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Summary: A classic novel about a jungle legend!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I have had this book for years and never thought I would like it because of the Tarzan portrayals in the movies. But I was pleasantly surprised by the well written adventures of the jungle lord. Rice Burroughs has fully captured the essence of a man who comes to see civilization with the eyes of a child but the heart of a warrior. His great love for Kala the apemother and Jane his future mate were written beautifully. I recently saw Disneys Tarzan and the Chris Lambert film Greystoke the Legend of Tarzan and they both capture the story of Tarzan as Burroughs envisioned it. I truly enjoyed the book and recommend it highly. I cant wait to read more of the books in the series.
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Summary: The fantastic romance of White Skin of the Apes
Review: Listed in Cawthorn's and Moorcock's "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books".The Weissmuller movies didn't get him right. The TV series haven't got him right. And the Disney movie CERTAINLY won't get him right. Burrough's original narration of the story of Tarzan is a mix of bloodthirsty savagery and unrestrained suspension of disbelief that few would attempt to capture these days. The Tarzan series is unique among his author's body of work. Where the Barsoom, Pellucidar and Caspak series concern modern men travelling to exotic lands and falling in love with native women, this time around it is a modern woman who comes to the wilderness and steals the heart of the savage protagonist, who must now step up to her civilized ways. The tale is laced with bloody scenes of man-against-man and man-against-beast rampage. The great apes among which Tarzan grows are a cannibal species, who eat the prisioners of raids against other simian clans. The king ape kills Tarzan's father in a moment where he is caught off guard, mourning the recent death of his wife. When Tarzan first encounters men (an African tribe), he hunts and kills one of them to steal his arrows (killing being the way of the jungle, since Tarzan knows nothing of human behavior). Also, these men turn out to be cannibals too. And when the white men finally arrive, they raid their village and kill almost every one in an attempt to rescue a captured comrade. After growing wild among beasts, Tarzan (whose name menas White Skin) realizes that he is different from his ape family. And through a series of inventions of his own (like making a rope) and fortunate coincides (like the use of a found hunting knife), he steps up the evolutionary ladder by himself. The moment he learns to read and write from illustrated primers and a dictionary is among the most improbable in the whole book. But if we have kept up with it until now, allowing ourselves to accept that a human child can be raised by apes, then his ascension to superiority isn't that hard to embrace. Tarzan turns out to be the primeveal lovesick nerd. After the first time he sees Jane Porter (the first white woman he ever casts his eyes on), his heart is all for her. He writes her a love letter, which smacks of the most pityful puppy love ("I want you. I am yours. You are mine... When you see this you will know that it is for you and that Tarzan of the Apes loves you"). Yet our hero is true and noble, and he holds the upper hand in his homeland. The girl can't do anything but be carried away by her primeveal pretender. I recommend you get this edition I'm reviewing, the one by Penguin. Besides the introduction which gives a valuable background to the place of Tarzan among popular literature and some details on the life of Edgar Rice Burroughs, it contains a series of notes that signal where he took some liberties with his story's setting (like placing American plants in the African jungle). The English is a little bit archaic, the characterization tends to cartoon and stereotype, but the story is powerful and nothing captures the beauty of the original like the original itself. Read Tarzan of the Apes, and meet again for the first time an archetypical hero of timeless charm.
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Summary: The original is the best!
Review: Tarzan has probably been done and redone as much as any other story and for good reason- the original is a really incredible story. I find Burroughs an amazing author (be sure to check out his science fiction if you enjoy Tarzan and vice-versa). In Tarzan there is some gore that the reader needs to be able to handle, but for those who can handle it, the story is hard to top. One other warning- if you get this book, be sure to pick up the next Tarzan novel (Return of Tarzan) at the same time as the first book ends in a bit of a cliffhanger.
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Summary: Classic Jungle Adventure!!
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic - "Tarzan of the Apes" - is the first in the series of Tarzan books, and is a quite entertaining novel. This first book relates some classic events in the Tarzan saga - how Tarzan's parents were killed and he came to be raised by the apes, how he learned to communicate with animals of the jungle as well as educate himself in the ways of man, his meeting Jane, and his eventual journey to the world of civilization and man. The story was originally published in 'pulp-style' magazines, (as was most fantasy and sci-fi of Burroughs' day); however, this represents some of the great stories that were produced from that style of fiction. Virtually all of the events related in the novel are interesting and handled intelligently. Readers who have certain expectations of the story based on the cartoons and movies ' such as "Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan" - may be somewhat surprised by the content of the story. I personally liked how the author didn't spend too much time on any one aspect of the story, but rather, moved somewhat swiftly through the various events of story (those who like a quicker paced novel should enjoy it). Some readers may find Burroughs' depictions of the animals and natives who lived in the jungle to be a bit clichéd; however, while they certainly seem to be a product of his time (this book was originally published in 1914), I found his portrait of the jungle, and the "civilized" humans represented, to be somewhat quaint, but quite enjoyable. Overall, 'Tarzan' is a well written story and one which can be enjoyed by today's standards. Those expecting a somewhat one-dimensional story or "super-hero" type Tarzan from the cartoons (and some of the book covers for that matter) should be pleasantly surprised. While this book may be most appropriate to read for adolescents through young adults, I'd recommend it for kids of all ages ' I'm 29 and enjoyed it, and plan to read others in the series!
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Summary: Timeless Storytelling
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs will never be nominated for world's great writer. But to quote Stephen King, "it's all about story dammit, story. Edgar Rice Burroughs knew this better than anyone." In Tarzan of the Apes you will discover the true meaning of "suspension of disbelief." You will not care about the geographical liberties Burroughs takes with Africa. The fact that Tarzan's jungle has lions and elephants which live in the more arid regions of Africa. All you will care about is "travelling along the middle terrace" of Tarzan's world and racing along to his next adventure. You will cheer for the heroes and utterly loathe the villains. Also do not expect the grunting, snorting, and nearly mute Tarzan of film. In all 24 Tarzan books he never said, "me Tarzan, you Jane." you will find in Burroughs' Tarzan a symbol of every ones desire to go primitive. If you are not a fan of highly imaginative fiction avoid this book at all costs. But if you do love a good STORY by all means pick up this book.
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Summary: Tarzan, the original "real" action hero
Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs started writing adventure novels nearly 90 years ago. The most famous of his characters is, or course, Tarzan. And this book is the one that got the Tarzan legacy started. In this book you meet Tarzan, learn who he really is, where he came from, how he became lord of the apes and protector of the jungle, and the English Earl of Greystoke. You also learn the story behind the story about Tarzan and Jane. I've been a Tarzan fan for nearly 20 years. I've been collecting Tarzan books (older ones) for the past 15 years. I've read nearly all the books in the series, and this one is probably the best. I'll be the first to admit that if you read a lot of Tarzan books back to back you will see a somewhat formulaic approach to some of the installments. This first book, however, is original, interesting, and immensely entertaining. I encourage you to read the book that got it all started in 1914 -- the premis, the character, and the mystique that spawned numerous films, and other spin-off media, and a series of books that spanned publication dates from 1914 well into the 1940s. Move over Indiana Jones and James Bond -- Tarzan is the real McCoy. He's strong, brave, modest, wise, and good. He's got the attributes that we could sure use in a hero today! Give this book a look. You'll be glad you did. It's a book that you could enjoy reading to your children. 5 stars for story, character development, readability, and content. Is it a literary classic? Yes, in that it holds its own respected place among fictional literature. Will it ever will literary acclaim? I don't think that Joyce or Faulkner need to worry. But, hey, it's a fun read! Give it a try. Alan Holyoak
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Summary: The first barbarian
Review: When I read Edgar Rice Burroughs "Tarzan of the Apes", I have the feeling I know where Robert E. Howard thought of "Conan". Tarzan startsn with Lord Greystoke of His Majasties Army on his way to an African outpost, when he and his wife are marooned on a remote part of the coast. John Greystoke is born, and soon after his parents are killed by wild apes. One of the apes adopts John, now called Tarzan, and raises him as a noble warrior ape. Many years later more people land on his part of the coast and he becomes involved in their lives. The book is completely improbable, but it is wrote in such a manner that it seems plausable. I liked the adventure, action, and even the humor. I am also very aware of jungles atmosphere and how beautiful it seemed. The idea that the aniamals have human personalities was very cool and intersting. I recomend this to anyone who hasn't already read it in school. But it is much more brutal and violent than the Disney movies, with themes of rape and canniblism (among others).
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Summary: Plenty to chew on - just hard to swallow
Review: There are books that everyone 'knows' but hardly anybody reads any more. Reading these classics can be quite illuminating; they are not what you think. For example, do you really know how Dracula was killed? Or why The Virginian said "Smile when you call me that"? Read the originals; you'll be surprised. "Tarzan of the Apes", the first of 23 Tarzan adventures by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is full of surprises. The Tarzan of this book is not the Johnny Weissmuller or Ron Ely that you might know. He is not raised by gorillas (as I had thought) but by mythical 'anthropoids', a sort of missing link between man and gorilla, with rudimentary speech and a social structure that includes ritual and dance. This is a science fiction tale, a sort of "Lost World" meets "Jungle Book". Tarzan befriends and converses with (and kills and eats) a variety of beasts. There are aspects of the story that modern readers will find as hard to swallow as some of Tarzan's raw meat dinners. For example, this jungle is populated with lions, hyenas and elephants, creatures that in reality never go near rain forests. We are also asked to believe that Tarzan teaches himself to read and write from books that he finds. Many modern readers will also find the racialism difficult to take. He boasts of being "Tarzan, killer of beasts and many black men". Coming on a village deep in the jungle, he immediately readies his bow and poisoned arrows. When his European companion admonishes him that it is wrong to kill humans, the hero protests "But these are black men". (Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe that scene was included in the Disney version). This is a 1914 American novel, with all the prejudices intact. It's quite well written; Burroughs is very readable. The plotting is a strange mixture of ingenuity and clumsiness. There is a very clever device that involves Jane thinking there are two ape-men, one an admirer, the other her rescuer. But the plot also requires three separate mutinies, two of which just happen to involve cousins, to take place off the same remote African beach. This is beyond coincidence. So is this genre classic still worth reading? I think so, for the same reason "Dracula" and "The Virginian" are still worth reading; this is the book that started it all.
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Summary: 5stars for the story! .
Review: This is a classic story everyone should read but find another version.
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Summary: heroes never grow old
Review: I first read the Tarzan series when I was ten. I read them again while in high school. During graduate school I gave my complete collection away. Now in my mid-50's, I have once again discovered the Tarzan books. They are a wonderful escape to a world of adventure and morality. They can be read as a child's intertainment or as classic literature. Tarzan is a hero who never grows old.
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