The Call of the Wild Paperback – April 4, 1903

The Call of the Wild by Jack London is better today than it was when I was younger. I’ve read it several times over the years but this is the first time listening to an audio of it. I listened to the version narrated by Roger Dressler and quite enjoyed it, as I listened in one sitting. One of the things I love about this story is that our narrator in the story is Buck, a Saint Bernard/shepard mix, I believe it gives us a unique perspective and insight into his world that we otherwise wouldn’t see if the story was told from a human perspective. I would recommend this as it is a classic however, just know there is animal cruelty.

I read this book as a child when it was suggested to me by not only my family, but by my school. I’m not certain how old I was, but I’m certain that I wasn’t out of grade school. Of course, this was a different time when we found different priorities and I suppose my reading level was more important than my not finding the book I was reading to be full of sadness. Doesn’t most children love dogs and find animal abuse horrifying? I know that I certainly did, but once you start a book like this there’s no quitting it. So anyone who has not read this book and thinks it’s a good adventure book to give to a small child, I suggest you read it first. I was a tough kid, it was okay, just not what I expected as a child hoping for adventure.It is a good book though, good enough for me to want to put it in my reviews and even skim it again. The story is set during the Klondike gold rush when a big and beautiful pet is stolen from a ranch in California to be used as a sled dog.Buck’s life changes overnight from being pampered to being beaten by humans and bullied by other dogs. The temperature drops practically overnight, and Buck must learn to adapt to living in freezing conditions and snow with no shelter and very little food. He learns the pecking order fast, and learns that he doesn’t want to be submissive.When they reach their destination the dogs are starved and further abused, but Buck is fortunate and is saved by a kind man that he forms a new bond with. That was one of my favorite parts of the book.This is still a classic and good for young adults, but not for children imo.

For a book of the time it is a quick, easy read. It is a sad story much alike black beauty. This book can be brutal and gruesome, much as one would expect of a book about the Alaskan frontier. An interesting story that likely had truths from the lives of many dogs that led a hard life beside men into the frontier. Shorter than I thought it would be but is neither good nor bad, but when trying to make your way through classics this is a nice easier read between many of the mentally draining works on the list.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator's delivery was easy to listen to, and he seemed to get into the story quite nicely. Now for the review: Jack London takes his Alaskan gold mining experience to create an awesome tale.Buck belonged to a judge in California, in the days of the Klondike gold rush in Alaska. Buck was a large dog, half St. Bernard and half German Shepherd. he was not one of the judge's "kennel dogs," nor was he one of the "house dogs." He walked with his master when he was outside, and hunted with the judge's sons. Buck was the king of his outside domain, but even though the judge treated him well, he did not know love.One day the judge's Chinese cook ran up a gambling debt, and when no one was looking, he took Buck to town on a rope leash and sold him to a Klondike sled dog broker. It was then Buck learned the law of the club and fang. To get Buck into submission, the broker beat him mercilessly with a club. Buck was later sold and took to Alaska to start the menial and hard life of a sled dog.London's writings are powerful and insightful. Buck goes from pet to work dog, from a life of relative ease to one of the harsh reaities of survival in one of the harshest environments of the world. Buck toughens up and survives, and rises to the top of the sled dog pack. Through a series of jobs where the dogs are nearly used up and destroyed, Buck is nearly killed by a family of idiots who buy them. He is saved by a man who shows him true love. Once his new master is lilled by Indians, Buck is free to join a wolf pack and becomes its leader. From beginning to end, this shows of survival of the fittest and the call of the wild on all dogs.For and animal lover like myself, there were many times where I was cringing at the treatment of the animals. Buck triumphs over harsh treatment, harsh weather, lack of food, and other dogs that would kill him.The call of the wild is a phrase that is part of American language even today. Great book.