The Cali of the Wild marked Jack London's rise
to fame; it was an instant success and is generally
acclaimed as his masterpiece. As H. L. Mencken
wrote of him: "No other popular writer of his time
did any better writing than you will find in The Cali
of the Wild'.
Since its first publication by Macmillan in 1903
it has continued to be read avidly by children and
adults alike. Gianni Celati's 1986 translation of 'The Cali of
the Wild' appears in the Einaudi series "Scrittori
tradotti da scrittori" which includes the
translations of many classics by writers such as
Natalia Ginzburg (Madame Bovary) and Giorgio
Manganelli (Poe's short stories) who also gained
recognition as translators. Part of the appeal of this series lies in reading the work of a famous writer interpreted by a well-known writer from another period; indeed, the book-jacket gives equal
prominence to the author and to the translator-author.
