The Call of the Wild is a novella by American author Jack London published in 1903. The story takes place in the extreme conditions of the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, where strong sled dogs were in high demand. After Buck, a domesticated dog, is snatched from a pastoral ranch in California, he is sold into a brutal life as a sled dog. The novella details Buck's struggle to adjust and survive the cruel treatment he receives from humans, other dogs, and nature. He eventually sheds the veneer of civilization altogether and instead relies on primordial instincts and the lessons he has learned to become a respected and feared leader in the wild.
London lived for most of a year in the Yukon and gained from that experience material for the book. The story was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in the summer of 1903 and released a month later in book form. The great popularity and success of the story made a reputation for London, with much of the story's appeal based on the simplicity with which he presented the themes in an almost mythical manner. As early as 1908 the story was adapted to film and has seen several more cinematic adaptations since that time.
(From Wikipedia)
This is my second Jack London book - after White Fang - and I hope to find the time to complete them all.
This book has been thoroughly proof-read against a 1903 Macmillan edition of the novel. I went word-by-word through the entire book, so hopefully I've not missed anything. I will note that the language of the book matches that of the book I proofed it again, so there may be occasions of mixed American- and British-English, but that is what is in the book, so that is what I produced. This is as close to the original source that I have been able to find, if a more accurate version becomes available, I'll re-proof the book.
I've included the image plates in the book as well, as I've found no evidence they are still copyrighted. I'll remove them if evidence appears that they are not in the public domain.
The images could do with a bit of work, but for the most part are legible. A few of the images may seem a bit oldly placed (example; image opening Chapter 1), this is due to the original image had text within the blank space of the image. I'm going to attempt to do the same in the near future, but thought it was good to get the book out there first, and fix them later.
Enjoy.
Ver. 1 - 20th January 2013
Initial release
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