Jack London

"Life Streamed through him in splendid flood, glad and rampant, until it Seemed that it would burst him asunder in sheer ecstasy and pour forth generously over the world."

That is how Jack London described Buck, the immensely powerful pet dog turned wolf pack leater in The Call of the Wild. London's vivid descriptions of his characters and their surroundings were largely based on his own experiences as a seaman, adventurer, gold prospector, boxer, vagrant and convict. While his lifestyle took a tragic toll on his health, leading to his untimely death at the age of just 40, it also provided the raw material for the works that would turn him into one of the giants of American literature.

The Call Of The Wild is the story of a dog called Buck, kidnapped from his comfortable domestic life to become a tough sled dog in Alaska but ultimately answering `the call of the wild' to join a wolf pack.

White Fang once again explores the theme of contrast between civilization and savagery when a wild wolf cub is brought up by humans only to become a champion fighting dog.

The Game revolves around London's favourite sport of boxing. Joe Fleming is a prize fighter and, on the eve of his wedding, his fiancee agrees to watch his last ever fight.

The Scarlet Plague was first published in 1912 but tells of a disease that wipes out most of the world's population in 2012. The story is set 60 years later as one of the survivors attempts to pass on a lifetime of wisdom and experience to his grandsons.

The Star Rover is a prison tale in which the main character endures torture sessions, surviving by entering a trance-like state, when he walks among the stars and experiences past lives.