Call of the Wild by Jack London is the fictional biography of a Santa Clara dog who finds himself on an adventure of a lifetime.  London was an American novelist, journalist, social-activist and short-story writer whose works deal romantically with elemental struggles for survival. At his peak, he was the highest paid and the most popular of all living writers. Because of early financial difficulties, he was largely self-educated past grammar school.

The story opens with Buck, a St. Bernard and German Shepard mix, who has a comfortable life in Santa Clara living with a fairly well to do family.  One day he is kidnapped and sent north to be a sled dog in the gold rush of the 1890s.  The story goes well beyond a dog's life and perhaps is a metaphor for life.  Those who served in the military might recognize the storyline -- Comfortable life, being broken down, becoming part of a team, becoming a leader, dedication, picking your battles, and of course becoming a legend.  There is a connection to the human drive.  The story itself is moving and full of rousing adventure.  It is not hard for the reader to follow the path to primitivism and its role in survival outside the comforts civilized city life.  The state of nature comes into play in both the lives of dogs and man. It is where beings thrive. 

I am most familiar with Dover Thrift books but this edition is different.  It is hardcover with color prints as well as black and white artwork both by wildlife artist Paul Bransom.  This book is one for your bookshelf for the story and the artwork.  It's a story in the same vein as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn; a story one does not outgrow.