To Build a Fire and Other Favorite Stories

Born into poverty, Jack London led a knockabout existence before achieving success as one of the most popular authors of his era. In the course of his brief but active life, he sought adventure—as a hobo, prospector, sailor, and a dozen other occupations—along with self-education from the works of Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche, and Jung.
The vitality and variety of London's experiences are reflected in his stories, which range from earthy accounts of survival in the Arctic and the South Sea Islands to gripping tales of political upheaval and drama within the boxing ring.
The short story format offers an ideal showcase for London's narrative genius, providing a focus on the great power and fluency of his language. This collection features 13 of London's best works in the genre, including his most acclaimed short story, ‘To Build a Fire,’ in which a new arrival to the Klondike stubbornly ignores warnings about the folly of traveling alone. Additional tales include ‘A Piece of Steak,’ ‘The Mexican,’ ‘The Law of Life,’ ‘All Gold Canyon,’ and eight others.

John Griffith London was an American novelist, journalist, and social 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.
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".
London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of unionization, workers' rights, and socialism. He 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.
London died November 22, 1916, in a sleeping porch in a cottage on his ranch. London's ashes were buried on his property not far from the Wolf House. The grave is marked by a mossy boulder. The buildings and property were later preserved as Jack London State Historic Park, in Glen Ellen, California.