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White Fang
HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.
‘Fear urged him to go back, but growth drove him on…‘
Set in the frozen forests of the Yukon Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s, ‘White Fang’ tells the story of a young wolf-dog’s journey from the wild into human territory. As White Fang learns that civilisation is every bit as vicious and violent as nature – and that survival is only awarded to the fittest – we too see how instinct, sensation and emotion drive every one of us.
Published in 1906 to wide and instant acclaim, this is a remarkable and moving look at the timeless relationship between man and dog.
148 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1906
About the author
Jack London
7,774 books8,036 followersJohn Griffith Chaney, better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal rights, workers’ rights and socialism. London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, War of the Classes, and Before Adam.
His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,659 reviews
March 25, 2024
Can an animal part wolf, part dog, be rehabilitated and become a domestic pet? The exact opposite of, another Jack London novel, The Call of the Wild. So the premise is, in White Fang. A runaway former Indian bred she- wolf, Kiche, along with forty odd others, in a wolf pack, are following three men on a dog sled, two still alive. Famine grips the territory in the Yukon, during the Klondike Gold Rush, Canada, just before the start of the Twentieth Century . The wild animals are starving, literally they're just skin and bones . Bill and Henry need to get to civilization quickly before the wolves have dinner. A dead man is on the sled, in a coffin (some kind of British nobleman, name never given), why such a person is here, the two live ones can't figure out, and never asked. Their job is to take him to a little remote town... (Strange goings on), Bill feeds the seven dogs with fish, at camp, but Henry tells his partner they have only six. Fires ring the fugitives from the law, of the survival of the fittest, the higher the flames arise, the better, how long the wood will last, is something the men don't want to think about. A dog disappears in the bitter cold , horrific night, at another stop another and , well you get the picture , no more dogs, or bullets. One gentleman is left, the hungry wolves come in....The wolf pack breaks up into smaller and smaller groups, the famine ends. Kiche the she-wolf, with some dog blood, takes a mate, One-Eye, an older animal. A litter of five, are born by the Mackenzie River, but only one cub, later named White Fang, reaches maturity. In the future, a vicious ninety pounds of anger, kill before they kill you is his way. He learned it early, to live is the only important thing. All else doesn't matter, nature is cruel, the brave, the strong prosper, the weak, fall down and stay down. Grey Beaver captures the cub, his late brother had owned his mother, Kiche, so he claims him as his. The tribe agrees, and takes him to the Indian village, later sells the valuable grown up wolfdog, to Beauty Smith (who brought the liquor bottles), while drunk, an alias that the white man doesn't deserve, not by a long shot, he is the ugliest man around. The beatings that White Fang received, from Grey Beaver, is increased greatly by Smith, he likes punishing the animal, it makes him feel brave and he is the biggest coward in Fort Yukon. His new owner has contests, dog fights, inside a cage, the crowd of men cheer on wildly,( humans, the real beasts), bet on their favorites, during the carnage, with any opponent fool enough to challenge White Fang . Turning the already brutal wolf dog, into a smart, perfect, killing machine. Until Weedon Scott, arrives, a kind man with political influence. The question, will Scott rescue the unloved wolf dog, who has never known gentleness from people, just whippings, and the club, on the head, or a kick to the body, get the salvation he desperately needs ? Probably Jack London's best book.
November 17, 2025
The wolfdog known as White Fang has had a difficult life.
“The Wild still lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept.”
Cruel companions, cruel owners and a cruel world shaped him into what he is - violent, distrustful and aching for something he knows not.
When he finally stumbles into the hands of a kind master, he is completely thrown.
The world as he knows it is bleak and cold but the new master? He holds the spark of warmth that White Fang so desperately craves.
But after a lifetime of abuse, will he be able to trust?
This book was never on the "to-read" list from my elementary years, but this has been one that I have always been curious about.
I thought this was such an interesting story - we follow White Fang from his earliest years as a pup to his adulthood.
It was heart-wrenching and heartwarming and definitely worth a read.
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October 19, 2022
Read when I was a child. I remember I wanted a husky afterwards even though I was not a big fan of dogs.
February 24, 2019
White Fang, Jack London’s 1906 companion (and thematic mirror) story to his classic The Call of the Wild begins with an archetypal London setting, a scene of desperate survival in a harsh, cruel environment.
Following the growth of a hybrid wolf-dog as he grows and fights and survives in the frozen north, White Fang embodies and demonstrates many of the common themes of London’s work such as survival of the fittest, isolation from society, and a primitive naturalism.
In the spirit of Joseph Conrad and Algernon Blackwood, London subtly personifies “the wild” until it is as much a character as one who gets a line of dialogue. Blackwood’s novella The Wendigo is a close companion to White Fang in that the frozen, inhospitable and unforgiving northlands comes to add an antagonistic quality to the narrative.
In many ways White Fang, more brutal and less dramatic than Call of the Wild, is the more quintessential London novel, though my pick for best London book is still The Sea Wolf.
Following the growth of a hybrid wolf-dog as he grows and fights and survives in the frozen north, White Fang embodies and demonstrates many of the common themes of London’s work such as survival of the fittest, isolation from society, and a primitive naturalism.
In the spirit of Joseph Conrad and Algernon Blackwood, London subtly personifies “the wild” until it is as much a character as one who gets a line of dialogue. Blackwood’s novella The Wendigo is a close companion to White Fang in that the frozen, inhospitable and unforgiving northlands comes to add an antagonistic quality to the narrative.
In many ways White Fang, more brutal and less dramatic than Call of the Wild, is the more quintessential London novel, though my pick for best London book is still The Sea Wolf.
January 10, 2018
I think I am one of the few who did not have this book as required reading in school.
White Fang chronicles the harsh realities of life. When this book begins, two men and trying to bring back the body of a third using their dog sled team. There has been a lack of food and night by night one of their dogs go missing. Finally, they see the culprit - a she wolf who is luring their dogs away. Food is scarce, and she is part of a wolf pack trying to survive. Soon the men are being hunted by the wolves and it becomes a battle to survive. Besides She-Wolf (half dog half wolf), an older wolf called one eye is with the pack. Eventually they mate, and White Fang becomes their surviving pup.
Initially life is good for White Fang. He is inquisitive and lets his instincts help him learn to explore and hunt. But one day he and his Mother come across men "Gods" and their lives change. Soon Mother and Pup are separated, and White Fang gets his introductions into the harsh realities of life. He learns the pains of separation, the pains of beatings and the pains of not fitting in with the other dogs and wolves. White Fang is sold and has an even more sadistic owner who turns him into a fighter. Eventually White Fang is saved and begins a new life where he eventually knows kindness and trust. He becomes part of a family again.
So now that I have told you the plot of the entire book, I will tell you that I really enjoyed this story. I liked how the story is mainly told through White Fang's POV. It gives the reader a great look at White Fang's impulses, instincts, personality, fears and thoughts. Well written and with a sweet ending. London captured the environment and elements brilliantly. I love when I read a book and feel as if I am right there during the action. I'm glad that I selected to read this as part of a group read.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
White Fang chronicles the harsh realities of life. When this book begins, two men and trying to bring back the body of a third using their dog sled team. There has been a lack of food and night by night one of their dogs go missing. Finally, they see the culprit - a she wolf who is luring their dogs away. Food is scarce, and she is part of a wolf pack trying to survive. Soon the men are being hunted by the wolves and it becomes a battle to survive. Besides She-Wolf (half dog half wolf), an older wolf called one eye is with the pack. Eventually they mate, and White Fang becomes their surviving pup.
Initially life is good for White Fang. He is inquisitive and lets his instincts help him learn to explore and hunt. But one day he and his Mother come across men "Gods" and their lives change. Soon Mother and Pup are separated, and White Fang gets his introductions into the harsh realities of life. He learns the pains of separation, the pains of beatings and the pains of not fitting in with the other dogs and wolves. White Fang is sold and has an even more sadistic owner who turns him into a fighter. Eventually White Fang is saved and begins a new life where he eventually knows kindness and trust. He becomes part of a family again.
So now that I have told you the plot of the entire book, I will tell you that I really enjoyed this story. I liked how the story is mainly told through White Fang's POV. It gives the reader a great look at White Fang's impulses, instincts, personality, fears and thoughts. Well written and with a sweet ending. London captured the environment and elements brilliantly. I love when I read a book and feel as if I am right there during the action. I'm glad that I selected to read this as part of a group read.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
April 12, 2026
“A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness.”
Jack London’s stories never fail to set me right in the middle of his settings. The chill seeps into my bones and the emptiness itself sends a shiver down my spine. To live in or traipse through a land so frigid and empty would plummet my spirits indeed. Yet, it also gives me a sense of awe to read about such things. I’m grateful to be writing this in a small patch of sunlight by the window while the birds are singing their springtime songs.
I’ve read Call of the Wild twice now, once as a child and once as an adult. It’s a favorite. Yet, for some reason, I’d never gotten around to this one. It follows White Fang, part wolf and part dog, through puppyhood into adulthood. This is not an easy one to read, particularly if you are an animal lover. There is violence done to animals by men and vice versa. There is violence amongst the animals themselves. It’s true to the spirit of men and dogs and wolves and other creatures of the wild, however.
“The law was: EAT OR BE EATEN. He did not formulate the law in clear, set terms and moralise about it. He did not even think the law; he merely lived the law without thinking about it at all.”
White Fang, like any other wild animal, is wired to survive. Along the way, he learns a thing or two about the power of man. He’s a loner, not one to seek out affection – until he learns there is such a thing that can be given to him by kind people. How sad that he had to wait so long to experience this.
“White Fang experienced an unaccountable sensation of pleasure as the hand rubbed back and forth.”
I really enjoyed this, even if not quite as much as Call of the Wild. Jack London is dependable. I can always count on excellent storytelling and vivid descriptions. I think the next time I reach for him, however, I’ll held a little further south. His Hawaii stories are beckoning.
Jack London’s stories never fail to set me right in the middle of his settings. The chill seeps into my bones and the emptiness itself sends a shiver down my spine. To live in or traipse through a land so frigid and empty would plummet my spirits indeed. Yet, it also gives me a sense of awe to read about such things. I’m grateful to be writing this in a small patch of sunlight by the window while the birds are singing their springtime songs.
I’ve read Call of the Wild twice now, once as a child and once as an adult. It’s a favorite. Yet, for some reason, I’d never gotten around to this one. It follows White Fang, part wolf and part dog, through puppyhood into adulthood. This is not an easy one to read, particularly if you are an animal lover. There is violence done to animals by men and vice versa. There is violence amongst the animals themselves. It’s true to the spirit of men and dogs and wolves and other creatures of the wild, however.
“The law was: EAT OR BE EATEN. He did not formulate the law in clear, set terms and moralise about it. He did not even think the law; he merely lived the law without thinking about it at all.”
White Fang, like any other wild animal, is wired to survive. Along the way, he learns a thing or two about the power of man. He’s a loner, not one to seek out affection – until he learns there is such a thing that can be given to him by kind people. How sad that he had to wait so long to experience this.
“White Fang experienced an unaccountable sensation of pleasure as the hand rubbed back and forth.”
I really enjoyed this, even if not quite as much as Call of the Wild. Jack London is dependable. I can always count on excellent storytelling and vivid descriptions. I think the next time I reach for him, however, I’ll held a little further south. His Hawaii stories are beckoning.
December 27, 2022
What a captivating literary work!
I am SO grateful to have read this adventurous novel by Jack London.
Beware, some passages are certainly not for the faint hearted!
Look who is talking! I weeped when reading those passages looking at my dog at times, who enjoys having his loved ones around him 24/7 nowadays, dozing off and giving me an awkward look tilting his head to one side.
So, let me start off my review by giving you the core message of this novel that resonated 100% with me:
Human beings as well as animals are influenced by their environments:
If you treat them with cruelty and unfairness, they become ‘evil’, however, if you treat them with love and fairness, they become ‘good’.
I know ‘being good’ can be interpreted in 1001 ways, but let us imagine for a split second that wars, racism, and all cruelties can be avoided by ‘being good’ nurtured with infinite love that we experience in our environments and replicate the same towards all living beings.
Now, let me recap the story of White Fang whose story is in consonance with the quintessential message above:
White Fang stems from a mixed race, a wolf and a dog, and is exposed to a relentless fight in wilderness of the Arctic’s against hunger and various dangers by nature.
Nevertheless, nothing compares to the torture he experiences from humankind as a hard-working sled dog or in captivity by Beauty Smith, aka Jim Hall.
Jim is described by an antithesis as he is ugly to his core torturing animals and, unfortunately, born at disadvantage by birth, he is intellectually underdeveloped and mistreated by his surrounding.
Finally, saved by Weedon Scott, White Fang leaves his phase as a fighting dog behind him and shows his new true colours of loyalty and attachment to his owner, who instills him with affection and support.
By nature, White Fang is a quick-learner and very adaptable to his environment, whilst he enjoys his new life in California at the estate of Scott’s family called Sierra Vista.
White Fang is now at the peak of his life!
Thankfully!! This is the passage of the book when I had a smile all over my face.
Yes, he ran into some unapologetic incidents coined by his previous experiences, but Scott is determined to re-educate White Fang with love and support to become ‘good’.
In the meantime, Beauty Smith broke out of San Quentin after much torture and is chasing after Scott’s father, the judge who had unknowingly become part of a police conspiracy and passed a verdict of 50 years of imprisonment on Beauty Smith.
As Beauty Smith breaks into the Sierra Viesta, unconscious of White Fang’s presence there, he gets to surrender to his fate by White Fang’s deadly attack, whilst White Fang suffers from injuries of Smith’s gun shots.
Ultimately, White Fang will survive and the story will end to my utmost satisfaction as he recovers and falls in awe with his offspring by the Collie belonging to the estate of Sierra Viesta. ❤️
Jack London’s well-researched novel is a complete new experience to me whilst I indulged myself in his eloquent writing style. 🙏🤗
#Heart4Animals
IG: nilguen_reads
I am SO grateful to have read this adventurous novel by Jack London.
Beware, some passages are certainly not for the faint hearted!
Look who is talking! I weeped when reading those passages looking at my dog at times, who enjoys having his loved ones around him 24/7 nowadays, dozing off and giving me an awkward look tilting his head to one side.
So, let me start off my review by giving you the core message of this novel that resonated 100% with me:
Human beings as well as animals are influenced by their environments:
If you treat them with cruelty and unfairness, they become ‘evil’, however, if you treat them with love and fairness, they become ‘good’.
I know ‘being good’ can be interpreted in 1001 ways, but let us imagine for a split second that wars, racism, and all cruelties can be avoided by ‘being good’ nurtured with infinite love that we experience in our environments and replicate the same towards all living beings.
Now, let me recap the story of White Fang whose story is in consonance with the quintessential message above:
White Fang stems from a mixed race, a wolf and a dog, and is exposed to a relentless fight in wilderness of the Arctic’s against hunger and various dangers by nature.
Nevertheless, nothing compares to the torture he experiences from humankind as a hard-working sled dog or in captivity by Beauty Smith, aka Jim Hall.
Jim is described by an antithesis as he is ugly to his core torturing animals and, unfortunately, born at disadvantage by birth, he is intellectually underdeveloped and mistreated by his surrounding.
Finally, saved by Weedon Scott, White Fang leaves his phase as a fighting dog behind him and shows his new true colours of loyalty and attachment to his owner, who instills him with affection and support.
By nature, White Fang is a quick-learner and very adaptable to his environment, whilst he enjoys his new life in California at the estate of Scott’s family called Sierra Vista.
White Fang is now at the peak of his life!
Thankfully!! This is the passage of the book when I had a smile all over my face.
Yes, he ran into some unapologetic incidents coined by his previous experiences, but Scott is determined to re-educate White Fang with love and support to become ‘good’.
In the meantime, Beauty Smith broke out of San Quentin after much torture and is chasing after Scott’s father, the judge who had unknowingly become part of a police conspiracy and passed a verdict of 50 years of imprisonment on Beauty Smith.
As Beauty Smith breaks into the Sierra Viesta, unconscious of White Fang’s presence there, he gets to surrender to his fate by White Fang’s deadly attack, whilst White Fang suffers from injuries of Smith’s gun shots.
Ultimately, White Fang will survive and the story will end to my utmost satisfaction as he recovers and falls in awe with his offspring by the Collie belonging to the estate of Sierra Viesta. ❤️
Jack London’s well-researched novel is a complete new experience to me whilst I indulged myself in his eloquent writing style. 🙏🤗
#Heart4Animals
IG: nilguen_reads
August 12, 2020
I first read White Fang around the age of eleven or twelve. I think that's about right, but I'm not exactly certain. I do know that I read it soon after finishing London's other famous novel, The Call of the Wild. That first book, about a dog who's stolen and put into a life of hardship, would have been my favorite of the two at the time. It remains so, but the gap between them is not so wide now. What I don't recall realizing as a kid was how these two books, one about a dog, the other about a wolf, are stories told in reverse of one another. White Fang is so named by the Alaskan Indians who take him, a similarity to Buck's fate, but Fang is only a cub at the time. His life is only the way of fighting from it's beginning. First it comes with the many dog puppies of the Indian's camp, then with the white man haphazardly named, “Beauty Smith”, a man who represents all but what is good or kind. And in theory White Fang's path in life crosses Buck's here, going in separate directions. To this point he had never truly found trust in a man, until one comes along who can show him the way.
January 26, 2026
This is not just a book about a wolf named White Fang. It is a universal story about life, loyalty, cruelty, kindness, and, most importantly, love.
Since the story is written in the perspective of third person limited, the reader is able to see the world as White Fang sees it. You feel what he feels. You hear what he thinks. You understand his natural impulses in a way that feels unique and familiar all at the same time.
As I watched White Fang grow up and explore the wild world around him, I was reminded of my own youthful curiosity.
When he faced his adversaries, fellow predators, and metaphorical beasts, I could feel his emotional torment and anger. My experiences of being bullied as a child weren’t to the death, as they were for White Fang, but they left a lasting impression, just as they did for him.
Finally, when things began to change for White Fang, when the chains were broken… my heart and my tears poured out onto the pages. By the end of the story, White Fang felt like my own dear companion. I grew attached to him in a way I didn’t expect. I know he isn’t real. I know he’s just a wolf made up of words, but I’ll never forget him.
This is one of those precious stories that I don’t think I’ll ever stop thinking about.
Once again, this is not just a book about a wolf named White Fang. It is a story about me, and you, and all of humanity. I think we all have a little wolf within us. The question is: are you a wolf who obeys “the gods,” are you a wolf who fights to the death to survive, or are you a wolf who loves and protects?
Since the story is written in the perspective of third person limited, the reader is able to see the world as White Fang sees it. You feel what he feels. You hear what he thinks. You understand his natural impulses in a way that feels unique and familiar all at the same time.
As I watched White Fang grow up and explore the wild world around him, I was reminded of my own youthful curiosity.
When he faced his adversaries, fellow predators, and metaphorical beasts, I could feel his emotional torment and anger. My experiences of being bullied as a child weren’t to the death, as they were for White Fang, but they left a lasting impression, just as they did for him.
Finally, when things began to change for White Fang, when the chains were broken… my heart and my tears poured out onto the pages. By the end of the story, White Fang felt like my own dear companion. I grew attached to him in a way I didn’t expect. I know he isn’t real. I know he’s just a wolf made up of words, but I’ll never forget him.
This is one of those precious stories that I don’t think I’ll ever stop thinking about.
Once again, this is not just a book about a wolf named White Fang. It is a story about me, and you, and all of humanity. I think we all have a little wolf within us. The question is: are you a wolf who obeys “the gods,” are you a wolf who fights to the death to survive, or are you a wolf who loves and protects?
December 1, 2021
I missed this as a child not sure why given my love for call of the wild. My guess is my librarian mother withheld it because the animal cruelty would have probably upset a younger me since it did an older me.
There's alot of trigger warning for White Fang. Violence toward animal is no laughing matter. but it is told to suit a purpose. the opening scene of a wolf pack hunting a sled team. Taking one dog after another and even one human until ran off is very vivid. The wolf-dog White Fang is a vicious killer of dogs an "enemy of all his kind" as jack London puts it. he is a brute of an animal and London does a great job explaining why he became that way. It's sort of comparable to Frankenstein for dogs. relying alot on the basics of Darwinism. But don't despair a positive force comes to white fang's aid and changes everything with kindness! A great tale about the power of kindness used toward animals.
This is the second Jack London novel i have read. Obviously White Fang is an insta favorite as is Call of the wild. they have similar themes but different topics. have to see if he has anything else worth reading by jack London so far the two I've read have been spectacular .
There's alot of trigger warning for White Fang. Violence toward animal is no laughing matter. but it is told to suit a purpose. the opening scene of a wolf pack hunting a sled team. Taking one dog after another and even one human until ran off is very vivid. The wolf-dog White Fang is a vicious killer of dogs an "enemy of all his kind" as jack London puts it. he is a brute of an animal and London does a great job explaining why he became that way. It's sort of comparable to Frankenstein for dogs. relying alot on the basics of Darwinism. But don't despair a positive force comes to white fang's aid and changes everything with kindness! A great tale about the power of kindness used toward animals.
This is the second Jack London novel i have read. Obviously White Fang is an insta favorite as is Call of the wild. they have similar themes but different topics. have to see if he has anything else worth reading by jack London so far the two I've read have been spectacular .
January 3, 2014
I was reminded of Diana, the Huntress with her lop-eared hounds driving her chariot and her nymphs as her hunting companions when I read this book. And it is as that Goddess that I accompanied the wolf White Fang (the only survivor out of a litter of five puppies), on his incredible journey through life. I was the hidden onlooker basking in all the trials and tribulations that overcame him, be it through periods of famine, extreme brutality by human beings, his necessity and desire to hunt and to kill. Due to all of this he was hated both by man and dog. So having no kindness in his life how could he possibly ever like a person, never mind love him.
This isn’t your ordinary wolf with a touch of dog thrown in for good measure, but a very intelligent creature who soon realizes from the time of being a puppy that it’s a question of survival living in this harsh Canadian climate and where you have the choice of being the one who eats or ends up being eaten; it is indeed survival of the fittest. He soon finds out that he doesn’t actually have a choice in the way that he can lead his life. He realizes the power of men, the “gods” as he calls them, and being faced with famine, he quickly realizes what direction his life has to take.
Incredible dogs are met such as Lip-lip, Collie, Dick the hound, White Fang’s mother, Kiche, the reddish furred wolf-dog who had violent inclinations, and One-Eye the successful rival out of three fighting to be the object of her attention and desire, and ultimately the father of White Fang:
The battle began fairly, but it did not end fairly. There was no telling what the outcome would have been, for the third wolf joined the elder and together, old leader and young leader, they attacked the ambitious three-year old and proceeded to destroy him. He was beset on either side by the merciless fangs of his erstwhile comrades. Forgotten were the days they had hunted together, the game they had pulled down, the famine they had suffered. That business was a thing of the past. The business of love was at hand - even a sterner and crueler business than that of food-getting.
And in the meantime, the she-wolf, the cause of it all, sat down contentedly on her haunches and watched. She was even pleased. This was her day – and it came not often – when manes bristled, and fang smote fang or ripped and tore the yielding flesh, all for the possession of her.
I really loved White Fang, despite whatever he got up to because you as the reader were allowed to enter into his reasoning mind. That was so clever of the author and I often had tears to my eyes in parts and even a lump in my throat. One of those occasions showed White Fang, barking for the first time.
And what an incredible mix of individuals who blend in so well within the fabric of this book: The evil ones such as the Indian Gray Beaver, and Beauty Smith, who trained dogs to kill in blood sports versus the good individuals such as Judge Scott, Weedon Scott and his wife Alice and Matt, the dog-musher.
I defy anyone who will not be overwhelmed with the brilliance of this book by London. Once I had picked this book up, I could only quickly eat, and couldn’t put it down until I had finished it.
Jack London through his magnificent descriptions has embraced life in the northlands during the Yukon Gold rush in the 1890’s and shown such a graphic insight of the savagery of life then, with human beings, especially their violence towards their sled dogs. Nevertheless, he counters this by also demonstrating kindness and loyalty. But this author’s incredible imagination keeps the reader hanging on with enthusiasm regardless of what happens. There was a sensational section with a man bent on revenge, to name but one of the different wonderful sections of this book and in several other cases, the men and women who came to realize the worth ofWhite Fang.
In conclusion, this is one of those books that has to be read. As for future reading, I can see myself re-reading it many times in the future as this is an absolutely wonderful read and there’s nothing more to be said!
This isn’t your ordinary wolf with a touch of dog thrown in for good measure, but a very intelligent creature who soon realizes from the time of being a puppy that it’s a question of survival living in this harsh Canadian climate and where you have the choice of being the one who eats or ends up being eaten; it is indeed survival of the fittest. He soon finds out that he doesn’t actually have a choice in the way that he can lead his life. He realizes the power of men, the “gods” as he calls them, and being faced with famine, he quickly realizes what direction his life has to take.
Incredible dogs are met such as Lip-lip, Collie, Dick the hound, White Fang’s mother, Kiche, the reddish furred wolf-dog who had violent inclinations, and One-Eye the successful rival out of three fighting to be the object of her attention and desire, and ultimately the father of White Fang:
The battle began fairly, but it did not end fairly. There was no telling what the outcome would have been, for the third wolf joined the elder and together, old leader and young leader, they attacked the ambitious three-year old and proceeded to destroy him. He was beset on either side by the merciless fangs of his erstwhile comrades. Forgotten were the days they had hunted together, the game they had pulled down, the famine they had suffered. That business was a thing of the past. The business of love was at hand - even a sterner and crueler business than that of food-getting.
And in the meantime, the she-wolf, the cause of it all, sat down contentedly on her haunches and watched. She was even pleased. This was her day – and it came not often – when manes bristled, and fang smote fang or ripped and tore the yielding flesh, all for the possession of her.
I really loved White Fang, despite whatever he got up to because you as the reader were allowed to enter into his reasoning mind. That was so clever of the author and I often had tears to my eyes in parts and even a lump in my throat. One of those occasions showed White Fang, barking for the first time.
And what an incredible mix of individuals who blend in so well within the fabric of this book: The evil ones such as the Indian Gray Beaver, and Beauty Smith, who trained dogs to kill in blood sports versus the good individuals such as Judge Scott, Weedon Scott and his wife Alice and Matt, the dog-musher.
I defy anyone who will not be overwhelmed with the brilliance of this book by London. Once I had picked this book up, I could only quickly eat, and couldn’t put it down until I had finished it.
Jack London through his magnificent descriptions has embraced life in the northlands during the Yukon Gold rush in the 1890’s and shown such a graphic insight of the savagery of life then, with human beings, especially their violence towards their sled dogs. Nevertheless, he counters this by also demonstrating kindness and loyalty. But this author’s incredible imagination keeps the reader hanging on with enthusiasm regardless of what happens. There was a sensational section with a man bent on revenge, to name but one of the different wonderful sections of this book and in several other cases, the men and women who came to realize the worth ofWhite Fang.
In conclusion, this is one of those books that has to be read. As for future reading, I can see myself re-reading it many times in the future as this is an absolutely wonderful read and there’s nothing more to be said!
April 22, 2020
I know why I loved this as a kid. It is a raw adventure, with a natural charm, and the idea of a wild wolf-dog that is tamed by one man’s kindness would have been irresistible to my nine year old self. Even as an adult, it reads like a heroic tale, as White Fang fights his way through life’s difficulties, like Odysseus trying to find his way home. There can be little doubt that Jack London understood the nature of a wild animal and the dangerous life in the Northern climes.
The descriptive powers of London made me shiver with the chill of the cold and the fear that must accompany a night spent with a fire being the only thing standing between a man and a hungry wolf pack. There are moments of animal cruelty and even nature’s cruelty that make one cringe, but the story is true to life, and life is often unkind. But there is also a feeling of hope, of the possibility of survival, and of the love that a dog, or even a wolf, can offer a man, whether he deserves it or not.
The descriptive powers of London made me shiver with the chill of the cold and the fear that must accompany a night spent with a fire being the only thing standing between a man and a hungry wolf pack. There are moments of animal cruelty and even nature’s cruelty that make one cringe, but the story is true to life, and life is often unkind. But there is also a feeling of hope, of the possibility of survival, and of the love that a dog, or even a wolf, can offer a man, whether he deserves it or not.
January 23, 2019
My second book by Jack London. As a kid, I watched Disney's movie with Ethan Hawke and loved every second of it. The majesty of the nature scenes, the thrilling albeit tragic life of the wolf (the German title of the story is "Wolf's Blood").
Since I keep working my way through a wide range of classics, Jack London was not to be missed and his books were really perfect for winter (incidentally, the weather got really icy every time I picked one of them up).
We follow a she-wolf as she chooses a mate and has a litter. One of the pups is the titular White Fang. Through his eyes we experience the life among his siblings, famine, encounters first with Natives and then with white humans, dog fights, pain and betrayal but also love and even humour.
Despite the age of London's stories, they address topics that are still relevant today - such as human greed, falsehood, friendship and more. The author's musings regarding human nature incorporated in this adventure were poignant and mostly accurate (I disagree about Beauty Smith not being culpable).
I seriously hated most humans here. *lol* Naturally, people thought differently about animals then compared to now, but even then one should have valued life, whether furry or not. I can consider the times a story takes place in but animal cruelty is wrong no matter what century.
Thus, despite Grey Beaver already having been horrible, Beauty Smith was the worst because he pollutes the already tarnished White Fang! To a certain degree, that made them alike: both had bad pasts full of negative experiences. The noteable difference, showing that the author also thinks animals are the better people, is how .
Best of all are the nature descriptions. It seems to be Jack London's greatest gift. The characters are nicely fleshed out and the story is solid and keeps you at the edge of your seat, but it wouldn't work the same way if it weren't for the reader landing smack in the middle of ice and snow in the American North, the wild north full of woods and lynxes and all kinds of other wildlife. Moreover, as mentioned in the previous book I read by him, it shows that he was actually there himself. He knows what the cold feels like, how the different hours of light and dark can have a significant impact on one's mood, what noises keep one on edge the whole time and how one must rely upon one's companions (furry and otherwise).
Longing is what this book is all about. Longing for freedom and independence, but also for a place one can call home, longing for companionship and love, longing for the vast wilderness and spirit of nature.
Since I keep working my way through a wide range of classics, Jack London was not to be missed and his books were really perfect for winter (incidentally, the weather got really icy every time I picked one of them up).
We follow a she-wolf as she chooses a mate and has a litter. One of the pups is the titular White Fang. Through his eyes we experience the life among his siblings, famine, encounters first with Natives and then with white humans, dog fights, pain and betrayal but also love and even humour.
Despite the age of London's stories, they address topics that are still relevant today - such as human greed, falsehood, friendship and more. The author's musings regarding human nature incorporated in this adventure were poignant and mostly accurate (I disagree about Beauty Smith not being culpable).
I seriously hated most humans here. *lol* Naturally, people thought differently about animals then compared to now, but even then one should have valued life, whether furry or not. I can consider the times a story takes place in but animal cruelty is wrong no matter what century.
Thus, despite Grey Beaver already having been horrible, Beauty Smith was the worst because he pollutes the already tarnished White Fang! To a certain degree, that made them alike: both had bad pasts full of negative experiences. The noteable difference, showing that the author also thinks animals are the better people, is how .
Best of all are the nature descriptions. It seems to be Jack London's greatest gift. The characters are nicely fleshed out and the story is solid and keeps you at the edge of your seat, but it wouldn't work the same way if it weren't for the reader landing smack in the middle of ice and snow in the American North, the wild north full of woods and lynxes and all kinds of other wildlife. Moreover, as mentioned in the previous book I read by him, it shows that he was actually there himself. He knows what the cold feels like, how the different hours of light and dark can have a significant impact on one's mood, what noises keep one on edge the whole time and how one must rely upon one's companions (furry and otherwise).
Longing is what this book is all about. Longing for freedom and independence, but also for a place one can call home, longing for companionship and love, longing for the vast wilderness and spirit of nature.
January 6, 2019
This book made me have nightmares of wolves attacking me and this book kept me up turning pages, because of a wolf learning new ways of life.
This book at first confused me, but in a way, I understood the Indian (Native American) ways, then I became enraged and at last - happy. I felt like I went through my own range of snarling and learning the human laws, learning affection, at last encountering a human that had similar views to treating animals as I do. It's quite the journey.
This book touched me deeply, it made me see a new perspective on animals and I appreciate it a lot.
This book at first confused me, but in a way, I understood the Indian (Native American) ways, then I became enraged and at last - happy. I felt like I went through my own range of snarling and learning the human laws, learning affection, at last encountering a human that had similar views to treating animals as I do. It's quite the journey.
This book touched me deeply, it made me see a new perspective on animals and I appreciate it a lot.
October 22, 2020
تا حالا شده با اسم مترجم کتاب انتخاب کنید!؟
#محمدقاضی
#محمدقاضی
November 2, 2025
حقیقتا نقدش نمیکنم چون به دید سلیقه میگم : من دوستش نداشتم و این بحث با نقد کاملا متفاوته.
January 17, 2022
White Fang was originally published in 1906 by Jack London and the story is still an exceptional read to this day.
The wolf-cub was born to the she-wolf along with four other siblings. One-Eye was the male wolf who continued to bring food until the day he didn’t return, and the she-wolf had to search for food. When the famine hit, all of the wolf-cub’s siblings died from starvation, so he and his mother set out in the search for food.
Living first with an Indian tribe, the wolf-cub was named White Fang and he learned subservience to his human owner, but was a loner, determined to never allow other dogs or wolves within his orbit. His second owner was a cruel man and the Yukon was a cruel place. White Fang’s life was harsh and he had no choice but to turn into a killer – it was kill or be killed.
But White Fang’s life changed when he met Weedon Scott…
I had White Fang recommended to me by a Goodreads friend and I’m grateful for that recommendation. I read The Call of the Wild back in 2013 and loved that one, and this one was no different. Recommended.
I downloaded this copy from Project Gutenberg.
The wolf-cub was born to the she-wolf along with four other siblings. One-Eye was the male wolf who continued to bring food until the day he didn’t return, and the she-wolf had to search for food. When the famine hit, all of the wolf-cub’s siblings died from starvation, so he and his mother set out in the search for food.
Living first with an Indian tribe, the wolf-cub was named White Fang and he learned subservience to his human owner, but was a loner, determined to never allow other dogs or wolves within his orbit. His second owner was a cruel man and the Yukon was a cruel place. White Fang’s life was harsh and he had no choice but to turn into a killer – it was kill or be killed.
But White Fang’s life changed when he met Weedon Scott…
I had White Fang recommended to me by a Goodreads friend and I’m grateful for that recommendation. I read The Call of the Wild back in 2013 and loved that one, and this one was no different. Recommended.
I downloaded this copy from Project Gutenberg.
May 27, 2017
Ovo je jedna od retkih knjiga za koju je 5* nedovoljno da opiše koliko je priča savršena.
January 16, 2018
Although I did enjoy White Fang, I did not enjoy it as much as The Call of the Wild. Glad I finally read it though!
February 10, 2017
I can still remember the day I received the hardcover edition of this novel as a christmas present by my grandmother four or five years ago. At a time when I was still recuperating from the classics thrown at us in school with the pure result of me feeling disgusted by everything which has been published more than one hundred years ago, I decided White Fang to be a piece of literature I'd better not pick up. And so it rested on my book shelf for more than three years before I brought myself to open it again. The first of altogether five parts turned out to be arduous to read, since I expected an animal's viewpoint, but read a story about two men trying to survive in Canada's wilderness. I finally stopped reading at page forty or so and put it back on my shelves.
Then, one year ago, I returned to "White Fang", telling myself continuously it couldn't be that bad, and exactly at that point where Part Two began, I fell in love with this book. White Fang's story is told in such a magnificient way, you can't help yourself but root for his wolf, hope for his survival, suffer with him through everything he has to endure. Jack London's novel became one of the first classics I enjoyed, and although some time still had to pass before I would turn my attention towards other classics, it ultimately broke the ice between me and classics, a long lasting antipathy fabricated by my teacher's abilities to kill any interest in reading all those great books out there.
Highly recommended!
Then, one year ago, I returned to "White Fang", telling myself continuously it couldn't be that bad, and exactly at that point where Part Two began, I fell in love with this book. White Fang's story is told in such a magnificient way, you can't help yourself but root for his wolf, hope for his survival, suffer with him through everything he has to endure. Jack London's novel became one of the first classics I enjoyed, and although some time still had to pass before I would turn my attention towards other classics, it ultimately broke the ice between me and classics, a long lasting antipathy fabricated by my teacher's abilities to kill any interest in reading all those great books out there.
Highly recommended!
April 17, 2026
What a wonderful reading experience! I loved everything about this classic novel. The story of White Fang, from his birth to his life as a young wolf, is captivating. Through clear depictions of the wild and life among other animals, the novel powerfully explores the impact of environment and fate.
The novel follows White Fang's life as he faces wild challenges, learns from his experiences, and ultimately reveals that our environment and the compassion we receive define us. White Fang's journey confirms the redemptive power of love and transformation.
People of all ages should read this book, as it offers a literary experience that is both exhilarating and deeply moving. Jack London, with his sharp, evocative writing, completely immerses us in the story and elicits empathy for White Fang.
I'm delighted to have discovered this classic and to have experienced such powerful emotions—from joy to heartbreak—as an animal lover. This journey has reaffirmed my love for stories that evoke empathy and leave a lasting emotional imprint.
The novel follows White Fang's life as he faces wild challenges, learns from his experiences, and ultimately reveals that our environment and the compassion we receive define us. White Fang's journey confirms the redemptive power of love and transformation.
People of all ages should read this book, as it offers a literary experience that is both exhilarating and deeply moving. Jack London, with his sharp, evocative writing, completely immerses us in the story and elicits empathy for White Fang.
I'm delighted to have discovered this classic and to have experienced such powerful emotions—from joy to heartbreak—as an animal lover. This journey has reaffirmed my love for stories that evoke empathy and leave a lasting emotional imprint.
January 1, 2014
One of my all time favorite books. Hard at times, bloody, but if you love the outdoors, and dogs, try it.
****The above was my original "minimalist" review of this book.****
Actually the book doesn't require much of a review beyond, "great book". However as a friend here noted she's just reading it my mind was drawn back to it.
As noted below I grew up on a small farm and didn't have access to a lot of novels. I had 4 my parents had given me as gifts over time and our school had a small library. There wasn't a public library nearby. I found this (and Call of the Wild) in the school library. I would have been about 11 I think.
I love dogs. I'd lost a couple of dogs by that time (country living was still more of a dose of reality then). White Fang is the story of a young half wolf from his birth on. I grew to love this book. I read and reread it. Later I bought it and kept it on my shelves. I may have read the print off a few of its pages.
If I "liked" Call of the Wild I loved this book. It is the second novel in my life that I read over and over and I recommend that if you haven't read it you try it.
I'm not a dyed in the wool London fan, that said I like many of his outdoor tales (even if I don't agree with many of his views). Here I think is a masterful though simple book. I highly recommend it.
****The above was my original "minimalist" review of this book.****
Actually the book doesn't require much of a review beyond, "great book". However as a friend here noted she's just reading it my mind was drawn back to it.
As noted below I grew up on a small farm and didn't have access to a lot of novels. I had 4 my parents had given me as gifts over time and our school had a small library. There wasn't a public library nearby. I found this (and Call of the Wild) in the school library. I would have been about 11 I think.
I love dogs. I'd lost a couple of dogs by that time (country living was still more of a dose of reality then). White Fang is the story of a young half wolf from his birth on. I grew to love this book. I read and reread it. Later I bought it and kept it on my shelves. I may have read the print off a few of its pages.
If I "liked" Call of the Wild I loved this book. It is the second novel in my life that I read over and over and I recommend that if you haven't read it you try it.
I'm not a dyed in the wool London fan, that said I like many of his outdoor tales (even if I don't agree with many of his views). Here I think is a masterful though simple book. I highly recommend it.
September 11, 2024
سپید دندان... کتابی که خاطرات خوب کودکی من و زنده می کنه .
وقتی ده سالم بود این کتاب رو به عنوان اولین کتاب بزرگسال هدیه گرفتم و شروع به خوندن کردم و دنیای من عوض شد. از اون روز سی و چند سال می گذره و من همچنان عاشق کتاب ها هستم
سپید دندان گرگ قوی و باهوش و وفادار من .
این کتاب رو با ترجمه ی عالی محمد قاضی شاید بیشتر از ۲۰ بار خوندم.
و دیروز شروع کردم به شنیدنش و همچنان برام جذابیت اولیه رو داشت .
از اون همه وفاداری بغض کردم .
شاید چون اولین کتاب جدی بود که خوندم بهش ۵ میدم چون همیشه حز عزیزترین کتاب های منه .
ترجمه: چاپی کتاب رو با ترجمه اقای قاضی بخونید
نسخه ی صوتیش ترجمه ی کیومرث پارسای بود که قابل قبول بود.
امتیازم ۵
پ.ن: صدای راوی خوب بود اما یه کم مقطع خوانی داشت . در کل اما خوب بود .
۶۳
وقتی ده سالم بود این کتاب رو به عنوان اولین کتاب بزرگسال هدیه گرفتم و شروع به خوندن کردم و دنیای من عوض شد. از اون روز سی و چند سال می گذره و من همچنان عاشق کتاب ها هستم
سپید دندان گرگ قوی و باهوش و وفادار من .
این کتاب رو با ترجمه ی عالی محمد قاضی شاید بیشتر از ۲۰ بار خوندم.
و دیروز شروع کردم به شنیدنش و همچنان برام جذابیت اولیه رو داشت .
از اون همه وفاداری بغض کردم .
شاید چون اولین کتاب جدی بود که خوندم بهش ۵ میدم چون همیشه حز عزیزترین کتاب های منه .
ترجمه: چاپی کتاب رو با ترجمه اقای قاضی بخونید
نسخه ی صوتیش ترجمه ی کیومرث پارسای بود که قابل قبول بود.
امتیازم ۵
پ.ن: صدای راوی خوب بود اما یه کم مقطع خوانی داشت . در کل اما خوب بود .
۶۳
March 9, 2016
Jack London, Jack London, Jack London. Ne desem az gelecek biliyorum. Jack London neden Jack London olmuş bir kez daha anlamama neden olan bir kitap oldu Beyaz Dış. Daha önce birkaç kere okumaya niyetlenmiştim ama kısmet bu zamanaymış.
Normalde karla kışla pek aram yokktur ama Jack London'ın tasvirleri ile taşı tarağı toplayıp Yükon nehrinin kenarına yerleşme isteği oluştu bende. Bir kere hikayenin örgüsü, ana konuya geçiş mükemmeldi. Ayrıca karaktlerin derinlikleri, onların hissiyatının tamamen kendimizde hissetmemiz ise müthişti. Öyle ki, hümanist ve hayvansever birisi olarak kendimle çelişecek hissiyatlar beslememe neden olan bölümleri şahane işlemiş Jack London. Zira hayvana vurdukları, hoş vurma denmez ona, eziyet ettikleri yerlerde o adamlara aynısını yapma hissi kapladı bütün vücudumu. Yer yer sınırden içim içimi yedi, yeri geldi hüzünden içim parçalandı. Bütün bu duyguları ise yaşayabilmemizin yegane sebebi ise Jack London'ın harikulade üslubu.
Yer yer duygulandıran, yer yer sinirlendiren, bazen üzen, bazen de gülümseten ama mutlaka Beyaz Dış ile bütünleştiğimiz müthiş bir kitap.
Normalde karla kışla pek aram yokktur ama Jack London'ın tasvirleri ile taşı tarağı toplayıp Yükon nehrinin kenarına yerleşme isteği oluştu bende. Bir kere hikayenin örgüsü, ana konuya geçiş mükemmeldi. Ayrıca karaktlerin derinlikleri, onların hissiyatının tamamen kendimizde hissetmemiz ise müthişti. Öyle ki, hümanist ve hayvansever birisi olarak kendimle çelişecek hissiyatlar beslememe neden olan bölümleri şahane işlemiş Jack London. Zira hayvana vurdukları, hoş vurma denmez ona, eziyet ettikleri yerlerde o adamlara aynısını yapma hissi kapladı bütün vücudumu. Yer yer sınırden içim içimi yedi, yeri geldi hüzünden içim parçalandı. Bütün bu duyguları ise yaşayabilmemizin yegane sebebi ise Jack London'ın harikulade üslubu.
Yer yer duygulandıran, yer yer sinirlendiren, bazen üzen, bazen de gülümseten ama mutlaka Beyaz Dış ile bütünleştiğimiz müthiş bir kitap.
Read
April 1, 2020Although I read The Call of the Wild and White Fang separately, I reviewed them together, because I felt that they're closely related novels that need to be discussed in comparison/contrast with each other. That review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .
July 4, 2017
When I was in high school, this book was required reading. It was one of the first books that I could not put down - a timeless classic.
September 6, 2017
I just finished this and the ending is very, very cute. It bowls you over to such an extent that it feels necessary to calm down and think clearly. I love the ending because it is sweet and definitely overdone and exaggerated and sentimental. You see, because the ending is so sweet and because the earlier sections have been so heartrending, you do not want to think logically. It is nice to just let your heart overflow with happiness. There is even a touch of humor thrown in at the end.
I don't know how to rate this. I do know I love the ending.
This is a book good for both kids and adults. Why can’t adults read a feel-good story once in a while too?
The book was first published in 1906, and is considered a classic. I wondered if it would it be one of those classics that is hard to get through. Would the style of writing be antiquated? No, not in the least. It drags a little bit in the middle, but the beginning is very exciting and at the end you do not want to put it down. I was worried that what we know today about wolves would make what is said here out of date. This is not true either. I was in fact impressed with the accuracy of the knowledge imparted. We see how White Fang, who is one quarter dog and three quarters wolf, sees the world around him, learns how to survive and becomes tame. I liked how we see the world out through his eyes.
The audiobook is narrated by John Lee. I am giving the narration five stars. It is seamlessly performed; you never even stop to think you are being read too. The lines just float into your head.
Ok, I love the schmaltzy ending, but it is perhaps important to add that any hybrid is an animal that must be handled with caution. This doesn't come to the fore in this book.
This was an enjoyable read, and I don’t regret in the least having picked it up. For a kid it could be worth four stars.
I don't know how to rate this. I do know I love the ending.
This is a book good for both kids and adults. Why can’t adults read a feel-good story once in a while too?
The book was first published in 1906, and is considered a classic. I wondered if it would it be one of those classics that is hard to get through. Would the style of writing be antiquated? No, not in the least. It drags a little bit in the middle, but the beginning is very exciting and at the end you do not want to put it down. I was worried that what we know today about wolves would make what is said here out of date. This is not true either. I was in fact impressed with the accuracy of the knowledge imparted. We see how White Fang, who is one quarter dog and three quarters wolf, sees the world around him, learns how to survive and becomes tame. I liked how we see the world out through his eyes.
The audiobook is narrated by John Lee. I am giving the narration five stars. It is seamlessly performed; you never even stop to think you are being read too. The lines just float into your head.
Ok, I love the schmaltzy ending, but it is perhaps important to add that any hybrid is an animal that must be handled with caution. This doesn't come to the fore in this book.
This was an enjoyable read, and I don’t regret in the least having picked it up. For a kid it could be worth four stars.
February 25, 2020
Leí este libro en mi niñez y hace poco tiempo volví a releerlo, con la grata satisfacción que independiente de la edad del lector, la historia provoca las mismas emociones. Es un libro muy conmovedor, en el cual nuestro canino protagonista vive en carne propia los aspectos más extremos de la naturaleza humana a través de los diferentes amos que tiene durante su vida. Así, experimenta la degradación más extrema, hasta la redención gracias a su “maestro de amor” al cual responde con una lealtad a toda prueba. Es un libro que no se olvida y recomendable para cualquier edad.
May 22, 2013
I opened my ancient copy of this book with the excitement of reading an old friend. I know I originally read it when I was about 12 or 14. I would not recommend it to anyone under 14 now, and definitely not to anyone with the slightest tendency towards cruelty or bullying. On this reading I was alternately horrified by the beatings meted out to White Fang and other animals (and their justification), and discomforted by the discourse Jack London creates about the intentions, understandings and intelligences of the three-parts wolf named White Fang.
This is the story of White Fang and how he came to accept the life of an Indian camp over freedom in the wilds of Alaska and the Yukon. It tells how that life was taken away from him, and how, through trickery of white man to indian, he was turned into a ferocious fighting animal, used as a gambling medium. And it tells how he was rescued from that life and eventually rehabilitated.
I know when I first read this book, life, our culture, was different. Citizen science and social participation were in their infancy, life was full of strict rules of behaviour and it was difficult to imagine anything outside a very humdrum life. The 1960s started the change in all that. So reading Jack London now is a very different experience from reading him in the sixties. My 21st century sensibilities recoil at the ill-treatment of animals, even in the harsh world of the Alaskan tundra forest. I see so many reports of ill-treatment of animals now, that I fear whatever literature exists to support such actions should not be widely mentioned. Bullying appears to be rife, and this book is full of bullying – of animals. So much contemporary Middle Grade literature seems to deal with bullying from the perspective of the bullied standing up and overcoming the effects. What White Fang seems to do is glorify it again. Or, if not glorify it, to place it as a natural order of things, since Jack London writes interminably about the law of gods and men, and how animals must take their place in that natural law. I remember doing a course in Environmental Ethics and thinking of how the approach of man to his environment changes according to the fashion at the time, utilisation, mastery, stewardship, harmony, sustainable development. This is back in the mastery era.
Yes, the book finishes [spoiler alert]with White Fang being freed from cruelty and rehabilitated through kindness and care from liberal-minded but tough travellers. I skipped through the part where he went to California, as I seem to remember I always did in the past. The key events during that time are well-told, and in some ways, White Fang’s rehabilitation is a blueprint for others who seek to retrain ill-treated animals.[/spoiler alert] It ends on a somewhat maudlin note.
It is a superbly written book, but I nearly put it down about two-thirds through. I had forgotten the sheer brutality of it. In some ways I can’t believe I have kept this book with me all this time. I wonder whether I mixed the story up with Call of the Wild. I certainly haven’t read it for years. I doubt whether I ever will again.
I don’t recommend you read this book. If you want a good MG wolf story read Nashoga by Rebecca Weinstein.Nashoga
This is the story of White Fang and how he came to accept the life of an Indian camp over freedom in the wilds of Alaska and the Yukon. It tells how that life was taken away from him, and how, through trickery of white man to indian, he was turned into a ferocious fighting animal, used as a gambling medium. And it tells how he was rescued from that life and eventually rehabilitated.
I know when I first read this book, life, our culture, was different. Citizen science and social participation were in their infancy, life was full of strict rules of behaviour and it was difficult to imagine anything outside a very humdrum life. The 1960s started the change in all that. So reading Jack London now is a very different experience from reading him in the sixties. My 21st century sensibilities recoil at the ill-treatment of animals, even in the harsh world of the Alaskan tundra forest. I see so many reports of ill-treatment of animals now, that I fear whatever literature exists to support such actions should not be widely mentioned. Bullying appears to be rife, and this book is full of bullying – of animals. So much contemporary Middle Grade literature seems to deal with bullying from the perspective of the bullied standing up and overcoming the effects. What White Fang seems to do is glorify it again. Or, if not glorify it, to place it as a natural order of things, since Jack London writes interminably about the law of gods and men, and how animals must take their place in that natural law. I remember doing a course in Environmental Ethics and thinking of how the approach of man to his environment changes according to the fashion at the time, utilisation, mastery, stewardship, harmony, sustainable development. This is back in the mastery era.
Yes, the book finishes [spoiler alert]with White Fang being freed from cruelty and rehabilitated through kindness and care from liberal-minded but tough travellers. I skipped through the part where he went to California, as I seem to remember I always did in the past. The key events during that time are well-told, and in some ways, White Fang’s rehabilitation is a blueprint for others who seek to retrain ill-treated animals.[/spoiler alert] It ends on a somewhat maudlin note.
It is a superbly written book, but I nearly put it down about two-thirds through. I had forgotten the sheer brutality of it. In some ways I can’t believe I have kept this book with me all this time. I wonder whether I mixed the story up with Call of the Wild. I certainly haven’t read it for years. I doubt whether I ever will again.
I don’t recommend you read this book. If you want a good MG wolf story read Nashoga by Rebecca Weinstein.Nashoga
July 20, 2016
***Wanda’s Summer Carnival of Children’s Literature***
Well, Jack London got to have his cake and eat it too, didn’t he? White Fang is like the mirror image of The Call of the Wild. While The Call of the Wild was about a domestic dog going wild, White Fang is the tale of a (predominately) wolf becoming domesticated.
It’s a very sentimental story, structured to get us to identify with the animal. The structure sets us up to view Gray Beaver as fair but unloving, to see Beauty Smith as hateful, and to understand that White Fang’s final owner is the ideal.
Oh the changes that our society has been through since these two books were published! London makes a lot of assumptions. He assumes that European culture is superior to that of Native Americans. He assumes that domestication is superior to being wild (it was in Call too, when Buck was owned by John Thornton). He assumes the rightness of the class structure. Each of White Fang’s owners slots into his spot in this world view.
I remember have the Classics Illustrated comic book version of this story when I was a child, but I didn’t recall a single detail of the story. It was good to read it again in the unabridged version.
I think it is still an excellent book to help children identify with “the other,” to think about the lives of other creatures. It is an empathy building book.
Well, Jack London got to have his cake and eat it too, didn’t he? White Fang is like the mirror image of The Call of the Wild. While The Call of the Wild was about a domestic dog going wild, White Fang is the tale of a (predominately) wolf becoming domesticated.
It’s a very sentimental story, structured to get us to identify with the animal. The structure sets us up to view Gray Beaver as fair but unloving, to see Beauty Smith as hateful, and to understand that White Fang’s final owner is the ideal.
Oh the changes that our society has been through since these two books were published! London makes a lot of assumptions. He assumes that European culture is superior to that of Native Americans. He assumes that domestication is superior to being wild (it was in Call too, when Buck was owned by John Thornton). He assumes the rightness of the class structure. Each of White Fang’s owners slots into his spot in this world view.
I remember have the Classics Illustrated comic book version of this story when I was a child, but I didn’t recall a single detail of the story. It was good to read it again in the unabridged version.
I think it is still an excellent book to help children identify with “the other,” to think about the lives of other creatures. It is an empathy building book.
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