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

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

Over-Priced.......2004-05-09

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.

MMGAWA!.......2001-10-24

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!!!

For fanatics..........2001-09-11

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.

Book Description

This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from 'The Remains of the Day' to 'White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.

Customer Reviews:

Anyone who reads and thinks deserves better literary criticism.......2005-10-17

This "readers guide" for Donna Tarrtt's "The Secret History" is thin on insight and value. While it is one step above "Cliffs Notes" in being both a summary and a "critical" work, it smacks of a first approximation of a better treatment that was then cut and slapped together on a thin budget and tight deadline. Literary criticism is a notoriously underpaid field (heck, folks posting here at AMAZON are giving it away for free), but still, readers are underserved by Hargreaves. Sad, for many of her observations and detail work teased out here have merit for discussion, and just as the reader is getting interested Hargreaves cuts off and moves on.

Hargreaves first chapter "The Novelist" is perhaps most useful for the curious Tartt stalker (yikes!), for it is an adequate thumbnail biography and summary of author details appearing in print elsewhere but in previously uncollected form. This chapter has no original content. Chapter two is the largest section and covers "The Novel" with a topical breakdown of characters, plot summary, setting, and main themes. Hargreaves correctly identifies many of Tartt's structures and literary techniques and devices, but in her "Conclusions" section on page 62 misses the point of the work entirely when she bald facedly states "There are no moral absolutes in the world that Tartt creates in her novel..." demonstrating that Hargreaves has completely missed a recurring leitmotif in the novel: Catholicism. Two chapters follow to pad out the work: "The Novel's Reception" and "The Novel's Performance" the last of which smacks of sour grapes and left me curious why they were not simply combined into a single chapter. The "Further Reading" section is perhaps the best, for it is nearly an annotated bibliography, and includes very nice summaries of obscure Tartt short pieces. The useless "Discussion Questions" left me fearful of the level of teaching of literature that goes on in Hargreaves's world, for not a single selected question raises the issue of religion in the work. Considering the central event of the novel, this is preposterous and misleading. Anyone who reads and thinks deserves better.

outstanding.......2002-12-06

an intelligent thriller, but also a serious literary work. i recommend it to anyone who enjoys good writing

Different, interesting, enjoyable.......2002-10-25

Strangely enough I didn't like the Secret History when it was first released, and I only picked up this book because of all the advance press surrounding Ms Tartt's new novel. And now I'm a fan. Which is not, as far as I know, the job of literary criticism - but then this book is not quite lit crit, it's an odd combination of scholarship and enthusiasm that works surprisingly well. It's persuaded me that the Secret History is a much cleverer book than I gave it credit for, and it's made me marvel at Ms Tartt's erudition.

(On the strength of this volume, I picked up the same publisher's guide to American Psycho, and that one is even better.)

Right, I'm off to read the Little Friend.

Pricey........2001-11-17

This is an extremely slight little handbook--too limited to be of much use to the experienced reader, yet too expensive to justify its inclusion as a complement to Tartt's modern cult classic. Students who are at all motivated can easily get as much information through a few quick internet searches. I'm giving my copy to a student TA as a handy accessory for help in grading papers.

A good book for Donna Tartt fans.......2001-11-02

Wasn't sure what to expect from this - a reader's guide makes it sound like it could be some patronising crap. But it's actually very smart, and even though I thought I knew it all about TSH, it turns out I didn't. Having said that, the author, Ms Hargreaves, missed out a few things, but maybe she didn't have room? Anyhow, she is very good on all the literary references in TSH, especially the Classical stuff. She regurgitates the most interesting parts of DT's printed interviews (shame she couldn't get a new one for this book, but not surprising I guess!), and I came away even more convinced of what a weird, wonderful one-off novel TSH is. Which makes me terrified that DT's new one will suck, but we'll have to see...

Customer Reviews:

An Odd Idea With A Few Surprises.......2006-01-26

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is a vastly entertaining and suprisingly layered story. This small tome hopes to be a preview of sorts to the books. Giving people who may be interested in reading the trilogy an overview of the story, its author and the critical reception the books received. It's kind of an odd idea, but it does accomplish all it sets out to do and even offers a bit for those who have read the books already.

I had hoped that there would be more analysis and less descriptions of plot and character, but I realize that this is not the books focus. It's helpful for those who enjoyed the His Dark Materials Trilogy to learn more about the author in the first section, but then these readers are left with little to sink their teeth into until the fourth section "The Novels' Peformance" which gives us some of the critical responses to the series.

This is a book best suited to those new to the series who may have not had the time to yet ponder the larger aspects the story brings up. For more seasoned readers it's a shallow experience. I'm hungry for some real heavy analysis and discussion. If you are too, this book is not for you.

Good guide to a great series.......2005-09-07

This is a good guide to the His Dark Materials series, suitable for a college level. Younger readers or people looking for a more fun guide should try Dark Matters. I liked this book most for the sections on the reviews and criticism of Pullman.

Review by His Dark Materials fansite webmaster.......2003-12-01

The book is divided into five chapters: The Novelist, The Novels, The Novels' Reception, The Novels' Performance, and Further Reading and Discussion Questions. The first chapter is a 13-page biography of Philip Pullman, and a compact analysis of Pullman's works. The chapter "The Novels" gives a complete analysis of His Dark Materials, reviewing the many different aspects of the books, from Dust to Politics to Religion and The Church, and even Environmentalism. Mrs. Squires also analyses the roles Lyra, Will, Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter, and Mary Malone play in His Dark Materials. The third chapter is, as the title suggests, solely about the novels' reception, and the author describes and quotes the reactions to the novels by different parties, commendable here is the fact that Mrs. Squires notes the positive reception as well as the negative reception of the books, which makes for a very informative read. The chapter "The Novels' Performance" is a small 3-page chapter that covers the fame of His Dark Materials. The final chapter: "Further Reading and Discussion Questions", gives a list of questions about: Storytelling, Daemons, Gender, Innocence and Experience, Religion and The Church, Realism and Fantasy, Intertextuality, and Children's Literature. It also contains a vast Bibliography, and a list of useful websites.
My Opinion: This book offers all that a reader's guide should. It contains extensive information about Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials, and their reception and performance. Mrs. Squires manages to give a very complete overview of all these points, also due to the fact that she constantly utilizes quotes from articles, reviews, interviews, and other His Dark Materials-related texts. The book's style makes for a very pleasant read, so that this book is not one of those strict and dull reference guides.

I'm a very critical reviewer. When I review a book I usually spend at least a whole page highlighting the book's faults and flaws, and draw the inevitable conclusion: A nice concept, but due to a flawed execution ultimately a failure. However, this time I was denied this pleasure. Mrs. Squires' book is indeed a reader's guide, so it will only be of real value to those who have either read or are adequately acquainted with the His Dark Materials. That is, together with the slightly steep price (In the UK £5, in de US $10 for this 95-page book), the only bad points of the book, and I believe them to be minor faults. Mrs. Squires manages to capture the very essence of His Dark Materials that we fans are well acquainted with, and that has made us love the books.

My Verdict: If you've read His Dark Materials, buy this reader's guide. If you haven't read His Dark Materials, read them, and then buy this book.

http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org/

A Good Guide to HDM.......2003-10-05

In this, the first book about the His Dark Materials trilogy, Claire Squires sets a fine example for those who will follow her. The Reader's Guide provides a detailed, yet concise, look at the trilogy and its author.

Like all books in the Continuum Contemporaries series (of which Ms. Squires has also written a guide to Zadie Smith's White Teeth), this follows the format of:

-A short biography of the novelist
-A full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas
-A summary of how the novel was received when it was first published
-A summary of the novel's standing today, including any film or television adaptations
-A helpful list of discussion questions, suggestions for further reading, and useful websites.

I thought that the Guide was a good resource, both for readers who had already been acquainted with the trilogy and its author for some time, and for those just discovering it. Claire's detailed look at the major characters of His Dark Materials, including descriptions of their character and the part that they play, is very satisfying. The analysis of the trilogy's stance on religion, innocence vs. experience, the Fall and Original Sin, and Environmentalism is refreshingly complete, providing a look from all angles. This, I think, establishes the Guide as an excellent resource, since it pinpoints the flaws of the trilogy along with the successes, and attempts to fully understand the books rather than pretend that HDM is something that it's not.

Finally, the Reader's Guide successfully depicts those parts of His Dark Materials that caused us, the fans, to fall in love with the story and its characters. An entire section is dedicated to the bittersweet and painful, yet inevitable ending of The Amber Spyglass, and the quotes from the books that are most enduring in our hearts and minds find their well-deserved place in Ms. Squires' Guide.

Book Description

A reader, rhetoric and handbook for the developmental writing course, WE ARE AMERICA offers you cross-cultural readings that will increase your awareness of perspectives that are different from your own.

The Artner Reader's Guide to American History

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The Artner Reader's Guide to American History

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Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)
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Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)

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excellent insight

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Customer Reviews:

excellent insight.......2006-05-14

though need to get out the dictionary sometimes:
mythopoetic gestures, profundity, epitome....

this is really excellent; looking forward to rereading the 20 cent copy of all the preety horses i just ordered with my girlfriend and this book's insights into this great writer (my favorite)

The New Big Book of America: A Young Readers Guide to the History Geography Etc

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