Ruf der Wildnis

Blurb

The Call of the Wild is a short adventure novel by Jack London published in 1903. The story is set in the Yukon during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character is a domesticated dog named Buck. The story starts with him living at a ranch in the Santa Clara Valley of California. Stolen from his home and sold into service as sled dog in Alaska, he progressively reverts to a wild state. In the harsh climate, Buck is forced to fight in order to dominate other dogs, so that by the end, he sheds the veneer of civilization and relies on primordial instincts and learned experience to emerge as a leader in the wild.
London lived for most of a year in the Yukon collecting material for the book. The story was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in the summer of 1903; a month later it was released in book form. The book’s great popularity and success made a reputation for London. Much of its appeal derives from its simplicity as a tale of survival. As early as 1908, the story was adapted to film, and it has since seen several more cinematic adaptations.