Generally considered to be London's greatest achievement, The Call of
the Wild brought him international acclaim when it was published in
1903. His story of the dog Buck, who learns to survive in the bleak
Yukon wilderness, is viewed by many as his symbolic autobiography. White
Fang (1906), which London conceived as a "complete antithesis and
companion piece to The Call of the Wild, " is the tale of an abused
wolf-dog tamed by exposure to civilization. Also included in this volume
is "To Build a Fire, " a marvelously desolate short story set in the
Klondike, but containing all the elements of a classic Greek tragedy.