John Griffith London, born John Griffith Chaney, was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. His most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in 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", and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf. To Build a Fire is the story of a young miner who has come to the Yukon to find gold. He is travelling toward his camp on a cold, windy afternoon, against the advice of a seasoned miner. He falls through some ice and gets his feet wet, necessitating building a fire to dry off and warm up. Unfortunately, his fire fails, and the man ends up freezing to death. When it is clear he's dead, his dog deserts him, heading for the warmth and food of the mining camp. The setting of the story in the extreme cold of the largely uninhabited Yukon establishes the thematic role nature will play from the beginning. Nature is awe-inspiring - extremely cold and stark - and also terrible in its indifference to individual human life. The man’s fatal flaw, his unawareness of the power of nature, is established immediately. A classic narrative of a battle for survival against the forces of nature, "To Build a Fire" is London at his best! Enjoy free online English audiobook “To Build a Fire”, breathtaking shorts story by Jack London.
