Editorial Review
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.
This edition of The Call of the Wild includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword by Dwight Swain.
Kidnapped form his safe California home. Thrown into a life-and-death struggle on the frozen Artic wilderness. Half St. Bernard, half shepard, Buck learns many hard lessons as a sled dog: the lesson of the leash, of the cold, of near-starvation and cruelty. And the greatest lesson he learns from his last owner, John Thornton: the power of love and loyalty.
Yet always, even at the side of the human he loves, Buck feels the pull in his bones, an urge to answer his wolf ancestors as they howl to him.
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Customer Reviews
Fabulous and Engaging for young readers 
2008-02-17
All of The Whole Story books are fantastic. My eighth graders love to read these because they enjoy the sideline information and pictorials that help them to better grasp the story. I bought a classroom set and have already requested for our school to invest in Tom Sawyer by this same company. Great Idea!
Well read, abridged version. 
2007-05-09
This is not a good version for a classroom setting. The cover doesn't reveal this.
Jack London - Part Prolific Novelist, Part Wolf 2007-04-14
After reading "The Call of the Wild" or more precisely, after being transferred to another place and time, or even more to the point after being totally submerged into the being of this animal, I'm left completely awe-struck by London's work.
To see what Buck saw, to feel the forces and the instincts that he felt... that is the power of this book. Here's a passage from the third chaper to illustrate what I mean:
"At the mouth of the Tahkeena, one night after super, Dub (a member of the sled-dog team) turned up a snowshoe rabbit, blundered it, and missed. A hundred yards away was a camp of the Northwest Police, with fifty dogs, huskies all, who joined the chase. The rabbit sped down the river, turned off into a small creek, up the frozen bed of which it held steadily. It ran lightly on the surface of the snow, while the dogs plowed through by main strength. Buck led the pack, sixty strong, around bend after bend, but he could not gain. He lay down low to the race, whining eagerly, his splendid body flashing forward, leap by leap, in the wan white moonlight. And leap by leap, like some pale frost wraith, the snowshoe rabbit flashed on ahead.
All the stirring of old instincts which at stated periods drives men out from the sounding cities to forest and plain to kill things by chemically propelled leaden pellets, the blood lust, the joy to kill--all this was Buck's, only it was infinitely more intimate. He was ranging at the head of the pack, running the wild thing down, the living meat, to kill with his own teeth and wash his muzzle to the eyes in warm blood.
There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive. This ecstasy, this forgetfulness of living, comes to the artist, caught up and out of himself in a sheet of flame; it comes to the soldier, war-mad on a stricken field and refusing quarter; it came to Buck, leading the pack, sounding the old wolf-cry, straining after the food that was alive and that fled swiftly before him through the moonlight. He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and of the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the womb of Time. He as mastered by the sheer surging of life, the tidal wave of being, the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew in that it was everything that was not death, that it was aglow and rampant, expressing itself in movement, flying exultantly under the stars and over the face of dead matter that did not move."
The call of the wild 
2007-01-18
The call of the wild, by Jack London is a great book for all ages. Buck (the main character) is a tame dog in Santa Clara California living with Judge Miller, a man that everyone new and enjoyed. This changed when a rush for gold in Yukon made men need strong dogs to pull their sleds. Buck was a very strong dog and as a result, was kidnapped. He was then taken to Yukon where there was harsh snow and was very cold. He was treated poorly until he met John Thorton. John Thorton was very kind to Buck but then one day he died. Buck was left in the wild and became friends with a wild animal. I personally like it because it is always telling you what is happining in great detail. Jack London also got right to the point making it easy to understand.
the call of the wild 2007-01-18
The call of the wild by Jack London is a great book for all ages. Buck (the main character) is a tame dog in Santa Clara California living with Judge Miller a man that evryone new and enjoyed. All this changed when a rush for gold in Yukon. These men needed strong dogs and because of the fact Buck was strong he was kidnapped. He was then tuck to Yukon where there was harsh snow and was very cold. he was treated poorly intill he met John Thorton. John Thorton was very kind to Buck but then one day he died. Buck was left in the wild and became friends with a wild animal and learned to live in the wild.
Call of the Wild 2006-11-13
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.
This edition of The Call of the Wild includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword by Dwight Swain.
Kidnapped form his safe California home. Thrown into a life-and-death struggle on the frozen Artic wilderness. Half St. Bernard, half shepard, Buck learns many hard lessons as a sled dog: the lesson of the leash, of the cold, of near-starvation and cruelty. And the greatest lesson he learns from his last owner, John Thornton: the power of love and loyalty.
Yet always, even at the side of the human he loves, Buck feels the pull in his bones, an urge to answer his wolf ancestors as they howl to him.
Call of the wild 2006-11-04
Great book. I can't believe that I never read it or remember reading it as a kid. I found it very entertaining. The only reason that I bought this book was because I was reading Lost in the Wilds, the true story about the kid that disappeared to Alaska by himself and ended up dying of starvation. He brought different books along and one was Call of the Wild and the other was Walden Pond. I read both try and figure out what he was thinking.
One of the best classic stories by Jack London 2006-10-22
Call of the Wild, a story of strength, courage, and survival. Buck, the main character of the book, started out as a nice and pampered dog loved by almost everyone in his town. But that soon changed when people discovered a small, shiny speck that set everyone going to the Yukon Territory, gold. Everyone wanted strong dogs that could haul all the equipment needed to survive the rigid climates of Alaska. Unfortunately, Buck was the kind of dog the miners were looking for. He was immediately captured and sold to go to Alaska which started his transformation. While he was in Alaska he faced many hardships, which I thought were very sad and somewhat gruelsome, but he went on withstanding the pain and suffering he faced during the journey. His characteristics and personality almost made me think that he was an actual person instead of a fictional dog. With the hard and dangerous life he had in the undesirable condition, he eventually turned from a dog that had a relaxed life to a wolf-like creature struggling to survive in the harsh conditions. He had many confrontations with men and other dogs which many were very sad and painful for Buck. But there was still hope for Buck because he now had the wild side of him to sort of comfort him. That hope enlarged even more when he met John Thorton. The moment Buck met Thorton, it was a bond that was to last until time has come to end it. At first Buck and Thorton were inseparable with Buck following Thorton around everywhere he went. But later, his wild counterparts began to grow larger than the bond with Thorton and started to go out into the wilderness separating from Thorton. Out in the wilderness, Buck soon befriended his first wild friend, which made him fit even more into the wild. When Buck and Thorton's ties were finally broken after a very sad and heartbreaking tragedy, Buck knew exactly where to go, to the call of the wild. With Jack London's talented writing, this masterpiece of classic literature gives a different style of writing that I think is unique from all the rest. It is a great novel to read and I think anyone would enjoy it, especially people who likes adventure and dogs.
One of the best classic stories by Jack London 2006-10-22
Call of the Wild, a story of strength, courage, and survival. Buck, the main character of the book, started out as a nice and pampered dog loved by almost everyone in his town. But that soon changed when people discovered a small, shiny speck that set everyone going to the Yukon Territory, gold. Everyone wanted strong dogs that could haul all the equipment needed to survive the rigid climates of Alaska. Unfortunately, Buck was the kind of dog the miners were looking for. He was immediately captured and sold to go to Alaska which started his transformation. While he was in Alaska he faced many hardships, which I thought were very sad and somewhat gruelsome, but he went on withstanding the pain and suffering he faced during the journey. His characteristics and personality almost made me think that he was an actual person instead of a fictional dog. With the hard and dangerous life he had in the undesirable condition, he eventually turned from a dog that had a relaxed life to a wolf-like creature struggling to survive in the harsh conditions. He had many confrontations with men and other dogs which many were very sad and painful for Buck. But there was still hope for Buck because he now had the wild side of him to sort of comfort him. That hope enlarged even more when he met John Thorton. The moment Buck met Thorton, it was a bond that was to last until time has come to end it. At first Buck and Thorton were inseparable with Buck following Thorton around everywhere he went. But later, his wild counterparts began to grow larger than the bond with Thorton and started to go out into the wilderness separating from Thorton. Out in the wilderness, Buck soon befriended his first wild friend, which made him fit even more into the wild. When Buck and Thorton's ties were finally broken after a very sad and heartbreaking tragedy, Buck knew exactly where to go, to the call of the wild. With Jack London's talented writing, this masterpiece of classic literature gives a different style of writing that I think is unique from all the rest. It is a great novel to read and I think anyone would enjoy it, especially people who likes adventure and dogs.
A Journey Into The Wild 2006-10-20
While reading this novel, I felt as though I was on a journey. The sensory detail and connections that I could make with Buck made his jouney seem more and more real to me. Watching Buck transform from a domesticated house dog, to a wild, one with nature, almost wolf-like animal was both amazing and heart-wrenching. It was amazing to see how the wild changed Buck so much, but it was sad to see how the major struggles and difficulties he faced sort of forced him to change. Buck had great determination and spirit that was clearly shown through his actions and reactions to his surroundings.
When John Thorton came to Buck's rescue like an angel, it foreshadowed that Buck was about to change again. He slowly began to change back into a more domesticated dog. He protected Thorton with all of his life now. Everything was no longer all about Buck anymore, but now it was about Thorton and Buch together. They were like father and son or even almost like brothers, in my opinion. It stayed this way until Buck heard the almost ever present call of the wild. Buck's personality then began to split. He had to choose between following the call, or staying by his rescuers side. His confusion in this situation was almost like a mini climax.
When Thorton and Buck were finally serperated due to horrible circumstances, Buck then only had one choice to make. He was to follow the call of the wild. It was almost as if he was set free to follow his heart, like fate or destiny even. Out of the most terrible situations, hope and new opportunity can arise. That is what happened to Buck, new opportunity arose.
I compliment Jack London on his captivating writing style. He made it so that anyone could take this long and eye-opening journey with Buck just by picking up the book and start reading. "The Call of the Wild" was like a portal into a new world for me. I have never read a book like this before, and I thank Jack London for giving this experience to me.
