The Lost World (Tor Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author) "MR. HUNGERTON, HER FATHER, REALLY WAS THE MOST TACTless person upon earth-a fluffy, feathery, untidy cockatoo of a man, perfectly good-natured, but absolutely centered upon..." (more)
Key Phrases: young fellah, central lake, Lord John, Professor Challenger, Professor Summerlee (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Forget the Michael Crichton book (and Spielberg movie) that copied the title. This is the original: the terror-adventure tale of The Lost World. Writing not long after dinosaurs first invaded the popular imagination, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spins a yarn about an expedition of two scientists, a big-game hunter, and a journalist (the narrator) to a volcanic plateau high over the vast Amazon rain forest. The bickering of the professors (a type Doyle knew well from his medical training) serves as witty contrast to the wonders of flora and fauna they encounter, building toward a dramatic moonlit chase scene with a Tyrannosaurus Rex. And the character of Professor George E. Challenger is second only to Sherlock Holmes in the outrageous force of his personality: he's a big man with an even bigger ego, and if you can grit your teeth through his racist behavior toward Native Americans, he's a lot of fun.

From Library Journal
Conan Doyle's 1912 novel introduced his other great character, Professor Challenger. The original "dinosaurs still living in a hidden jungle" tale, this timeless adventure has inspired everything from King Kong to Jurassic Park and is still the best of the lot. Great fun.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Tor Classics (June 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812564839
• ISBN-13: 978-0812564839
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #850,908 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conan Doyle Smiles, January 4, 2001

By	Michael Horan (North Brunswick NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Professor George E. Challenger, noted scientist, says dinosaurs are still alive, and he knows where to find them. The scientific community says he's a madman or a fraud, or both. Challenger's only evidence is a bunch of blurry photographs. Fellow scientists say the photos are obviously doctored and the newspapers call it a fantasy. Boiling with rage, Challenger goes into seclusion. Anyone foolish enough to bring up the tender subject around him is liable to end up in the gutter outside his house, with a few extra lumps for the gutter press.

The only reporter brave, or stupid, enough to face the professor's wrath and get the story is Edward Malone, young, intrepid journalist for the Daily Gazette. At a boisterous scientific meeting, Professor Summerlee, a rival scientist, calls Challenger's bluff. Summerlee will return to South America and prove Challenger wrong. The young journalist volunteers to go along. Lord John Roxton, the famous hunter, can't miss an opportunity to return to the jungle and adds his name to expedition. Professor Challenger is happy they are taking him seriously, even if they don't all believe him. But what will they find in South America? A strange, living time capsule from the Jurassic period filled with pterodactyls and stegosaurs? Or will they only find vast tracks of endless jungles and Challenger's daydreams? Either way there will be danger and adventure for all.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote "The Lost World" in 1912 for the Strand magazine, the same magazine that published his Sherlock Holmes stories. It's a great Edwardian science-fiction adventure, although some may not like the British Imperialism and Darwinian racism. Still, in "The Lost World" Conan Doyle lets his hair down a little. Changing narrators from the earnest Doctor John Watson to the rash reporter Edward Malone makes for a big change. There is a good deal more humor. The students in the scientific meetings are forever yelling out jokes at the expense of nutty Professor Challenger. Affairs of the heart play a big role in Malone's life. He matures from a young swain out to impress his girlfriend to more of a wistful man-of-the-world by the end. It is a very different Conan Doyle than some are used to reading. Different, but just as good, maybe, dare I say it, even better.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant surprise from a pile of old books!, May 25, 2002

By	D. McDiffett "iteachlit" (Salina, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You know you're reading an old book when "flaccid organ" has nothing to do with sex! And what an enjoyable book this one is. Attracted by the pictures of the dinosaurs on the cover, I finally got around to reading it and recommend it to all lovers of adventure stories. Warning: You may need patience to wade through the wordy descriptions, but it's well worth it for the humorous encounters between the two Professors and the conflicts with the prehistoric world. Yes, Doyle reflects the racism of his day towards Indians and blacks, but readers who see his words as time capsules from an earlier time will not have a problem with them.
My only complaint was that the odd, hopping carnivorous dinosaur is never linked to a dinosaur I am familiar with. Iguanadons, pleisiosaurs and even a stegosaurus are mentioned, but no specific name is given the most dangerous of all. Minor complaint, though.
Grab a copy of this book and enjoy a trip to the wilds of South America's rain forest!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE FIRST AND STILL THE BEST!, January 24, 2001

By	Kenri A. Mugleston (Orange, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

Look out Mr. Crichton, the original is still the best. The premise of a lost world in the middle of the Amazon is not only possible but plausible. There areas in the Amazon that man has never stepped foot in and there is no telling what could be found in those areas.

Professor Challenger is an engaging character as he takes his small group of adventurers into the wilds of the Amazon, to confirm to the world that his dicovery of a lost world with Jurassic dinosaurs, is indeed real.

Man eating dinosaurs, ape men, cave men and an entire new world, who wouldn't want to go?