The Call of the Wild

Originally published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is a short adventure novel by Jack London and set in Yukon, Canada during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Buck. Jack London's experiences during the Klondike gold rush in the Yukon were the inspiration for The Call of the Wild. He saw the way dogsled teams behaved and how their owners treated (and mistreated) them. In the book, the dog Buck's comfortable life is upended when gold is discovered in the Klondike. From then on, survival of the fittest becomes Buck's mantra as he learns to confront and survive the harsh realities of his new life as a sled dog.