High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! "To Build a Fire" is a short story by American author Jack London. The famous version of this story was published in 1908. London published an earlier and radically different version in 1902 in which the protagonist survives his ordeal, and a comparison of the two provides a dramatic illustration of the growth of his literary ability. This story is considered a prime example of the naturalist movement and of a Man vs. Nature conflict.