The Tarzan Novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs: An Illustrated Reader's Guide [Paperback]

David A. Ullery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2001

Those who recognize that the original Tarzan is a literary creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs understand that the exploits of Tarzan are best explored through the magical medium of the printed word. Readers can experience a journey that lasts through 24 books and wanders not only into the jungle depths but farther down through the Earth's crust into the savage prehistoric land of Pellucidar. Also covered is the long out of print The Tarzan Twins as well as the recent Tarzan, the Lost Adventure and The Eternal Savage. This book serves as a literary guide to all the Tarzan novels. Section One provides an overview of Tarzan the character, including a list of the many names and titles used by and given to Tarzan; Section Two covers the mythical language used in the novels, including a dictionary of the ape language; Section Three enumerates the lost cities, civilizations, tribes, peoples and religions discovered by Tarzan, detailing their religious rites and locations; Section Four describes the characters (human and otherwise) found in the novels; and Section Five gives summaries of all 24 books that comprise the Burroughs canon. The book also includes over thirty illustrations from the series' various printings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Serves as a literary guide to all the Tarzan novels. A very good addition" -- -Fantastic Worlds

About the Author

David A. Ullery is a writer and illustrator living in Payson, Utah.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company; 1st edition (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786408251
• ISBN-13: 978-0786408252
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,332,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Over-Priced, May 8, 2004

By 

Jerome Y. Hebert (Québec) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tarzan Novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs: An Illustrated Reader's Guide (Paperback)

This book reminds me of "The Burroughs Cyclopedia," a hardcover volume covering the characters, places, names, etc. of many more of Burroughs' works than simply the Tarzan series.

"Tarzan Novels" is a half-inch thick, standard sized trade paperback. That format alone makes me feel the $45 price is extravagant. The entries themselves, however, are much more in-depth than the same Tarzan-related entries in "The Burroughs Cyclopedia." Additionally, the illustrations are a welcome addition which is totally lacking in the straight text of TBC.

My caveat to the prospective buyer is that you are paying a premium price here. My personal thought is that $25 would be a fair price for this interesting volume. $45, however, is assuming a very generous donation from ERB fans.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For fanatics..., September 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tarzan Novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs: An Illustrated Reader's Guide (Paperback)

This work is obviously a labor of love by a real Burroughs fan. Without reference to the Tarzan of the movies or comic books, the author gives us all kinds of details on the real thing -- Tarzan as he appeared first and at his greatest, in the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Several sections list and describe various facets of the books, such as different languages referred to in the narratives, the lost cities and civilizations that Tarzan encounters, and plot summaries. In the Cast of Characters section it's interesting to discover that in several instances there are multiple characters with the same name, but who appear in different volumes.

My big gripe is how much it costs. It's ridiculously overpriced. I don't know what the publishers were thinking (maybe "there's a sucker born every minute"), but that's far too much for what you get. Sure, it has an index, and sure, there are vintage illustrations by Roy Krenkel and J. Allen St. John (no Frazetta). But it's "trade" size and a paperback, for crying out loud. If I'd seen it in a store (I ordered it through the mail) I'd expect it to be priced [lower]. And a casual perusal turned up a few errors. Most were just typos, but in one case at least there was a bigger error. The city of Castrum Mare in Tarzan and the Lost Empire is given here as "Castra" Mare, and this is repeated several times throughout the book. Don't buy this book unless (1) you're rich, or (2) you're an ERB fanatic that can't live without it. Or, of course, if the price comes down. It's definitely worth borrowing, naturally.

Four stars for content, two for the price.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MMGAWA!, October 23, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (FL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tarzan Novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs: An Illustrated Reader's Guide (Paperback)

For those that love the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and specifically Tarzan this is the book for you. David Ullery has done a fantastic job in compiling ERB's Tarzon novels into one beautiful book. Anyone would be proud to add this one to their collection. As mentioned in a previous review, it may be a little higher priced but jeez we are talking Edgar Rice Burroughs. Great job Ullery!!!