John Griffith London (born John Griffith Chaney; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. A pioneer in the world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first writers to become a worldwide celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. He wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.
This is the sorty of a lage dog, Buck. After starting life at a rich man's house in sunny California, he comes to work as a sled dog in the Yukon Territory of northern Canada during the gold rush of 1897.
Pulling in dog teams, Buck travels along the ice of the Yukon River, carrying mail to and from the goldseekers of Dawson City, hundreds of mils at a time through the silent whiteness of the winter landscape.
Although he feels very close to his human masters, Buch begins to hear, more and more clearly, the Call of the Wild. This is the call to go back to a more primitive life in the forest, a life of long ago.
When he meets up with his wild brother the wolf, Buck faces the decision of his life.
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