Watership Down
Richard Adams, Richard Adams
Like Buck's story, this epic follows animals through danger and hardship from their own perspective, with a strong sense of instinct, leadership and the harshness of the natural world.
12 books to read next
Books Like The Call of the Wild
If you loved The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Readers love The Call of the Wild for its raw, fast-moving story of Buck, a domesticated dog thrown into the brutal world of the Klondike Gold Rush. It is told largely from an animal's point of view, with vivid scenes of snow, sled teams and survival, and a stark sense of nature as indifferent and powerful. Short and gripping, it explores loyalty, instinct and the pull between civilisation and the wild, all in muscular, unsentimental prose.
More great animal heroes
Black Beauty
Anna Sewell
A classic told by a horse who passes through kind and cruel owners, much as Buck does, showing how humans shape an animal's fate and character.
The Art of Racing in the Rain
Garth Stein, Christopher Evan Welch
Narrated by a dog with a deep inner life, it offers a modern, more emotional take on seeing human behaviour through an animal's eyes and loyalty.
Survival in the frozen north
Hatchet
Gary Paulsen
A lean, gripping survival story in the Canadian wilderness where, like Buck, a young boy must shed comfort and learn the hard rules of nature quickly.
Winterdance
Gary Paulsen
Paulsen's true account of training sled dogs and running the Iditarod brings the dog teams and punishing trail of London's Klondike vividly to life.
The Snow Child
Eowyn Ivey
Set in 1920s Alaska, it captures the same beautiful and unforgiving northern landscape, where isolation and wildness shape everyone who tries to live there.
More from Jack London
White Fang
Jack London
London's companion novel reverses Buck's journey, following a wolf-dog drawn from the wild toward human company, in the same Yukon setting and vivid style.
To Build a Fire and other stories
Jack London
London's famous Northland short stories distil the brutal cold and fragile human survival you loved in Buck's adventures into tense, unforgettable tales.
The Sea-Wolf
Jack London
Swapping snow for the open ocean, this novel shares the same themes of brute strength, survival and civilised people forced into a savage world.
Wild nature, deeper reflection
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
This true story of a young man who walked into the Alaskan bush, partly inspired by London, explores the same irresistible pull of wilderness and its dangers.
Never Cry Wolf
Farley Mowat
A witty, observant account of living among Arctic wolves that complements London's view of canine instinct and pack life with real-world wonder.
A River Runs Through It
Norman Maclean
A short, beautifully written novella about family and wild Montana rivers, offering a quieter but equally powerful sense of nature shaping who we are.
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