TarzanEverything You Need for Tarzan But the African Jungle

4stars

By Scott Tracy Griffin
Titan Books, $39.95, 320 pages

2012 marked the 100th anniversary of Tarzan and to celebrate that event Scott Tracy Griffin has written a massive and comprehensive tome on the subject, Tarzan: the Stories, the Movies, the Art. The book is an in-depth look at Edgar Rice Burroughs most famous and long lasting contribution to literature…the pulp hero, Tarzan of the Apes. Tarzan covers all 24 of the original Tarzan stories, the silver screen, television, theatre and comics.

“Is there a place more magical than the jungle that sprang from the remarkable imagination of Edgar Rice Burroughs? If so, I never found it. And Tarzan? If there exists a character more heroic and noble than the wellborn gentleman raised by apes, I never encountered him – not in the world of fiction and never in life.”

The book even covers the life of Edgar R. Burroughs, his inspirations for the character and his other works. If you happen to be a fan of the Tarzan stories or you know one this book really is a must have. For those who are new to the character, the contents of Tarzan might prove overwhelming. I wasn’t even halfway through the exhaustive rundown of the books before my eyes started to glaze over. But the book did get me to pick up Burroughs’ Tarzan books and allowed me to appreciate them more. I don’t know if the Tarzan fandom has ever had a “Bible” to reference when discussing the many and varied aspects of the Tarzan media empire, but they do now.

Reviewed by Jonathon Howard

[amazon asin=1781161690&text=Buy On Amazon][amazon asin=1781161690&text=Buy On Amazon&template=carousel]