ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack London, who was to become one of the most

highly paid authors of his day, was born in 1876, in San

Franciscu. He was the tenth child in his family, and

conscquently grew up in poverty. He had to work long

hours for littlc pay; and he fell into thc hands of thicves

and cullhroats at an carly agc. In a few years, he turned

to drinking as solace for his troublcs.

Fortunately, before he was ruined by alcohol, Lon-

don set sail on a seal ship. By the time he returned to San

Francisco, many of his former companions had died.

After a brief stint with the railway, London succumbed

to his great desirc to travel. He spent considerable time

in the Klondike region ol Alaska, which provided him

with a setting for TVif Call of the Wild. Here, too, London

encountered the dog after which he modelled llis hero,

Buck.

The Cali of the Wild depicts the struggles of a

spirited dog, learning to survive in a hostile world. He

learns so well in fact that he wishes to leave civilization

in the end to follow the "call of the wild."