Published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is an American literary treasure. Set in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon Territory during the 1890s' Klondike gold rush, this fictional tale opens when Buck, a dog that is part St. Bernard and part Scotch shepherd, is kidnapped from his comfortable home in Northern California. He soon finds himself heading north where large, strong sled dogs are in high demand. Buck learns to adapt to the frozen, arctic land. Over time he loses the social skills he had as a prized pet of a California judge. Instead he learns to live by the "law of club and fang," as he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs. By the end, he sheds the veneer of civilization and relies on primordial instinct and learned experience to emerge as a leader in the wild. Other London stories set around the rush for gold in this book include: "To Build a Fire," "To the Man on the Trail," "The Men of Forty Mile," "The Son of the Wolf" and several more. There also is a short biography about Jack London, which includes historical photographs, written by Alaska author/historian Laurel Downing Bill.