The Call of the Wild

The Call of the Wild is a 1903 novel by Jack London which depicts the struggles of Buck, formerly a domestic dog, to adapt to the harsh, unforgiving environment and life of a sled dog in Alaska. The story-line is employed as a mechanism for examining the interplay between nature and nurture as Buck's primitive, instinctual nature reasserts itself and gradually comes to the fore.

The book proved extremely popular at the time and, together with the companion work White Fang, issued a few years later, helped cement author Jack London's reputation as a master adventure story-teller. The work has retained its popularity over the years and is considered among the best works of 20th century American fiction literature. The deeper meaning of the story as a classic quest tale belies its reputation in some quarters as a mere adventure tale for adolescent boys.