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To Build a Fire  By  cover art

To Build a Fire

By: Jack London
Narrated by: Peter Husmann
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Publisher's summary

"He travels fastest who travels alone...but not after the frost has dropped below zero 50 degrees or more." (Yukon Code)

Jack London’s best short story.

Public Domain (P)2013 Trout Lake Media

What listeners say about To Build a Fire

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

THE ABSENCE OF SUN

All about this not so bright individual who for some reason, unexplained, is running around in -50 weather. He is consistently getting wet. Every since I read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, I have a problem taking Jack London very seriously. He was actually a drunk who spend very little time in the wild. As often as this guy got wet, I did not understand why he did not die sooner.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

never go alone in -50°

Written as only Jack London can...

A man traveling alone across a winter-scape where temps are colder than -50 below.
His legs accidentally go through a soft spot where natural spring waters remain free of ice regardless of temps. Now the emergency! He must start a fire, but his hands are not working, and his legs are starting to freeze.

As I write this review, the midwest has been experiencing record cold temps as cold as -50°. School is cancelled and weather advisories go into effect. People are warned to stay indoors.

In this book, his friend warns him not go out alone, but he doesn't listen...
It is not London's best work, but he does manage to capture a certain poignancy.

Narration was fine- Husmann has a classic, crisp tone.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great classic.

My son and I enjoyed this reading of this classic short story very much. It made our trip to the dentist a great experience.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Terror in the the banal

If there is another author who can create such an engrossing tale about something as Benign as buiiing a fire , I have yet to encounter him.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Epic Jack London

As a Jack London fan I was not disappointed from page one through the last page. The reader was smooth and read with energy and grit. I could see the man and dog in every scene as though I were watching through a looking glass.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Only Jack Could Write This

One of his great short stories focusing his time in the Yukon.

Peter does a good read and you can feel the cold and need of fire.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Shocking!!!

Great story! The end completely caught me off guard. The performance was very well done.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Bad story

It is depressing and sooooo confusing!! But the reader did well.........I wish the author had a less depressing story line

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Achh! Those sissies. I’ll show them,,,

…how to squander my last day of life.

I loved this story in High School. After I read it I built fires away from trees. I imagine the interior of the pine branches was mostly empty space, a veritable chimney, and the fire heat rise to the top where the upper layer of snow softened and slumped down to the next layer then the next. In October 2001, the word became “pancaking “.

afhj23

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The Amber Beard

My husband *loves* JL. Me? Not so much. If I could get out of my own head and appreciate his storytelling techniques—I’d like him. To build a fire builds! I love the dog’s point of view. But at no point did I want to spend time in the setting nor with the narrator and his frostbitten limbs.

I had to buy this book on audio because I could not make myself read through the tobacco juice dripping from his beard. Like, pages and pages of dripping, freezing tobacco juice. I did not want to witness this story. But I did. And while there is suspense and stupidity and even a moment where I thought, huh, George Lucas probably liked Jack London (think about what Luke had to do to survive the snow storm)—I was not really moved by the end.

But who am I besides at 21st Century nincompoop who would never spend one voluntary minute of my real or imagined life in the snow with wet socks? Bless your heart, Jack. And three cheers for the dog who felt the same way that I did.

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