Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard [Paperback]

Benjamin Szumskyj (Editor), Michaek Moorcock (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

FOREWORD BY MICHAEL MOORCOCK In the one hundred years since his birth, Robert E. Howard's reputation has expanded from a mere pulp writer to a leading figure in the horror, fantasy, and adventure fiction of the 20th century. The virtual creator of the genre of sword-and-sorcery, Howard peopled his tales with such imperishable action figures as Conan the Cimmerian, Solomon Kane, King Kull, and Bran Mak Morn. In recent years, students and scholars have been examining Howard's work with increasing care and precision, placing it within the context of American and world literature. Two-Gun Bob commemorates Howard's centennial with an anthology of thirteen new and reprinted essays on Howard, ranging from Glenn Lord's study of Howard's early amateur press work to Fred Blosser's look at Howard's detective writing; from Charles Hoffman's analysis of Howard's portrayal of character to S. T. Joshi's placement of the Bran Mak Morn stories in the context of Roman history; from Charles Gramlich's psychological study of Howard to Michele Tetro's survey of Howard's poetry. Essays by John Goodrich, Frank Coffman, Lorenzo DiTommaso, Steve Sheaffer, Martin Andersson, Pietro Guarriello, and editor Benjamin Szumkyj discuss many other aspects of Howard's life, work, and thought, presenting a balanced and well-rounded portrayal of the man and the writer, and laying the groundwork for continuing study of this complex and enigmatic writer in the decades to come. With a preface by Michael Moorcock.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjamin Szymskyj has edited Fritz Leiber and H. P. Lovecraft: Writers of the Dark and is at work on anthologies of criticism on Leiber and on Thomas Harris. He is the editor of the scholarly journal Studies in Fantasy Literature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Hippocampus Press (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977173453
• ISBN-13: 978-0977173457
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TWO-GUN BOB - ROBERT E. HOWARD (1906-1936), April 6, 2008

By 

The Barbarian (Cimmeria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that gives a great insight into Robert E. Howard's mind and his writings! The book is dedicated to the Howardian Triumvirate, Rusty Burke, Glenn Lord, and Patrice Louinet - and to the memory of David Gemmell 1948-2006.

There are approximately 16 contributors of this book including Glenn Lord who first became a REH fan in 1951 when he read Skull Face & Others. Lord has been an active figure in REH's legacy. We fans of REH owe Glenn Lord, Paul Herman, Mark Finn and many others including all contributors of this book a big thank you for all they've done to keep REH's legacy alive. The last of his writings are now in a book titled - The Last of The Trunk; Please see REHfoundation.

One of my favorite chapters is A Behavior Perspective by Charles Gramlich, Ph.D. who is a professor of psychology at a small university in New Orleans and a long time member of REHupa and assistant editor of The Dark Man: The Journal of REH Studies. In Two-Gun Bob On page 99 he says QUOTE - REH was a pretty normal fellow and states that the problem with playing amateur psychologist is that it's very easy and tempting to look at a single incident in people's lives and make a judgement of their mental state. But what if someone did that to you? What if someone saw you only once in your life, and it was when you were at your worst, at the very moment when you were snapping at your friends, or so sad that you felt like "just giving up"? Or what if they saw you when you were intoxicated and acting silly, but they didn't know you'd been drinking? Would that be a fair way to judge you?

Unfortunately, Howard has oftened been "diagnosed" with mental disorders on just flimsy evidence, and the problem is compounded by the fact that people tend to remember unusual events better than they do common ones.

When REH took his own life was that decision the correct one? There is no way for us to answer that. But was his suicide the result of a long-term mental abnormality? That we can answer, and the answer is "no". Yes, he engaged in some mildly eccentric behaviors at times. Yes, he told some tall tales on occasion. And no, he wasn't a suave and sophisticated social butterfly. But an analysis of the full range of his behaviors shows very clearly that he was also no inept mama's boy, no paranoid loner, no failure at his chosen profession. Outside of his decision to be a writer in a time and place where few understood such a choice, Howard was a pretty typical young man in the rural Texas of the early twentieth century who also happened to be gifted with an extraordinary imagination and an enviable talent for telling stories. He wasn't crazy; he was just a very good writer. UNQUOTE

Other Chapters are: REH: a Look at "Two-Gun Bob" 100 Years On by Benjzmin Szumskyj, The Junto: Being a Brief Look at the Amateur Press Association REH Partook In as a Youth by Glenn Lord, From Acorns Grow; REH Revealed in Post Oaks and Sand Roughs by John Goodrich, Sleuths, Secrets, and Grisly Mysteries: The Detective Fiction of REH by Fred Blosser, Words from the Outer Dark: The Poetical Works of REH by Michele Titro, Texas Talespinner: REH's Ways with Words by Frank Coffman, The Persistence of the Familiar: The Hyborian World and the Geographics of Tantastic Literature by Lorenzo DiTommaso, Ph.D, Bran Mak Morn and History by S.T. Joshi, Bitter Pleasures and Swinish Stupidity: Howard's Take on Human Character by Charles Hoffman, El Borak, the Swift by Scott Sheaffer, Stars and Strong Men: The Science and Cosmic Fiction of REH by Martin Anderson, Laudator Temporis Acti: History and Myth in the Works of REH by Pietro Guarriella, Cimmerian Gloves: Studying REH's Ace Jessel from the ringside by Benjamin Szumskyj.

On the back of the book last para: Quote - Much work is currently being done in the republishing of Howard's literary works (especially recent efforts to get "Pure Howard" texts in print), and scholarly publication and interest have also heightened in recent years as the Howard centennial approached. Indeed, a new "Howard Boom" seems to be under way. UNQUOTE

I give this book my highest rating ever! In addition must reads are: One Who Walked Along by Novalyne Ellis, Blood & Thunder, The Life & Art of REH by Mark Finn, The Last of the Trunk and The Never Ending Hunt and all Weird Works by Paul Herman, Collected Letters Vols 1-3 and Poetry by Rob Roehm, All of the Del Ray books which are pure Howard, The Black Stranger, Conan, & Conan the Phenom. Get them all! Check out the REH Foundation and Forum!

Finally, tell others about REH. Reading one of his books for the first time is like the first time putting on eyeglasses; It's a whole new crisp, clear, vivid, colorful, and beautiful world!