An adventure novel by Jack London, set during the Klondike Gold Rush, that tells the story of Buck, a domesticated dog stolen from his home in California and sold as a sled dog in Alaska. Buck's journey is one of survival and adaptation as he confronts the harsh realities of the wild, shedding his civilized veneer to embrace his primal instincts and ultimately becoming a legendary leader in a wolf pack.
“Old longings nomadic leap,Chafing at custom’s chain;Again from its brumal sleepWakens the ferine strain.”Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tide-water dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the...
The Law of Club and Fang
Buck’s first day on the Dyea beach was like a nightmare. Every hour was filled with shock and surprise. He had been suddenly jerked from the heart of civilization and flung into the heart of things primordial. No lazy, sun-kissed life was this, with nothing to do but loaf and be bored. Here was neither peace, nor rest, nor a moment’s safety. All was confusion and action, and every moment life and limb were in peril. There was imperative need...
The Dominant Primordial Beast
The Dominant Primordial BeastThe dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce conditions of trail life it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control. He was too busy adjusting himself to the new life to feel at ease, and not only did he not pick fights, but he avoided them whenever possible. A certain deliberateness characterized his attitude. He was not prone to rashness and precipitate action;...
Who Has Won to Mastership
“Eh? Wot I say? I spik true w’en I say dat Buck two devils.” This was François’s speech next morning when he discovered Spitz missing and Buck covered with wounds. He drew him to the fire and by its light pointed them out.“Dat Spitz fight lak hell,” said Perrault, as he surveyed the gaping rips and cuts.“An’ dat Buck fight lak two hells,” was François’s answer. “An’ now we make good time. No more Spitz, no more trouble, sure.”While Perrault...
The Toil of Trace and Trail
Thirty days from the time it left Dawson, the Salt Water Mail, with Buck and his mates at the fore, arrived at Skaguay. They were in a wretched state, worn out and worn down. Buck’s one hundred and forty pounds had dwindled to one hundred and fifteen. The rest of his mates, though lighter dogs, had relatively lost more weight than he. Pike, the malingerer, who, in his lifetime of deceit, had often successfully feigned a hurt leg, was now...
For the Love of a Man
When John Thornton froze his feet in the previous December his partners had made him comfortable and left him to get well, going on themselves up the river to get out a raft of saw-logs for Dawson. He was still limping slightly at the time he rescued Buck, but with the continued warm weather even the slight limp left him. And here, lying by the river bank through the long spring days, watching the running water, listening lazily to the...
The Sounding of the Call
When Buck earned sixteen hundred dollars in five minutes for John Thornton, he made it possible for his master to pay off certain debts and to journey with his partners into the East after a fabled lost mine, the history of which was as old as the history of the country. Many men had sought it; few had found it; and more than a few there were who had never returned from the quest. This lost mine was steeped in...
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About the Author
Jack London, was a prolific American author known for his adventure stories and social commentary. He gained fame for works like The Call of the Wild and White Fang, which depict struggles for survival. London's early life of poverty and diverse experiences as a sailor, hobo, and gold prospector heavily influenced his writing, often exploring themes of social injustice and the human condition.
More on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London
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