Burroughs Books

Timothy Leary is a mythological figure. Almost everyone has an opinion of him, even if they have never read a word he wrote.
Often opinions are second-hand filtered through this or that media source.

The editor for this book, Robert Forte, one
of Mircea Eliade's last students at the University of Chicago,
does not provide us with second-hand information that he has digested, but instead, gathers an anthology of viewpoints from those who knew Timothy Leary. Not all are positive, and I was surprized to read the negative remarks of Owlsley Stanley in regards to Leary. Thanks to this compendium, we are allowed past the veil of the myth and get a glimpse of the human Timothy Leary.

Robert Forte knew Timothy Leary personally and has edited another book, Entheogens and the Future of religion, that I highly recommend.

Thomas Seay

This book is a source of comfort to anyone disgruntled by Robert Greenfield's less than appreciative bio of Timothy Leary. Editor Robert Forte calls his project a "festschrift," which, if my rusty German holds up, loosely means "celebration of writing." It is by no means balanced; its cover promises castigations but delivers only one, ironically from former outlaw chemist Owsley Stanley. There are polite rebukes of Leary's methods from Huston Smith and Myron Stolaroff, but the rest of the book is mainly a chorus of paeans, a love fest that gets sloppy in places.

Part of Forte's thesis is that Leary will come to be vindicated and revered as another Socrates or Galileo. Inevitably the uptight world will recognize the transformational power of psychedelics and, grasping the keys to the missing link in evolution, start popping them like vitamin supplements. Why millions of grateful acid veterans haven't united to demand a change in the drug laws goes unexplained. Like a lot of other issues the book grazes. Why was Eldridge Cleaver not more supportive of Leary in Algeria? Why was Art Linkletter hostile to Leary? What happened to Leary's children? What was "The Brotherhood" that Forte cryptically refers to a couple of times? What about the charges that Leary betrayed friends, including the lawyers who helped him avoid lengthier prison time? Although Forte concedes that Leary failed "to confront his shadow," the negative aspects of his life, he left the shadowy particulars for Robert Greenfield to detail.

There are other shortcomings. The correspondence between Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard is vacuous, discussing where and when they plan to meet next. Albert Hofman's contribution is brief. Hunter Thompson's more caustic criticisms of Leary are absent, replaced by a short, all-is-forgiven comment. Some of the respondents use a pretentious argot prevalent in the `60s, reflecting the mindless blather of the drug-addled. And there are outrageous claims that transcendentalist philosophers Emerson and Thoreau took drugs, that psychedelics brought forth the computer revolution and the Internet. At least Forte didn't suggest that psychedelics are "the only visible hope for a race tottering on the brink of extinction." That claim was in a recent letter of complaint from the Leary estate to The New Yorker over the favorable review its critic gave to the Greenfield book.

I don't blame Forte for being a cheerleader. He was only 11 years old during the '67 Summer of Love, so he didn't see the zombies walking down Haight Street and other hippie enclaves ingesting not only psychedelics but other wares sold by hierarchical criminal outfits (such as the Brotherhood?) engaged in the "democratization" of drug distribution. Gosh and golly, why would law enforcement ever consider LSD a gateway to heroin, methamphetamine and crack? Set and setting indeed.

I thought I'd had enough of Leary after reading the Greenfield book, but I picked this one up after browsing its table of contents. It has limited appeal, so I give it three stars: one for the interview with Huston Smith, one for the interviews with Metzner & Stolaroff, and one for likening Leary to Huck Finn. Greenfield mistakenly linked him to Tom Sawyer.

Regardless of one's personal opinions about Timothy Leary, one cannot really deny the fact that he was a great man; great in the sense that his thoughts and ideas influenced an entire generation (and continues to do so), and that A LOT of people had - and still have - A LOT of strong feelings about everything he stood for. Perhaps it's too early to figure out how extensive his influence actually was. Everything he talked about didn't revolve around LSD, even though many tend to think just that. What many don't know, for instance, is that he contributed greatly to the field of psychology and developed different tests that are still in use today.

Robert Forte has edited a book, not about Leary's life, but more about people who met him, were familiar with him, were close to him, were affected and influenced by him, and all in all had some sort of relation to him. Some of these people are Winona Ryder (to whom Leary was godfather), Hunter S. Thompson, Albert Hofmann (the chemist who synthesized LSD in 1938), Ken Kesey (another "psychedelic pioneer"), Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Robert Anton Wilson, and many more.

Some of the contributions consist of Forte simply interviewing the individual in question, while in other cases the contributor has written the piece him/herself. But it's not all about Leary all the time. Timothy Leary is more a book about the psychedelic revolution itself than about one of its leading advocates. Richard Nixon referred to him as "the most dangerous man in the world", and sure, a great deal of the content is about him, what he accomplished, different incidents in his life, and so on. However, another great deal is about the use and abuse of psychedelic drugs, how they shaped and changed society and individual consciousness, how dangers (or harmless) they actually are, what happens to people who choose to try them, and how these now criminalized drugs could be used beneficially in different sorts of therapies.

It's not the best book on the market if you want to learn more about Timothy Leary's opinions and messages, but on the other hand, it's a great book if you want to know some of the influence and the affect he had on his surroundings. Furthermore, through its use of sensible discussions by and with well-informed and rational people, the book offers great knowledge about the absurd American "War on Drugs" and all the hypocrisy this futile and senseless war is built upon.

This is a rich and revealing book that I always recommend to anyone trying to grasp the contradictory figure that was Timothy Leary - not least because many of its subjects are still struggling to grasp exactly what hit them when Leary entered their lives. Highlights for me include the essays by Ram Dass, Robert Anton Wilson and Ralph Metzner, as well as William Burroughs' ability to use a few brief words so well. Winona Ryder's eulogy is also terrific -- it has since been included in Copeland's book on the greatest eulogies of our time, and I liked it so much I used it as the foreword to my own biography on Leary, 'I Have America Surrounded'.

As Forte writes in his introduction, this is "not a biography of Leary, nor an in-depth study of his ideas", and as such the critical review on this page by R. Goldstein seems to have missed the point of the book. Forte is not attempting to be a 'cheerleader' or promote his 'thesis', as is claimed, but instead provides a forum where those who knew Leary could record their memories and reminiscences. True, the majority are positive and loving, but this is no reason to criticize the book. The fact is Leary was deeply loved by many - which is something that those who condemn his character find it convenient to overlook. For this reason the book is an important record, but perhaps more importantly it is those who knew him best who often have the most revealing insights - and this is why the book is so valuable.

Robert Forte is one of the most important living documentarians of psychedelic history and phenomonology. In this book, he's gathered a myriad voices of people who were really "there" when Leary was influencing people and who therefore have valuable commentary worth hearing -- both positive and negative. The folksy, chatty style of this book make it a pleasure to read. Along with his other book "Entheogens and the Future of Religion," Forte is performing an important informational and documentary service toward a fair assessment of the role that drugs have in society and also of the real-life figures who have affected this. This book is a must read for anyone interested in what Tim Leary (and for that matter, ...) were really like.

I enjoy this collection of essays for one reason: it is the most direct Burroughs has ever been. He delves into his beliefs on the occult and magic, on coincidence, and on literary and audio cut-ups. Dream premonition... the use of cut-ups to reveal future events... etc. It's all here, with the classic Burroughs wit and sense of humor as an added bonus.

i am a huge fan of the beats, but i was dissapointed in burroughs' collection of essays. most were dull, some confusing, and none of them really stayed on topic, which would be fine, except the topic was more interesting than the side trips he took. the kerouac essay is essential for anyone who is or likes the beats. it alone makes the book worth the price. and it's good to read after you've read the better beat texts.

The Adding Machine by William Burroughs is a collection of essays on a variety of subjects. Ranging from autobiographical descriptions and stories to his own views on art, literature, writing and reading. Some of them are downright essential (like his tips on how to write "creatively") while others are mildly boring (like the piece on cut-ups which nowadays seems fairly dated). Overall I'd recommend this book to anyone who is fairly familiar with Burroughs' work and would like to know what's behind his genius and the roots of his universe. For people who have never read Burroughs this book might leave curious to his other work, but, in general, is not the best place to start.

This is what Burroughs was trying to say in the first place. Whereas his novels, Burroughs extends a helping hand into the world of Interzone, and leads the reader on a new-age, pornographic, strung-out mental trip. In The Adding Machine, Burroughs cuts to the chase, and is brutally honest about politics, junk, sex, and his friend Jack Kerouac. But, with all this plain language, something is lost from excluding the use of his trademark style of prose. This is not essential Burroughs, but worth checking out.

I am not sure how this is "representative of Burroughs work" if that is the way the glib untruths of the canned review were couched. Most of the writing in this book is Burroughs using a more direct voice, reminiscent of the style he used for "Junky" and which I believe he referred to as "factualism". Most of the attempts in this book don't engage in the edgy "cut-up" style of a lot of Burroughs other works. I find those efforts to be intriguing art, but many readers find it distracting or suspect some sort of literary charlatanism. My point is not to enter into that argument here, but to clearly communicate that readers who DON'T like Burrough's more well known works, like "Naked Lunch", might actually find this book a better fit for their reading. The book is brilliant. Reading this is all it takes to prove that he didn't write in the more adventurous and experimental style because that's all he could manage to do. It was deliberate. He could have written deadly crisp, linear prose had he chosen to do so (and in this book he often does). Bottom line: even if you didn't like the other Burroughs books you've read before this one, you still might like this one. Get it?

The Edgar Rice Burroughs books are full of suspense, a perfect bedtime story. The best thing is that many (if not all of them) can be downloaded from from Project Gutenberg. Try reading the first one, Tarzan of the Apes, to your child as a serial bedtime story. They'll be begging to go to bed.

anyone who wants to read about tarzan should read thje books of edgar rice burroughs, not waste their time with this watered down shadow of the lord of the jungle. mr burroughs must be spinning in his grave like a top.

edgar rice burroughs created a hero to equal ulysses,hercules, or paul bunyan. walt disney studios reduced this giant to the size of mickey mouse. after you see the movie, read the REAL story in burroughs' TARZAN OF THE APES, thankfully still in print, and see how it really happened.

This version of Disney's Tarzan is clearly written and has accurate drawings true to the film's content. Rarely do you find a smaler version of the big books so well presented.

Disney Mouseworks seems to be moving to smaller books and it looks like the end of the line of the Disney Classics series. The new Read-Aloud Storybooks are shorter (by about 20 pages) and smaller (by an inch here and there). That's too bad for those of us who have been collecting the old series. The paper is nicer and the artwork is very good, though, so it's not a total loss.

Having only seen copies of the artwork from this book, I can still say that it lives up to the reputation of the forerunner, Tarzan of the Apes, also illustrated by Burne Hogarth. the only disappointment is that it was printed in black&white, not full color as was the 1st volume.

In 1972 Watson-Guptil published what is now considered the first contemporary graphic novel, "Tarzan of the Apes" with a text adapted from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel and art by Burne Hogarth. A large format hard cover book, it was pictorial fiction previously unseen in sequential art. Moreover, it was intended for an adult readership. Published in 11 languages, it proved influential in many creative fields. Other comic strip/book artists took note and tried their hand at this new format with mixed results.
In 1972 Hogarth was a veteran of the comic strip, having drawn the Sunday "Tarzan" for the newspapers from 1937 to 1950. He was also an educator, the founder of the New York School of Visual Arts, and an author of anatomy books for artists that are now standards around the world (witness the recent Kong issue of Wired - it's Hogarth's drawings all over the wall behind the CG artists). After having trained most of the Silver Age comic artists at his school, Hogarth reapproached the Lord of the Jungle. The results are the definitive vision of the Ape Man, the point at which Renaissance fine art finally meshes with dynamic movement and a pop culture medium.
Hogarth completed his Tarzan work with Jungle Tales in 1976, the pinnacle of 20th Century sequential art. His use of hidden images and negative space imagery are brilliant details in page design concepts that are far beyond other comic art.
It is sheer beauty and grace that pervades this book, resulting in a profound visual expression. These stories of Tarzan's young adulthood are explorations of humanity's questions of existence and are as relevant now as when Burroughs first wrote the novel in 1919.

Most of the reviews written here are not for Burne Hogarth's "Jungle Tales of Tarzan" but are for the original Tarzan novel by Burroughs and not the beautiful Burne Hogarth comic book/trade paperback 1976 adaptation. I now own the Burne Hogarth edition and love it. It is boldly done and Hogarth's art is at its best and most detailed. The only drawback is that it is not colored---it is only black and white---and only available in paperback (unlike the hardback and colored 1972 "Tarzan of the Apes" Burroughs/Hogarth edition). Still it is a pleasure to behold, and is larger than the 1972 "Tarzan of the Apes" edition. About half of the tales in Burroughs' original "Jungle Tales of Tarzan" are there. The forward is interesting and shows some pages from both Hogarth/Burroughs' books. Burne Hogarth definately brings Burroughs' amazing works to life like no one else. A perfect match. Hogarth is to comic book art as Frank Frazetta is to paperback covers.

The customer review written here is about the ERB tarzan novel. All the used books being sold here are nothing but ERB tarzan novels. I put in the ISBN number and as you can see this is the jungle tales of Tarzan the big 10 by 13 book illustrated in comic book forum by the great Burne Hogarth not the tarzan novel by ERB. The people that wrote comments and the sellers of so called used copies are confused they are referring to a different book. I know I own the real one.

When Tarzan became a household world, readers of Edgar Rice Burroughs began to pester him to write about a more personalized, more gossipy side of the apeman. ERB obliged his fans by writing a dozen stories that detail his growing up in Africa during his teenage years. In JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN, ERB portrays a Tarzan that might have fit in well in any number of television sitcoms or domestic dramas. This Tarzan shows a side to his development that is only hinted at in the events of the first novel of the series, TARZAN ON THE APES, in whose events it runs concurrently.

Many of the same themes and plot devices that run through the entire series are explored here, several of which show ERB at his literary best and worst. Plotting and pacing are ERB's strongpoints. He constantly captures the interest of his readers with exotic yet believable storylines. Yet, his insistence on coincidence to make his plots mesh combined with more than a touch of blatant racism intrude to the point that if ERB published his books today, a formidable array of political correctness would howl for his scalp.

The first story, "Tarzan's First Love," describes a teenage Tarzan who has a love crush on a lovely gorilla female named Teeka. Tarzan declares his love for her, and battles a childhood chum for her favors. By the story's end, Tarzan recognizes the genetic differences and reluctantly gives her up. What is of interest here, is the psychological battle that he goes through. More than once, ERB mentions the impact that Kala, Tarzan's foster ape mother, has had on Tarzan, an impact that endures throughout the entire series. There is a strong Oedipal undercurrent as Tarzan compares the love for Teeka with that of his love for the deceased Kala.

In several of the stories, ERB describes blacks in such a manner that he constantly harps on what he sees as their physical, emotional, and intellectual shortcomings. In "The Capture of Tarzan," the apeman singlehandedly fights off more than fifty black cannibals. In "Tarzan and the Black Boy," ERB is unabashedly racist as he notes, "Imagination it is which builds bridges, and cities, and empires. The beasts know it not, the blacks only a little." Tarzan often baits blacks in this book and others by killing them at random or playing gruesome jokes on them. In "A Jungle Joke," ERB explicity suggests the low intelligence of the cannibal blacks by making it seem as if Tarzan could metamorphosize himself into a lion at will.

If racist themes turned off some readers, other more universal ones attracted generations of readers. When Tarzan was not involved in the day to day affairs of the reality of jungle life, his human side forced him into a philosophical contemplation of the mysteries of the universe. In "The God of Tarzan," the apeman attempts the age-old human quest for the meaning of life. He attempts to track down God in the same way that he would follow the spoor of a wounded deer. In "Tarzan Rescues the Moon," Tarzan sees a lunar eclipse and in his efforts to rescue the moon, shoots arrows into the moon until the moon re-emerges from the eclipse. In both stories, Tarzan goes through the same mental anguish that his human forebears must have endured. And like them, his conclusions about his place in the universe are tentative at best. It his Tarzan's reaching out to further distinguish himself from his anthropoid tribe that makes him as fascinating to today's readers as it was to past generations.

The Moon Maid, whether split into the three constituent parts or presented, as here, complete and unabridged, is definitely ERB's most overtly political work. Fearful of pacifism after World War I and nascent communist aggression, ERB (also mindful of communist refusal to pay him due royalties) wrote a story called Under the Red Flag that failed to sell. Not wanting the story to go to waste, he then rewrote it as The Moon Men, the second part of this book, and bookended it with two other tales of the struggle between the men of Earth and the invaders from the Moon. To give continuity to his story, ERB provides for the reincarnation of the primary hero, Julian, who appears in the framing portion as Julian 3rd and then in the stories themselves as Julian 5th, Julian 9th, and Julian 20th--the Red Hawk of the last story. (No last name is given the Julians, though in Under the Red Flag, the surname is James.) Just as brilliant as ERB's presentation of the desolation of two worlds by the (obviously) communist Kalkar menace is the havoc wreaked on the twin families of Julian and his greatest rival, Orthis (later named Or-tis). In this instance though, while our sympathies lie with Julian, in a way, he brings this on the world himself by his insouciant oneupping of his adversary. In simply brilliant fashion, ERB shows both families and two worlds ground to near oblivion by the twin menaces of unbridled jealousy and unchecked Marxist domination. Finally, after many travails, the end of the feud comes about, but it is unclear exactly what good that will do the Earth or the Moon. Appended to the main work are essays by various Burroughs scholars and fans who give their thoughts on this seminal dystopian SF work. I personally regard this dark narrative of a world under socialist utopia as one of ERB's finest works and a worthy addition to my library. Those who read it will almost certainly agree. Just remember, though, SF is a genre simply for fun and escape and has no underlying meaning at all.

I have always regarded Moon Maid and it's sequel as one of Burrough's very good works. Unlike most of his other works evil triumphs temporarily
and adds a sense of pathos to the work. Although the science is outdated it is still a fine read. It's a shame that so few of his works made it to the screen (he is the author of Tarzan) This book was an inspiration for my own novel AMRA

I've had ERB's Moon series sitting on my shelf for quite some time, and only now got around to reading them; shame on me. The story is about a Captain in the International Peace Fleet named Julian 5th (seems every male child in this family is named Julian). Captain Julian and four other officers are tasked to fly a new spacecraft to Mars (Barsoom; if you've read ERB's John Carter series, this should ring familiar). Unfortunately, Lieutenant Commander Orthis, one of the travellers, has been harboring a hateful, ongoing jealousy of the successful Julian. Julian, by right of his rank, has been appointed as the mission commander, and this sends Orthis off the deep end. Orthis sabotages the mission, forcing the travellers to make an emergency landing upon the moon. Imagine their surprise, when the craft is pulled through a crater into a whole new world beneath the surface! Much like the "deathless John Carter," Julian is an above-average speciman of the human race, and the environmental differences of the moon only contribute to his superiority. However, ERB caught me off guard in this one; I got too used to John Carter succeeeding and saving the day in every single episode of the Mars series; such does not happen here. Julian 5th is constructed into a tragic hero- his story finalized in book 2 of the Moon series, "The Moon Men." Entertaining light reading, and definately ahead of its time.

I received this book in a timely manner in excellant condition and packaged acceptably. I would buy from this seller again and I would recommend them to my friends.

With Mars now closer to the Earth than it has been for hundreds of thousands of years, some of us are given pause to think about how all the stories of spaceships going to Mars have never really been concerned with the actual logistics involved. Such practical considerations are a minor part of "The Moon Maid," a 1923 pulp fiction yarn from the master of adventure, Edgar Rice Burroughs, in which a spaceship headed for Mars is sabotaged and ends up on the Moon instead. Unlike John Carter, who made his way to Mars simply by raising his open arms to the red planet, the adventures in this story, the first in ERB's Moon trilogy, actually take a spaceship.

It is interesting that Burroughs played a bit more attention to the science in his pulp novel this time around, even in terms of the fanciful Eighth Ray, given that the Moon books are his most political. Burroughs began working on a story, "Under the Red Flag," at end the First World War, which voiced his concerns over the Communist takeover of Russia, albeit in slightly dramatic form. However, with the war over pulp magazine editors were not interested in ERB continuing to fight the war, even in his Tarzan novels. Over the course of the next several years, while he worked on other projects, the prolific Burroughs turned his grim prediction of a world under the yoke of a communistic goverment into a space adventures that would allow him to make the points he felt needed making. After all, the man who created Tarzan was obviously a big believer in personal freedom.

However, the first volume in the trilogy turns out to be a rather standard ERB romantic adventure. "The Moon Maid," originally published in "Argosy All-Story Weekly," is the first book in the Moon trilogy and takes place after the end of the Great War (1914-1967). Captain Julian commands "The Barsoom," the Earth vessel that ends up on the Moon. Once there he and his companions discover flora and fauna, including small horse-like creatures with human features. The title creature is Nah-ee-lah, human type known as U-ga, who comes from the city of Laythe where she is the daughter of it's Jemadar (come on, this is an ERB yarn: you knew she would be royalty). The godless Kalkars prove to be the biggest threat to both Julian's survival and his chance of a romantic relationship with the Moon Maid. The first time around saving the girl becomes the prime objective. Saving the rest of the Moon people from a fate worse than death will happen in the next set of stories, "The Moon Men" and "The Red Hawk" (usually you will find all three combined as "The Moon Men").

Assassins Of Mars, even.

John Carter is peeved that assassin guilds still operate, and their stars are viewed as popular by the public.

He is even more peeved that a seditious province basically thumbs their nose at his anti-assassin activities. How to get rid of assassins? Form your own super-assassin team and brand the corpses, like The Spider would after him.

He decides to go undercover to take out this group by himself. So a crime story, but he doesn't expect that they aren't too silly, and take the opportunity to yep, kidnap Dejah Thoris while he is out of town.

He doesn't expect interplanetary spaceships with AI brains, either, but that is where he ends up, on a moon. Given this is Barsoom, you know it will be full of strange people, things, and swordfighting.


3.5 out of 5

Swords of Mars is one of my favorites of the Martian Tales. Although late in the series, it has all the elements that made Burroughs a classic in the field:

1.
It is a John Carter novel. He is still the best character in the series.

2.
It does not suffer from the same artifacts of serialization that you see in some of the other Mars books. The chapters flow together very nicely without too many inconsistencies or abrupt breaks.

3.
It manages to deal with the political aspect of life on Barsoom while staying smaller. I enjoy the more intimate focus on John Carter more than I do the more epic sweeps of some of the other books.

Recommended for fans of the series. People new to the series should really at least read A Princess of Mars series. However, if you have read that one and are skipping around, this would be a good one to skip around to.

This was about number eight in the Martian Series and the story continues. With this book, Burroughs has John Carter fighting and trying to put an end to the practice of assissination on Mars. Like the rest of the Mars Series, the action is non stop. While I will grant you that ERB has certainly used a formula (Dejah Thoris is captured again and John Carter must rescue), it is never-the-less an effective formula. These books of course are sort of the grand-daddy of much of the Fantasy Fiction of today. Please keep in mind when they were written and do enjoy the style and syntax. This was some of the best pulp fiction coming out in the early part of the last century. Read and enjoy. Recommend highly.

After being relegated to the background for the previous four Martian novels, "Swords of Mars" brings John Carter back to the forefront as he vows to bring an end to the Assassins Guild and travels to one of Barsoom's moons. Carter shows up at Edgar Rice Burroughs' cabin in the mountains of Arizona and relates this tale, which ERB then serializes as the eighth Martian story in six issues of "The Blue-Book Magazine" in 1934-35. Carter has created a secret organization of super assassins to strike back against the powerful guild of assassins, which is headquartered in the city of Zodanga, and goes to the city undercover to infiltrate their ranks. As the first step in an attempt to overthrow Ur Jan, the head of the assassins, Carter pretends to be a panthan and becomes the body guard of Fal Sivas, an inventor. Eventually, as he gets closer to his goal, Carter has to go to Thuria, one of the moons of Mars.

For the most part "Swords of Mars" is one of the most intimate novels in the series, by which I simply mean that it does not have the gigantic armies of variously colored Barsoomians and thousands of air ships arrayed in battle. The first half of the novel is basically a spy story, while the second half find Burroughs indulging in one of his imaginative flights of fancy. Of course, it is not an ERB Martian novel if Carter's beloved Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium, does not need to be rescued. Just because ERB sticks to his pulp fiction formula does not distract from the fact he was a master of the form. This is an above average Burroughs yarn and while it is a step below his best Martian tales, such as "The Chessmen of Mars," it is still a compelling tale. Best of all, John Carter is back front and center. I wound rate this novel as a 4.5, but I will round up for Carter's return.

Besides "A Princess of Mars," I think it is clear that "Swrods of Mars" is one of the primary inspirations for John Norman's Gor series, which was one of the best series that followed in the footsteps of ERB's Martian seres. Note: The first letters of the first words in the preface and twenty-four chapters from an acrostic message: "TO FLORENCE WITH ALL MY LOVE ED." The reference is to Florence Gilbert, ERB's second wife, whom he married in 1935.

"Swords of Mars" is the 8th of 11 John Carter of Mars books that Edgar Rice Burroughs gave to the world. It first appeared serially in the "Blue Book Magazine" in six parts, from November 1934 to April 1935, and is one of the best in the Carter series. For the first time since book 3, "The Warlord of Mars," Carter himself takes center stage, rather than making a brief cameo appearance, and his return as the lead character is perhaps the best single element of this book. This time around, Carter goes to the Barsoomian city of Zodanga to put an end to the assassins guild that is thriving there. In the first half of the novel, Carter goes undercover to infiltrate this Murder Inc.-type of organization, and this segment is extremely tense and exciting. In the second half, Carter's wife, Dejah Thoris, in what to any reader of this series must come as an instance of Dejah vu (sorry...couldn't resist!), is abducted again, and Carter follows her kidnappers to one of the Martian moons, using one of that planet's first spaceships. His subsequent adventures on the moon propel the reader into the realm of pure fantasy. Both parts of the novel are as fun as can be, although very much different in tone.
This novel features very few of the inconsistencies--both internal and with other books in the series--that mar every previous Carter novel. There are some, however. For example, the great Scarlet Tower of Greater Helium is referred to in this book, whereas in previous novels, this tower was referred to as being in Lesser Helium, and besides which, was destroyed in book 5, "The Chessmen of Mars." More of a problem in the current volume are the book's implausibilities. For example, Carter & company jump out of their spaceship on that Martian moon, without bothering to check on the moon's breathable air. Fortunately, the air is just fine, thank you, although Burroughs makes nothing of this...surprising, given the pains he had taken in previous books to explain the breathable air on Mars itself. The invisibility-inducing hypnosis that the moon people use against Carter is a bit much to buy, but that's alright; it's all in good fun. But Burroughs' theory that a person who lands on this 7-mile-wide moon would be the same relative size that he would be on Mars--in other words, that he would shrink in proportion to the planetoid's mass; his so-called "compensatory adjustment of masses"--is, as Carter puts it, "preposterous," though, as it turns out, such is the case in the book. Like I said, it's all in good fun. And this book IS as fun as they get.
Oh...one other nice touch. As pointed out in the ERB List, a fine Burroughs Website, if you take the first letter of each first word of each chapter in this book, you will find a secret message that Burroughs incorporated for his new bride. A nice touch.

I read both of these books as a boy, and always remembered how exciting The Son of Tarzan was. I was surprised, rereading The Beasts of Tarzan, at how well it continues the story started by the first two books (Tarzan of the Apes and The Return of Tarzan). If you want adventure, these first four books are, for me, the core of Tarzan. I can't say how they hold up for kids today, but its hard to imagine not liking them. And, saving the best for last, The Son of Tarzan is STILL one of my favorites! It is less well known than the Tarzan legend, and perhaps more exciting as a result.

I don't know why reading about a boy who goes from civilization to savage jungle should be less believable than an infant who was raised by apes in the first place, but somehow it is. Boroughs has to employ a number of contrivances that he didn't need in the first Tazan, simply because Tarzan's son went to the African jungle voluntarilly, albeit to escape imagined prosecution for an act of self-defense. The thing is, the boy is somehow old enough to kill a full grown man and smuggle Tarzan's ape ally into Africa, but he is not too old to learn to be an ape-man from scratch. It seemed more pure and plausible when Tarzan did it from infancy. Still, this Tarzan twin set is full of adventure and heroic good fun, and the Beasts of Tarzan is classic Boroughs. The author seems to be aging Tarzan so fast, however, that it is hard to see how he would have much left for the next dozen or so books in the series. By my estimation, Tarzan is in his late 30s at the end of Son of Tarzan. Jane is so far in the background it's hard to remember what all the fuss was about in the first two books. But Boroughs has a new romance for us in Son and that works out surprisingly well. A good rousing story that suffers from sequelitus. I still think the talking apes were some sort of long-lost australopithicines; I'd love to know the author's source materials.

I first read these books a few years ago, when I was twelve. I loved all of the Tarzan series (although Jane and Jack seem to disappear later in the series) but these two novels were my favorites. Although I already owned both books, I bought this version simply because having two of my favorite novels in one volume seemed too good to be true. I re-read these books twice a year. The action keeps coming and never lets up (this from a girl who was quickly bored with The Lord of the Rings).

There is also a sort of poetic irony that Burroughs employs. Tarzan comes from the jungle into civilization, while his son goes from civilization to the jungle. While Tarzan grew up without any sort of guidance or moral direction, he is one of the most chivalrous, honorable, and genuinely good people that I've ever encountered in any book (save the bible.) The implication is that the jungle beasts are sometimes more noble and less cruel (albeit no more gentle) than humans who should know better. Indeed, when Jack and Meriem encounter other apes, baboons, or even people, they insist that they are Great Apes and not human (and are proud of the distinction). This is furthered by the fact that the most unlikely of people (as in the ugly, filthy cook on the ship which holds Jane hostage) sometimes are the most brave and good.

Overall, these two stories are great adventures that hold something deeper for anyone who cares to look.

I have read most of these books and have found them very enjoyable.I am tring to get the whole series again to reread andfor my son's to read as well

Both of these books follow on the story begun by the 1st 2 in the series. In Beasts, the villainous Rokoff and Petrovich return to destroy Tarzan's family. His son is taken to Africa to be raised by cannibals, Jane is to receive a "fate worse than death and Tarzan is marooned on a jungle island. How Tarzan escapes and foils the schem is a well-told adventure. In Son, young Jack ends up in Africa and runs afoul of apes and slavers. Following in the footsteps of his father, he reverts to a savage stage while battling for the lives of himself and his love.

I thought that I had read all of the Tarzan books during my youth. I was exposed to the first book recently and came to realize that what I had read must have books written specifically for children. I therefore decided to read all of the books as originally written. I am part way through the series and I am enjoying them tremendously.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once Bertha Kircher really started making her presence known I was very interested.

In this novel we have the 'death' of Jane, and Tarzan's return to the jungle, but fate has other things in mind. World War I has made itself known in Africa, and Tarzan gets embroiled in things.

Bertha Kircher, is a german double agent that Tarzan is forced throughout the novel to rescue over and over again and respect as well--as she rescues him many times. He hates her though, because she is German.

I was excited with this premise because here was a man right in the middle of World War 1 setting up a very strong female and German character. However, the last page of the book ruined this for me. Because instead of being a new lesson on how there could be one good person, or something to admire in a people, it is instead about Burroughs usual schtick, on blue-blood running true.

There are a few new jungle people in this book as well, an odd tribe that is insane--Burroughs uses outdated science to describe how Tarzan and others can recognize these people's madness. Facial and scull structure, posture, etc.

This is very much a book of its time, as Burroughs was very much a man of his time. Its an interesting story and one that would be interesting to study from a social/historical stand point. But most importantly its a good adventure book.

It's very good and keeps you in the plot but try not to judge it by today's standards. The language shows what we would call today bigotry, prejudice and racism

Edgar Rice Burroughs was less than impressed with Jane as the mate for Tarzan thinking that La, the High Priestess of Opar was a better match. With the Germans making themselves international bad guys by starting the First World War, ERB took advantage of their moving against British possessions in Africa to kill off Jane in this seventh novel in the Tarzan series. "Tarzan the Untamed" was first published as a six-part serial in "The Red Book Magazine" in 1919 with the story continued as "Tarzan and the Valley of Luna" in a five-part serial in "All-Story Weekly" in 1920. The result is one of the most atypical Burroughs pulp fiction yarns, in which the standard romantic adventure has the hero (whether he is Tarzan, Korak, John Carter, David Innes, etc.) pursuing his beloved (Jane, Miriam, Dejah Thoris, etc.) across a dangerous environment (darkest Africa, Barsoom, Pellucidar, etc.). But in "Tarzan the Untamed," the hero is out for revenge. The result is arguably ERB's best Tarzan novel, past paced and with a prose style that rises above his average effort.

This is amply proven in the opening chapter. Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and his men stumble upon the estate of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, in British East Africa in the fall of 1914. Tarzan and his son, Korak, are away, and Lady Jane does not know that war has broken out between German and the British Empire, so she welcomes them to her home. Meanwhile, Tarzan learns of the war in Nairobi and hurries home only to find the smoking ruins of his estate when he returns. Wasimbu, the son of Muviro, has been crucified on the wall, and the rest of the natives are all dead. Tarzan also finds the charred body of his wife, recognizable only the rings on her fingers. Cursing the Germans, Tarzan swears vengeance and leaves behind the trappings of civilization. During a tremendous thunderstorm, Tarzan kills a leopard, symbolizing the return of the Lord of the Jungle--and this is just the first chapter.

Tarzan heads south into German East Africa and almost immediately begins wrecking havoc on the Germans, displaying same sort of animal cunning and creative cruelty that he displayed as a youth in "Tarzan of the Apes" (and covered a bit as well in "The Jungle Tales of Tarzan"). Even encountering an entrenched German army does not stop Tarzan from getting his revenge on his enemy. Eventually he finds an English flier, Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick, who is captured by cannibals and in need of rescue, and who becomes the character who argues, rather unconvincingly I might add, for Tarzan to be civilized in his one-man war against the Germans. But nothing is going to stop Tarzan from hunting down every last one of the invaders who destroyed his home and killed his wife. Of course, the circumstances of Jane's death lead us to suspect the surprise that awaits Tarzan at the end of this adventure and which sets up the next novel, "Tarzan the Terrible."

The Tarzan series does become extremely formulaic by the time you get halfway through the twenty-four volumes, but it is worthwhile to at least make you way through the first eight volumes (maybe a bit further, especially if you like lions). "Tarzan the Terrible" is perhaps the quintessential Tarzan novel and the original "Tarzan of the Apes" is the one essential ERB novel to read, but I would agree that "Tarzan the Untamed" is the best yarn in the bunch. Final Note: Not surprisingly, this Tarzan novel was not well received in post-war Germany and effectively ended the publication of Burroughs' work in that country.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was less than impressed with Jane as the mate for Tarzan thinking that La, the High Priestess of Opar was a better match. With the Germans making themselves international bad guys by starting the First World War, ERB took advantage of their moving against British possessions in Africa to kill off Jane in this seventh novel in the Tarzan series. "Tarzan the Untamed" was first published as a six-part serial in "The Red Book Magazine" in 1919 with the story continued as "Tarzan and the Valley of Luna" in a five-part serial in "All-Story Weekly" in 1920. The result is one of the most atypical Burroughs pulp fiction yarns, in which the standard romantic adventure has the hero (whether he is Tarzan, Korak, John Carter, David Innes, etc.) pursuing his beloved (Jane, Miriam, Dejah Thoris, etc.) across a dangerous environment (darkest Africa, Barsoom, Pellucidar, etc.). But in "Tarzan the Untamed," the hero is out for revenge. The result is arguably ERB's best Tarzan novel, past paced and with a prose style that rises above his average effort.

This is amply proven in the opening chapter. Hauptmann Fritz Schneider and his men stumble upon the estate of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, in British East Africa in the fall of 1914. Tarzan and his son, Korak, are away, and Lady Jane does not know that war has broken out between German and the British Empire, so she welcomes them to her home. Meanwhile, Tarzan learns of the war in Nairobi and hurries home only to find the smoking ruins of his estate when he returns. Wasimbu, the son of Muviro, has been crucified on the wall, and the rest of the natives are all dead. Tarzan also finds the charred body of his wife, recognizable only the rings on her fingers. Cursing the Germans, Tarzan swears vengeance and leaves behind the trappings of civilization. During a tremendous thunderstorm, Tarzan kills a leopard, symbolizing the return of the Lord of the Jungle--and this is just the first chapter.

Tarzan heads south into German East Africa and almost immediately begins wrecking havoc on the Germans, displaying same sort of animal cunning and creative cruelty that he displayed as a youth in "Tarzan of the Apes" (and covered a bit as well in "The Jungle Tales of Tarzan"). Even encountering an entrenched German army does not stop Tarzan from getting his revenge on his enemy. Eventually he finds an English flier, Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick, who is captured by cannibals and in need of rescue, and who becomes the character who argues, rather unconvincingly I might add, for Tarzan to be civilized in his one-man war against the Germans. But nothing is going to stop Tarzan from hunting down every last one of the invaders who destroyed his home and killed his wife. Of course, the circumstances of Jane's death lead us to suspect the surprise that awaits Tarzan at the end of this adventure and which sets up the next novel, "Tarzan the Terrible."

The Tarzan series does become extremely formulaic by the time you get halfway through the twenty-four volumes, but it is worthwhile to at least make you way through the first eight volumes (maybe a bit further, especially if you like lions). "Tarzan the Terrible" is perhaps the quintessential Tarzan novel and the original "Tarzan of the Apes" is the one essential ERB novel to read, but I would agree that "Tarzan the Untamed" is the best yarn in the bunch. Final Note: Not surprisingly, this Tarzan novel was not well received in post-war Germany and effectively ended the publication of Burroughs' work in that country.

During my first three years as a youth baseball coach this book sat on the shelf. I initially found the book lacking in detail and illustrations to be of much use. Well, my initial reaction was wrong. I am coaching an eleven year old travel team and this book has become my bible for managing. I've read it cover to cover many times and I find it an invaluable tool for a manager. Thanks Jeff.

Burroughs provides thorough coverage of youth league coaching subjects: the basics at each position, hitting, throwing, pitching, and planning practices. Burroughs' credibility comes from having been a successful Major Leaguer who later managed teams to a couple of Little League World Series titles, and he discloses a few of his managerial secrets. The main focus is on teaching baseball, however: Burroughs thinks that the secret of his success was to create fun and interesting practices while teaching good fundamentals, and he tells you how to do it. I found his insights invaluable in my first year as a Little League manager.

This was a very good book that explained the basics and the finer points of teaching baseball to children. This is a book that could be used over and over again at each level.

I tried my hardest to like this book overall, but just couldn't. I was very disappointed after having gone through the book twice.

Well Dones: Burrough's spends 44 pages on defensive game situations - who should cover what, if the ball is hit here, and there are runners here & there. The best part of this section, is that it is covered with diagrams. Burroughs also covers approximately 22 baseball drills for practices (see Opportunities for Improvement also).

Opportunities For Improvement: The biggest disappointment is Jeff's lack of use of pictures and diagrams to explain what he is trying to describe in text form. Even in the section describing the 22 drills, they are no pic's or illustrations. Pictures and diagrams are a must for this type of book. The cover of this book says, "Fully Illustrated". There is a section in the middle of the book with pictures covering different topics that, unfortunately, do not match anything nearby. Also unfortunate is the fact that this photo section leaves way too much to be desired - nothing new here. There are no other photos in the book besides this one section. Jeff spends only 1/2 page on each position and covers the rest of the defensive positions in general terms. Very disappointing. I started the chapter on "Practice" with great enthusiasm and felt great about most of it until I read two sections that, as a Little League coach for the past many years, found very hard to believe: Jeff says the team should not take batting practice during any of your practices and to only do this before each game by having the team show up 1 1/2 hours before game time. Yeah, right! (Maybe if all our games were on weekends, and there were no games beforehand.) Jeff's suggested practice schedule runs from 4 PM to 6:30 PM. Most coaches would be real lucky to have that kind of time. On the cover of the book, it states that the book is written for Coaches and Parents - but throughout most of the book, Jeff is teaching directly to the player. There's nothing new or exciting in this book. This is definitely not even a good beginning coach's book. If I had to make one point - it is the serious lack of illustrations and pictures for the amount of text that Jeff uses. I wanted desperately to like this book and was looking forward to some great drills & technique suggestions for my Little Leaguers (and besides I was a fan of his when he was with the A's), but I just didn't find it here, even after going through it twice.

I believe this book was terrific and helped me a lot in baseball. I feel all coaches and parents of baseball childeren should read this book. This book gives all pointers in how to field and bat using all kinds of techniques. I give this book a thumbs up and disagree to the people who think this book was dissapointing. I hope many people get to learn from this review and recommendation. Choose to read this book and you'll thank me.

the book is good reading
egar rice.
does pretty good
writing.
if you love tarzane,
or john carter of mars
this book is for any book
readers out there!

Very entertaining storyline. Gives the reader another chance to imagine an adventure on one of our sister planets. After reading the horrible end to the Martian series, anything would be good. But this storyline is good enough to stand alone.

This is the second book in Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Carson of Venus" series. It picks up right where the previous book left off, with Carson Napier in the hands of his enemies. He manages to escape and reunites with his ladylove, the beautiful princess Duare. They go through many adventures in an attempt to return to Duare's hometown, eventually becoming seperated again. Carson meets another beautiful princess, Nalte, and has further adventures. Does Carson reunite with Duare by the end of the book? I won't tell, but I'm sure you can guess. This is typical Burroughs, which will appeal to people who like old fashioned adventure stories.

The second novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Venus series. Space-faring earthman Carson Napier was separated from his beloved princess Duare at the conclusion of the previous novel. Now, he is after her once again, determined to get her home safely to her kingdom of Vepaja, and the result is the literary equivalent of one of the old Saturday morning serials with just a pinch of social commentary. From the Room of the Seven Doors, down the River of Death to the City of the Dead, where a mad scientist presides over a kingdom of zombies, and the beautiful city of Havatoo, which is a paradise but only if your lineage is pure, Carson and Duare bounce from predicament to predicament. Will they survive their adventures? Will Duare drop her haughty facade and accept Carson's love? Is there any doubt? Not really, but getting there is the fun. This series benefits by being more humorous than most of Burroughs' work.

"Lost on Venus" is the second volume in Edgar Rice Burrough's Carson of Venus series and a rather ironic title since our hero left Earth on a spaceship headed for Mars but ended up on Venus because he forgot to take into account the moon's gravitational pull. Fortunately it turns out that Venus not only has a breathable atmosphere but is inhabited. In "Pirates of Venus," Carson Napier learns about the politics and culture of the planet called Amtor and fell in love with Duare, the daughter of a jong (i.e., she is a princess). Of course, in grand ERB tradition, by the end of that first novel Carson and his beloved were separated by a cruel fate (she is carried away by a flying creature and he is captured by a Thorist spy, and the time has come for him to do something about that.

Originally published as a serial in "Argosy Weekly" in 1933, this pulp fiction adventure is communicated to ERB by Napier himself, using telepathy (I liked the Gridley from the Barsoom books better). Carson is held captive and is put in a room where there are seven doors: one leads to escape, the rest to horrible deaths. This is a fairly interesting start to the story and ERB has some fun coming up with a way for his hero to get out of this predicament. Carson, who is given the name Albargan ("No-Hair-Man") by the natives, catches up with Duare, who keeps insisting that he is too low to speak to her since she is a janjong and he is a nobody. There are some interesting science fiction notions, as when Carson considers the Amtorian theory of the cosmos, which is totally wrong since the planet's constant cloud cover keeps them from seeing anything else in the solar system.

Even though you find all of the standard Burroughs elements from the romantic adventure formula that made him famous as Carson pursues Duare, "Lost on Venus" really is more of a political polemic than his standard stories. This book continues the political satire of the series with the Thorists clearly intended to represent the Communists and it is hard not to see the scientifically advanced city of Havatoo as representing an Aryan wonderland in the Nazi tradition (later on in the series ERB clearly takes aim at Mussolini's brand of fascism as well). "Pirates of Venus" is not really considered a dystopian novel, but in terms of predicting the political evils that would lead to World War II, Burroughs was fairly accurate. This was the last of the major series that ERB created and during the 1930s it really represented his best work, which would seem to indicate that his political passions in the Venus books worked to his advantage.