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Tarzan of the Apes Kindle Edition

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,541 ratings

The first and greatest adventure of Tarzan and the inspiration for a new feature film starring Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Born to English aristocrats marooned in the dense West African wilderness, John Clayton, only heir to the Greystoke estate, is orphaned soon after his first birthday. Adopted by the she-ape Kala, he is given the name Tarzan, or White-Skin, and grows up among the apes, swinging from tree to tree and fighting the great beasts of the jungle. He has no memory of civilization, but discovers, in the books his parents left behind, the key to his strange appearance, and to his past.
 
When a party of white explorers arrives, Tarzan finds himself drawn to them—in particular, to the American Jane Porter. For years he has been torn between two identities, human and ape, and after saving Jane’s life he follows her to Paris and then to America, experiencing the unfamiliar world of his birthright before the call of the jungle brings them both back to Africa.
 
Originally published in 1912 in the pulp magazine
All-Story, Tarzan of the Apes introduced to the world one of literature’s most iconic characters. The star of twenty-four books written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as countless film, television, and comic book adaptations, Tarzan forever remains the Lord of the Jungle.
 
This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) was an American author best known for his celebrated adventure and science-fiction novels. Among his most notable creations are the jungle hero Tarzan, the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, and the fictional landmass within Earth known as Pellucidar.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00KVTS1LU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Teen & Tween (July 1, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1825 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 281 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 8129123800
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,541 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4,541 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and enjoyable. They praise the writing quality as concise and imaginative. The story is described as an adventure-filled tale with lots of action. Readers find the characters believable and fun. The pacing is described as fast and never abrupt or confusing. The intelligent, thought-provoking plot and creative ideas are appreciated.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

560 customers mention "Readability"551 positive9 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find the story entertaining and well-written, with a good plot. While not lighthearted, they enjoy the movie without guilt.

"...Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the most fascinating and enduring characters in literature and was wildly successful in his lifetime...." Read more

"...I could notice, modern typography, nice cover, and in general an excellent edition...." Read more

"...In the end, this was an entertaining book that read like a fantastical fairytale in a place that seems so far away and so dangerous with a leading..." Read more

"Nothing to dislike, as described, a copy of a CLASSIC!!!!!" Read more

162 customers mention "Writing quality"132 positive30 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book. They find it well-written in a concise, primitive style that suits Tarzan of the Apes. The author has an exceptional way with the English language and writes a wonderful story. Readers mention there are no formatting or spelling issues. The book provides insight into the times when it was written and features the imaginative mind of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

"...but holding all together is the audacious imagination of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who arguably created modern science fiction and infused..." Read more

"Kipling, in the Jungle Book, maybe the inspiration for Tarzan, wrote a perfect book; his mastery leaves Edgar Rice Burroughs' writing as almost..." Read more

"...worth a read as it is a good action novel and gives insight on the times when it was written." Read more

"...He also learns how to use the knife. He can also learn through modeling: he learns how to hunt by watching a native how to use the bow and arrow...." Read more

156 customers mention "Adventure"118 positive38 negative

Customers enjoy the adventure in the book. They find it exciting and entertaining, with lots of action and twists. The story is described as a high-adventure novel with romance and impossible situations. Many readers consider it one of the most popular modern fantasy novels set in real world settings. The book is considered a classic scientific romance that predates science.

"...The novels are high adventure with romance and impossible situations (with sometimes ridiculous storylines) but holding all together is the..." Read more

"...a more well-rounded picture of Tarzan as a whole with intelligence, curiosity and honor (and surprisingly a jokester) to go along with the pretty..." Read more

"...These books were most certainly pulp fiction and fall into the same category of Doc Savage, Conan, and many others of that era...." Read more

"...Without giving spoilers the ending is sad :l and is nothing as I ever saw in other media. The more I read it the more captivating it was...." Read more

80 customers mention "Character development"64 positive16 negative

Customers enjoy the book's character development. They find Tarzan believable and relatable, with diverse and interesting characters. The book explores unique civilizations for Tarzan and the reader to explore. They appreciate Tarzan's ingenuity and heroism in dealing with them.

"...Rice Burroughs created one of the most fascinating and enduring characters in literature and was wildly successful in his lifetime...." Read more

"I also enjoyed and appreciated the more in-depth portrayal of Tarzan aka Lord John Clayton Greystoke...." Read more

"...For the most part, it is by far the best, casting Tarzan as a noble person, raised in nature. Despite being a good story it is racist...." Read more

"...about the stirring adventures of this fearless, selfless, caring, honorable and totally noble savage...." Read more

53 customers mention "Pacing"50 positive3 negative

Customers find the book's pacing fast and engaging. They say it moves quickly with a lot of action, and is never abrupt or confusing. The book is different from Tarzan movies and TV shows, with little downtime that would drag the story.

"...having the narrative be bogged down with so much details and quick with the transitions so you’re not stuck with a story that spends time in..." Read more

"...of the story, the use of figurative language which keeps this story's dynamic tempo. I mentioned before that this story is pretty violent...." Read more

"...It's different enough from the movies to be interesting, and it moves quickly...." Read more

"...I found ERB's style to be pretty engaging, making this a fairly fast read, and, though I don't find action scenes particularly exciting, the lush..." Read more

48 customers mention "Intelligence"48 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's intelligence and thought-provoking content. They praise the author's inventive mind and brilliant core concept. The descriptions are described as top-notch, inspiring, and capturing the culture and attitudes of its time.

"...In a fascinating and ingenious sequence, he teaches himself to read and write English without knowing how the language sounds...." Read more

"...I don't think there is a mistreatment. All the races in this book make interesting things, the ape tribe of Mangani is cruel but also adopts Tarzan;..." Read more

"...book gave us a more well-rounded picture of Tarzan as a whole with intelligence, curiosity and honor (and surprisingly a jokester) to go along with..." Read more

"...include descriptions of any specific known place in Africa, he is very detailed and poetic...." Read more

32 customers mention "Creativity"25 positive7 negative

Customers enjoy the book's creativity and originality. They find the writing style engaging, charming, elegant, and vibrant. Many describe it as a true masterpiece that contains symbolism and thought.

"...They are noble, beautiful and strong. He infuses them with loyalty, self-sacrifice, intelligence, and great courage...." Read more

"...has X-Ray, there are not mistakes I could notice, modern typography, nice cover, and in general an excellent edition...." Read more

"...It helps that Burroughs’s writing was both elegant and quick...." Read more

"...However, it is nothing fancy in that regard, merely the trade paperback with hardcover glued on...." Read more

24 customers mention "Print size"7 positive17 negative

Customers find the print size too small for easy reading. The text does not cover the entire page, making it difficult to follow the story. While the book is a classic adventure with an engaging plot, some readers feel the format and print size are poor.

"...It's fairly short and a lot happens within the few hundred pages...." Read more

"Great book but small text. I read all the Tarzan books in the late 1960s when I was in Junior High...." Read more

"...that Gorillas and apes are not the same thing, and yet his apes are bigger than a man (well over six feet) which makes me believe they can't be..." Read more

"...It can feel long at parts, but worth it at the end...." Read more

An amazing classic!
5 out of 5 stars
An amazing classic!
An excitingly vibrant and lively read that still holds up to this day and age! Very highly recommended to anyone out there!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2019
    The work of Edgar Rice Burroughs should interest and inspire author and reader alike. As a pencil salesman, he sold pencil advertisements in the pulp fiction publications of his day. He found the published stories not very good and thought he’d try his hand at writing. After all, if they were publishing such drivel, why not his drivel? Amazingly, he sold his first piece, which began the John Carter of Mars series. Shortly thereafter, he began what made his fortune and allowed him to name his own town Tarzana after Tarzan of the Apes.
    The character of an Englishman of noble birth, raised in the wilds of Africa by great apes captured the imagination of many and deservedly so. Tarzan is one of the seminal fictional characters and has never been depicted as well as Burroughs imagined him.
    Raised as an ape, he speaks and understands their language, which is also spoken by monkeys and baboons. His sense of smell is highly developed and he is taught to hunt and kill to eat. When a great ape makes a kill, he lets forth with a terrifying howl of victory that lets the rest of the jungle know. It’s a fearsome sound and nothing like Johnny Weissmuller’s glorious yodel. After killing the great ape that was his stepfather, he sets out on his own and discovers the cabin his real father made after being marooned on the African coast.
    Inside the cabin, he discovers the skeletons of his parents as well as his father’s knife, which will serve him through the rest of the series. Also inside the cabin are books that were meant for a boy’s instruction. In a fascinating and ingenious sequence, he teaches himself to read and write English without knowing how the language sounds. After rescuing a French soldier from cannibals, he learns French before English.
    Among his enemies are Numa, the Lion; Sheeta, the Panther; Hista, the Snake and cannibals. Enemies are what help define protagonists and through the series, there are enemies galore. There are Germans, Swedes, Russians, Communists, Arabs, Shiftas (bandits) and Japanese who find themselves up against the Ape-Man.
    Tarzan is fluent in French and English as well as the language of the beasts and the native African tribes who have learned to fear and respect him. He becomes king of the Waziri and them, his loyal subjects and armed force.
    The Johnny Weissmuller films are filled with scenes of Tarzan calling for hordes of jungle beasts to charge white hunters and whatever enemy is on the horizon destroying his jungle paradise. Unlike Weissmuller, Tarzan is quite articulate. In the books, the only scene with an animal charge (other than when Tantor is employed) is when Tarzan persuades a baboon king to send his horde of baboons to attack his enemies. Otherwise, his power over animals is limited. Tantor, the Elephant, is Tarzan’s friend and is happy to carry him on his back to wherever he wishes to go.
    However, in The Beasts of Tarzan resides an extraordinary sequence, where after becoming the chief of a tribe of great apes and saving a panther from a trap that would otherwise have cost it its life, the beasts join Tarzan in his quest to recapture his bride, Jane. Together with marooned sailors, the apes row a hollowed-out tree to the coast of Africa while Sheeta, the panther drools over the sailors but will not eat them out of loyalty to the Lord of the Jungle. Not so, the fate of Jane’s abductors. Any mention of animal loyalties would be amiss without mentioning the Golden Lion, Jad-bal-ja, whom Tarzan raised from a cub to become his ally and watcher. More than one enemy is vanquished by Tarzan’s loyal avenger, who will not attack any of Tarzan’s friends.
    In the first part of Tarzan Returns, he wears clothing, fights off killers in Paris and is hired by the French government to go undercover in North Africa. He’s more like James Bond and quite skilled with a gun in his hand in addition to his superior physical prowess.
    One of the major threads that runs through the novels are the lost worlds hidden in the Dark Continent. The first of the worlds is Opar, a city and civilization originally from Atlantis and its queen, La. Opar and La figure in several subsequent novels.
    Lost worlds are a throwback to the 19th-century writings of H. Rider Haggard, H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne. Among the lost worlds Burroughs imagined are two warring Roman cities, warring Crusaders who took a wrong turn returning from the Holy Land, warring civilizations of cat people, warring religious fanatics among many others.
    The novels are at their best when focusing on Tarzan and his Waziris, his son, and wife, Jane.
    The series lost momentum after shifting focus to lost worlds rather than keeping sharp focus on Tarzan. He even cross-fertilized Tarzan with the Pelucidar series sending the Ape-Man to the Earth’s Core. The stories are at their best when focusing on Tarzan himself. Burroughs created one of the great and most enduring characters of fiction. He revolutionized science fiction and fantasy. He predicted many medical advances and probably inspired discoverers and inventors with his audacious fiction.
    One barrier for many modern readers is the language used in 1912. There are many archaic terms and descriptors used, but as the series progresses the language evolves and is less off-putting.
    One note on the version I read. The later novels were digitized utilizing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software because there are missing periods and abbreviations that don’t make sense otherwise. The letters “Ms” are in place of where it should have read “his” for example among many other artifacts. The edition I read cost 99 cents for 25 complete novels. Figuring out what the word should have been should be easy enough for the reader and well worth the minor extra effort.
    Burroughs pulls the series out of the lost world rut in Tarzan and the Lion Man where he infuses the story with science fiction ideas usually found in the Barsoom series. A mad scientist has created a race, crossing gorillas with men. It’s a thrilling entry to the series with brilliant elements of horror in it. That novel was written in 1933-34 with a subplot involving a Hollywood production of a Tarzan-like feature filmed on location in Africa. References to Burroughs’ success in Hollywood continue as characters refer to Lord Greystoke as “a regular Tarzan” not knowing who he really is. Once we reach World War II in Tarzan and the Foreign Legion, Lord Greystoke is a British Army Colonel who reveals his true identity to the band of warriors fighting the Japanese on the island of Sumatra.
    No discussion of Burroughs’ Tarzan novels would complete without mentioning the “Tantor” in the room: race. It’s important to keep in mind that Burroughs was a product of his time and his writing reflects what were many prevailing attitudes and ideas of the day. The essential idea of a British nobleman raised by apes only to realize the promise of his superior genes is rightly regarded today as racist. Tarzan hates the black tribes he first meets but one must keep in mind that they were also cannibals. There is liberal use of what is now referred to as the N-Word throughout the books. Tarzan himself doesn’t use the word but many of the white characters do and most of those are Tarzan’s enemies. Throughout the novels, Tarzan is frequently predisposed to help a person because they are white and is callous to the fate of the black tribesmen he encounters.
    In Tarzan’s defense, he frequently prefers the law of the jungle to the law of man. He would rather be eaten by a lion or a tiger or gored by a rhinoceros than have the knife of a duplicitous man stab him in the back. The books are replete with wry observations of Tarzan’s preference for the savage natural world over civilization.
    Burroughs gradually evolved his regard for the black tribes. By the time the novels mature, Tarzan relies on a tribe of blacks known as his Waziri and its chief, Muviro. They become the source of many a deus ex machina while coming to his rescue. They are noble, beautiful and strong. He infuses them with loyalty, self-sacrifice, intelligence, and great courage. They love Tarzan and Tarzan loves them. We could all use allies such as these.
    By the time we reach Tarzan and the Tarzan Twins with Jad-Bal-Ja the Golden Lion, most of Tarzan’s most beloved characters play a part in the resolution of the tale. Tantor is here as well as Nkima, the monkey and his loyal Waziri facing down the half-men of Opar, descended from gorillas.
    Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the most fascinating and enduring characters in literature and was wildly successful in his lifetime. None of the film adaptations captured the essence of the author’s vision but Burroughs was more than happy to laugh all the way to the bank. The novels are high adventure with romance and impossible situations (with sometimes ridiculous storylines) but holding all together is the audacious imagination of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who arguably created modern science fiction and infused many of those fantastic situations from what was one time called The Dark Continent, a place of mystery and limitless possibilities that launched many a fantasy adventure. Most of the writers of more recent science fiction were inspired as boys and girls by the writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
    The physical courage of Tarzan is something all boys aspire to. Cast off, naked and alone with nothing but our wits and wills to be engines of our survival, there is a part of every person alive who ought to wish to emulate Tarzan.
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2019
    Kipling, in the Jungle Book, maybe the inspiration for Tarzan, wrote a perfect book; his mastery leaves Edgar Rice Burroughs' writing as almost improvised. In Tarzan is not clear at first that different animals don the same name, the coincidences are implausible, and the world population seems to have fifty persons at most. Nevertheless the technically lesser story of Tarzan has a vast bigger impact in our culture than Kipling's lovely narration. The story of a man whose past is lost, raised to be a noble man by adoptive parents, fighting antagonists of superlative strength or superior weapons, gaining peak human strength and stamina, superior intelligence due to his genetic and aristocratic heritage, the intelligent and beautiful lady that he will rescue... all these elements will inspire the story of Superman, so, although imperfect, it goes beyond the Jungle Book to be the foundation of the vast 20th century mythology.

    The beginning is a bit exasperating: a couple taking the worst decisions in their way to catastrophe. Circumstances will abandon them in a wild and untouched jungle in the Congo; all continues in tragedy. Each tragedy preparing the path to build the most powerful human being, not only in strength but, different from the classic movies, also in intellect. Without giving spoilers the ending is sad :l and is nothing as I ever saw in other media. The more I read it the more captivating it was. If you have seen movies or read comics, about Tarzan, I can assure you that they are not like this original book. Is an amazing reading, not only despite its defects but even thanks to them.

    As a miscellaneous note is the theme about race. I don't think there is a mistreatment. All the races in this book make interesting things, the ape tribe of Mangani is cruel but also adopts Tarzan; the cannibals are inhuman toward prisoners but they also build and respect their divinities; the colonialists abuse the natives but also they investigate to end that abuse, some kill without remorse while others help the most possible. So in the end there is not a prejudice except in modern readers that read what their limited vision allows them to see. In the treatment of gender Jane Porter is in my opinion an echo of one of the greatest heroines of literature as is Shakespeare's Portia; and the inspiration for Louis Lane, a strong and brave woman, not all the men are brave neither, so I don't see a prejudice in it. I don't like mistreatment of animals and Tarzan, what is wonderful, explicitly has learnt to hunt only for food and only if his weapons put him in fair ground, not in superiority.

    All in all Tarzan is amazing!!! you can get the AmazonClassics edition. It has X-Ray, there are not mistakes I could notice, modern typography, nice cover, and in general an excellent edition. The only thing I'd like is if I could measure the reading progress by pages and not only by digital positions, other AmazonClassics books have that option. It is not an issue but a choice of subjective comfort.
    12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Cliente Kindle
    5.0 out of 5 stars lembranças da infãncia
    Reviewed in Brazil on July 10, 2023
    processo rápido e fácil.
  • Catalina
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2024
    Re living my youth with this book.
  • Nitin Hatekar
    5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgia
    Reviewed in India on November 22, 2024
    I had read this as my first ever novel, when I was in school. I remember becoming absorbed and astonished by the world of Tarzan. Read it again, on a whim and enjoyed it even more so. A true classic. 5/5.
  • J
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
    Reviewed in Canada on May 6, 2024
    These books will take you on a amazing journey.
  • maxim
    5.0 out of 5 stars meglio dei film
    Reviewed in Italy on November 18, 2018
    Benvenuti nella giungla! Un grande classico della letteratura per ragazzi, il cui personaggio è diventato nel tempo una vera leggenda, capace di far sognare a tutte le età. La storia è anche meglio delle tante trasposizioni cinematografiche.

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