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Philip Jose Farmer

Win Scott Eckert

Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) Paperback – April 1, 2006

by Philip Jose Farmer (Author), Mike Resnick (Introduction), Win Scott Eckert (Foreword)

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Through the tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs, generations of readers have thrilled to the adventures of Lord Greystoke (aka John Clayton, but better known as Tarzan of the Apes). In this biography Philip José Farmer pieces together the life of this fantastic man, correcting Burroughs’s errors and deliberate deceptions and tracing Tarzan's family tree back to other extraordinary figures, including Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Doc Savage, Nero Wolfe, and Bulldog Drummond.

Tarzan Alive offers the first chronological account of Tarzan's life, narrated in careful detail garnered from Burroughs’s stories and other sources. From the ill-fated voyage that led to Greystoke's birth on the isolated African coast to his final adventures as a group captain in the RAF during World War II, Farmer constructs a comprehensive and authoritative account. Farmer’s assertion that Tarzan was a real person has led him to craft a biography as well researched and compelling as that of any character from conventional history. This definitive Bison Books edition also includes Farmer’s “Exclusive Interview with Lord Greystoke” as well as “Extracts from the Memoirs of ‘Lord Greystoke’” first anthologized in Mother Was a Lovely Beast.

Print length

316 pages
Language

English
Publisher

BISON BOOKS
Publication date

April 1, 2006
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.83 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

0803269218
ISBN-13

978-0803269217
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The old vine swinger is one of a handful of fictional characters to rank a biography. Such books give the authors the opportunity to expound on the characters, providing background, side stories, and updates not offered by their creator. Farmer’s 1972 volume borrows from Edgar Rice Burroughs but also adds to the legend by tracing Tarzan’s lineage . . . and extends his exploits beyond the African jungle as an RAF pilot in World War II. Great fun.”—Library Journal, Classic Returns

“Farmer goes one step further than mere literary fun. He takes engaging advantage of the reader’s inherent susceptibility to myth.”—Publishers Weekly

“Tarzan is seen as a 20th-century heroic figure having much in common with the mythical demigods of an earlier day, and this book will not fail to please and enthrall his many followers.”—Library Journal

“The most innovative part of the book [is] Tarzan’s family tree linking him to every great hero in pulp literature. . . . Farmer is less well known today than he was forty years ago. Nevertheless, Alive ages well and gives the reader the sourcebook for so many writers today.”—American Book Review

"Farmer does a fine job of consolidating all the material. He leaves the reader with a three dimensional portrait of the main characters, their foibles, and motivations. . . . For an introduction to one of the most resilient heroes in literature, Tarzan Alive is a remarkable offering."—Green Man Review

About the Author

Philip José Farmer has had a long and illustrious career in science fiction, winning three Hugo awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement award, and the Nebula Grand Master award. Mike Resnick is the winner of five Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award. His novels include Santiago, Kirinyaga, the Widowmaker series, and Ivory. Win Scott Eckert is the editor and author of Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe and the editor of the Web site An Expansion of Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ BISON BOOKS; Revised edition (April 1, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0803269218
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0803269217
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.83 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,295,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #206 in History & Criticism Fantasy
- #820 in Science Fiction History & Criticism
- #130,805 in American Literature (Books)

Customer Reviews:
36 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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The Jungle Lord Lives!

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2015

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Philip Jose Farmer started it all with this book. The Anno Dracula series, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Planetary, they are all inspired by Farmer's Wold Newton Family concept. The concept appeared for the first time in Tarzan Alive, and the popular fiction world hasn't been the same since.

Not only in this book notable for introducing the Wold New Family concept, but it's a damn informative, entertaining, and insanely well researched mock biography. It's a nice overview of the Tarzan series, and the appendices are required reading for all Wold Newton fans. The way Farmer weaved fact and fiction together, into such a cohesive creation hasn't been repeated to this day, and probably never will.

I own two copies of this book, having just purchased the definitive version from Bison Books, and am very pleased with the packaging, and design. This is a must own book for fans of Tarzan, PJF, ERB, and the Wold Newton Family.

6 people found this helpful

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Stephen J Phillips

A DEFINITIVE BIO

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2014

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Philip Jose Farmer was a fan of the pulp characters of the early 20th Century, but his great love was Tarzan of the Apes. Far from the monosyllabic primitive of the movies, the real Lord Greystoke was (is?) Able to move effortlessly between the savage jungle and so-called "civilization".
This book summarizes the adventures of Tarzan as relayed by Burroughs while placing them in an historical context, treating the ape-man as a real character and writing the definitive biography of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, AKA Tarzan.
But Farmer does much more: this book is the starting point of the Wold-Newton Universe (WNU), a fascinating pulp fiction concept that interweave the classic characters of yesteryear into one shared reality, much like the 'universes' of major comic book companies. Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, Doc Savage, Captain Nemo, Conan the Barbarian and the Cthulhu Mythos all come together under the ever-widening umbrella of the WNU. As such, 'Tarzan Alive' is a must read not only for Tarzan fans, but for lovers of pulp fiction and classic characters of every stripe. Highly recommended.

6 people found this helpful

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A reader

A postmodern classic

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2006

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Far too long out of print, TARZAN ALIVE: THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY OF LORD GREYSTOKE is a postmodern classic that will appeal to readers of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Philip José Farmer, as well as those interested in parascholarship, fictional biographies, and literature in general. This is the book that launched the concept of the Wold Newton family, the genetic lineage exposed to a radioactive meteorite in 1795, thus spawning a number of great detectives, scientists, explorers, and adventurers, some of whom border on the superhuman. Farmer's addenda, expanding this concept to include a multitude of literary characters (such as those from Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and Jack London's THE SEA WOLF, to name only a couple), alone make the cost of this book worth it.

This is truly the definitive edition of TARZAN ALIVE, and Bison Books has wisely added a number of extras that will make this edition worth owning even if one already has a Doubleday, Popular Library, or Playboy Paperbacks copy of the book. Collected here, but missing from the older versions of the book, are two gems: 1) "Extracts from the Memoirs of 'Lord Greystoke' (previously only available in the hard-to-find anthology MOTHER WAS A LOVELY BEAST); and 2) "Tarzan Lives: An Exclusive Interview with the Eighth Duke of Greystoke" (in which Farmer himself interviews the Jungle Lord). Further, the Bison Books edition includes an insightful new foreword by Win Scott Eckert (editor of MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER'S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE), which places TARZAN ALIVE in the context of "Sherlockian biographical scholarship," showing how Farmer's book is truly exemplary (and also transcendent) in the field of fictional biography. This is followed by a new introduction by science fiction author Mike Resnick discussing Farmer's other Tarzan pastiches.

The book itself is a compelling read. Farmer treats the subject of his "biography" as a living person about whom Edgar Rice Burroughs chronicled in fictionalized form. This livens up what otherwise would be a dry summary of ERB's Tarzan series, as Farmer often interjects with persuasive comments, conjectures, and elaborations in the brilliant style that is unique to him. In TARZAN ALIVE, Farmer breathes new life into the legend of Tarzan, all out of a respectful love for the character which pours from every word on every page of this delightfully wonderful work.

26 people found this helpful

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Preston Halcomb

Good book... but...

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2007

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I greatly enjoyed the tales of Tarzan as presented in Tarzan Alive. The problem I have is this... I haven't read the original source material. I thought the Definitive Biography would include a real biography, when instead it often just contrasts events with the original stories. Thus, it would have been helpful if I had read all the original stories before delving into Tarzan Alive. That being said, this book was a very good read, and I look forward to someone reprinting Phillip Jose Farmer's His Apocalyptic Life so I can see the true life of Doc Savage as well. Thank you Bison Frontiers for helping me find this book that I had heard so much about!

5 people found this helpful

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JoeNoir

Very good...however...

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2008

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Great new edition of a terrific book. This Bison Books edition adds Farmer's "exclusive interview with Lord Greystoke (from Esquire) and "Extracts from the memoirs of "Lord Greystoke" (from "Mother Was A Lovely Beast"). The problem being, the editors placed these at the start of the book, instead of added as appendices, and I feel they slow the book down. Also, this edition does not include the Wold Newton family tree from earlier editions. Great cover art by "Jean-Paul Goude", also originally from Esquire (1972).
Still, recommended for any Farmer, Burroughs, or Tarzan fan.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Uniquel!

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2006

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"Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street" is out-of print and so is "Doc Savage and his Apocalyptic Life". Almost all other works are either out-of-print or are simply not available. Hence, at least in the current state of the market, this work stands alone unchallenged in terms of all the aspects. A reader who knows only the name of the most famous creation of Edgar Rice Burroughs, can also enjoy this book to the fullest extent. Go ahead and enjoy this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Ms. Tracey G. Lee

Probably the best book that I have read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 14, 2011

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After having read Doc Savage his Apoplectic Life I really wanted to read this book. I have spent nearly 20 years trying to track it down going from bookseller to bookseller only to be told that this was no longer in print. Imagine my joy when I found it was available on Amazon. I was thrilled and I also purchased the Doc Savage as my original has been read so often it was nearly falling to bits. I have already read this book from cover to cover. It is extremely well written and is not at all silly which some books of this genre can be. It makes truly compelling reading and in my view would make an excellent film! I can imagine Lord Greystoke himself writing this. Thank you Amazon.

3 people found this helpful

Sharon E. Leighton

Cult classic

Reviewed in Canada on September 3, 2017

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You need to have a certain quirk in your mind to love this book, but I've got it! This is a cult classic for those who enjoy "the Game", that is, imagining fiction to be real and discussing it as such. It's most frequently applied to the Sherlock Holmes canon. Farmer has gone farther than that. In this detailed and readable biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous Tarzan of the Apes, he creates an entire clan of "real" people, including Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe, Doc Savage, and many more well-loved characters of fiction. He explains how this clan, the "Wold Newton family," came into existence, and what makes them stand out from more ordinary mortals. He does this so well that, even if you start reading because it sounds like a good joke, you may well finish by wondering if there's any truth in it, and looking very closely at anyone you meet with blue-gray eyes!

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