| Buck lives a content life. Half St. Bernard, half Shepard, he is top dog on a California ranch. But the Gold Rush in the Klondike has produced an enormous demand for sled dogs so, when a gardener at the ranch needs to pay a gambling debt, stealing and selling Buck is a quick way to do it., Buck, a huge four-year-old Scottish Shepherd-Saint Bernard cross-breed, lived a life of ease at Judge Miller's Santa Clara Valley estate. This is the story of Buck and how he was thrust into the life of a sled-dog in the savage Klondike during the Gold Rush, and how he ran with the wolves., Jack London's stories are classic American favorites. Recorded unabridged in Bookcassette Audio are "Call of the Wild" and three special Klondike stories: "To Build a Fire," "Love of Life" and "To the Man on the Trail." In "Call of the Wild," a domestic dog is kidnapped from his comfortable life on a California estate and thrown into the wild north woods. Buck, half St. Bernard and half Scottish shepherd, is a strong dog but not accustomed to the harsh life of the north and he must fight for survival. He learns how to work hard; how to dig a hole in a snowbank to stay warm; how to eat anything no matter how loathsome; how to scent the weather; how to break ice to find water; and most importantly, how to survive cruelty.At one of the worst moments in his life, Buck receives unexpected human kindness from a new master. With the kind of devotion that only a dog can give, he shows loyalty to his master in ways that are both touching and profound., Originally published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is London s best-known work. Marking the 100th anniversary of the novel, this New Riverside Edition is well timed to place London s work in a new and broader historical context. In addition, the volume will show how the critical reception of the work has changed over time. Due to a resurgence of interest in the study of Jack London during the past decade, a wealth of new material is available to further illuminate The Call of the Wild. Supplementary materials in this volume include other London fiction that predated his writing of this novel, letters he wrote about his intentions in writing it, early reviews of the work, and critical essays from past and present., The Call of the Wild, by Jack London, is one of America's best-known novels. Currently published in more than twenty separate editions in English alone, this novel about the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896 to 1899 has been continuously in print since it first appeared in 1903. Many editions of "The Call of the Wild" have distorted the original text: the violence is modified, the language is sanitized, and the punctuation and spelling are modernized. This new edition duplicates the original, which London himself edited and approved., The Call of the Wild, written in 1903, brought Jack London to the world's attention. It is the story of Buck, part St. Bernard and part Scotch shepherd dog, who shows the strengths of both breeds when he is stolen and sold off as a sled dog in the Yukon during the gold rush. A heartfelt story that appeals to both children and adults, The Call of the Wild is a timeless classic., Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords. This edition of "The Call of the Wild" includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword by Dwight Swain. Kidnapped form his safe California home. Thrown into a life-and-death struggle on the frozen Artic wilderness. Half St. Bernard, half shepard, Buck learns many hard lessons as a sled dog: the lesson of the leash, of the cold, of near-starvation and cruelty. And the greatest lesson he learns from his last owner, John Thornton: the power of love and loyalty. Yet always, even at the side of the human he loves, Buck feels the pull in his bones, an urge to answer his wolf ancestors as they howl to him. |