To Build a Fire

Jack London

Oct 2012 · Brook Forest Voices · Narrated by Jaime Andrade

About this audiobook

The classic short story - To Build a Fire - by American author Jack London, is brought to life in ways he probably never imagined when it was published in 1908.

The subtle blending of narration and music create a vivid image of the “Man” and his “Wolf Dog” as they set out on foot along the Yukon in temperatures colder than –50 F. With plans to meet his friends at a logging camp by 6:00pm, the Man finds himself pitted in a life and death struggle with nature.

Whether or not you’ve read this great American classic, you’ll be riveted by this audio version with sound enhancements of the Man’s harrowing adventure in the Gold Rush Era of Alaska.

Public Domain (P)2012 Brook Forest Voices

About the author

One of the pioneers of 20th century American literature, Jack London specialized in tales of adventure inspired by his own experiences. London was born in San Francisco in 1876. At 14, he quit school and became an "oyster pirate," robbing oyster beds to sell his booty to the bars and restaurants in Oakland. Later, he turned on his pirate associates and joined the local Fish Patrol, resulting in some hair-raising waterfront battles. Other youthful activities included sailing on a seal-hunting ship, traveling the United States as a railroad tramp, a jail term for vagrancy and a hazardous winter in the Klondike during the 1897 gold rush. Those experiences converted him to socialism, as he educated himself through prolific reading and began to write fiction. After a struggling apprenticeship, London hit literary paydirt by combining memories of his adventures with Darwinian and Spencerian evolutionary theory, the Nietzchean concept of the "superman" and a Kipling-influenced narrative style. "The Son of the Wolf"(1900) was his first popular success, followed by 'The Call of the Wild" (1903), "The Sea-Wolf" (1904) and "White Fang" (1906). He also wrote nonfiction, including reportage of the Russo-Japanese War and Mexican revolution, as well as "The Cruise of the Snark" (1911), an account of an eventful South Pacific sea voyage with his wife, Charmian, and a rather motley crew. London's body broke down prematurely from his rugged lifestyle and hard drinking, and he died of uremic poisoning - possibly helped along by a morphine overdose - at his California ranch in 1916. Though his massive output is uneven, his best works - particularly "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" - have endured because of their rich subject matter and vigorous prose.