the Alaskan Klondike for gold. He also finally gets an owner who loves Buck for Buck not as a racer or a hero to pull 1000 pounds on a sled but as a dog. Then Buck saves the life of his owner John Thornton and finds a wolf. I can`t share the end though.
I think it was a good book. It was sort of like real life because people go from job to job and at least one person appreciates them for who they are inside. It was like my life because I moved houses when my dad left to visit him. It was like going on a train ride to somewhere new. I didn`t have it as hard as Buck. He was a loyal dog and never gave up. Over all it was a great book. I would not recommend it for any one under 5th grade.
I read it and had a little trouble with the hard words.