Other editions of book Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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In 1888 Lord and Lady Clayton sail from England but to West Africa and perish on a remote island. When their infant son is adopted by fanged, great anthropoid apes, he is Tarzan of the Apes. His intelligence and caring mother raise him to be king. Self-educated by his parents’ library, Tarzan rescues genteel Jane Porter from the perils of his jungle.

In the forest of the table-land a mile back from the ocean old Kerchak the Ape was on a rampage of rage among his people. The younger and lighter members of his tribe scampered to the higher branches of the great trees to escape his wrath; risking their lives upon branches that scarce supported their weight rather than face old Kerchak in one of his fits of uncontrolled anger. The other males scattered in all directions, but not before the infuriated brute had felt the vertebra of one snap between his great, foaming jaws. A luckless young female slipped from an insecure hold upon a high branch and came crashing to the ground almost at Kerchak's feet. With a wild scream he was upon her, tearing a great piece from her side with his mighty teeth, and striking her viciously upon her head and shoulders with a broken tree limb until her skull was crushed to a jelly. And then he spied Kala, who, returning from a search for food with her young babe, was ignorant of the state of the mighty male's temper until suddenly the shrill warnings of her fellows caused her to scamper madly for safety. But Kerchak was close upon her, so close that he had almost grasped her ankle had she not made a furious leap far into space from one tree to another—a perilous chance which apes seldom if ever take, unless so closely pursued by danger that there is no alternative. She made the leap successfully, but as she grasped the limb of the further tree the sudden jar loosened the hold of the tiny babe where it clung frantically to her neck, and she saw the little thing hurled, turning and twisting, to the ground thirty feet below. With a low cry of dismay Kala rushed headlong to its side, thoughtless now of the danger from Kerchak; but when she gathered the wee, mangled form to her bosom life had left it. With low moans, she sat cuddling the body to her; nor did Kerchak attempt to molest her. With the death of the babe his fit of demoniacal rage passed as suddenly as it had seized him. Kerchak was a huge king ape, weighing perhaps three hundred and fifty pounds. His forehead was extremely low and receding, his eyes bloodshot, small and close set to his coarse, flat nose; his ears large and thin, but smaller than most of his kind. His awful temper and his mighty strength made him supreme among the little tribe into which he had been born some twenty years before. Now that he was in his prime, there was no simian in all the mighty forest through which he roved that dared contest his right to rule, nor did the other and larger animals molest him. Old Tantor, the elephant, alone of all the wild savage life, feared him not—and he alone did Kerchak fear. When Tantor trumpeted, the great ape scurried with his fellows high among the trees of the second terrace. The tribe of anthropoids over which Kerchak ruled with an iron hand and bared fangs, numbered some six or eight families, each family consisting of an adult male with his females and their young, numbering in all some sixty or seventy apes. Kala was the youngest mate of a male called Tublat, meaning broken nose, and the child she had seen dashed to death was her first; for she was but nine or ten years old. Notwithstanding her youth, she was large and powerful—a splendid, clean-limbed animal, with a round, high forehead, which denoted more intelligence than most of her kind possessed. So, also, she had a great capacity for mother love and mother sorrow. But she was still an ape, a huge, fierce, terrible beast of a species closely allied to the gorilla, yet more intelligent; which, with the strength of their cousin, made her kind the most fearsome of those awe-inspiring progenitors of man. When the tribe saw that Kerchak's rage had ceased they came slowly down from their arboreal retreats and pursued again the various occupations which he had interrupted. The young played and frolicked about among the trees and bushes.

Having failed in a number of occupations as a young man, Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) found his niche as a writer with Tarzan of the Apes, first published in 1914. Highly imaginative, exotic and suspenseful, the story tells of an infant — the son of an aristocratic English couple — abandoned when his parents die in the jungles of Africa. Rescued and reared by apes, he learns to speak their language and imitate their ability to travel swiftly through the treetops. Eventually, his courage, immense strength and exceptional intelligence earn him the respect and admiration not only of the apes, but of all the creatures of the jungle. The ape-man's story is told here in this classic, fast-paced novel, packed with riveting adventures as Tarzan avenges the killing of Kala, his ape-mother, subdues man-eating beasts of the jungle, meets and falls in love with the beautiful Jane Porter, vanquishes greedy pirate-adventurers, and deals with assorted other threats. Although Burroughs followed this story with many Tarzan sequels, it is doubtful if any ever equaled this novel for its originality, readability and sheer storytelling power. In this inexpensive edition, complete and unabridged, it will thrill a new generation with the legendary exploits of the "Lord of the Apes."

Tarzan of the Apes The novel tells the story of John Clayton, born in the western coastal jungles of equatorial Africa to a marooned couple from England, John and Alice (Rutherford) Clayton, Lord and Lady Greystoke. Adopted as an infant by the she-ape Kala after his parents died (his father is killed by the savage king ape Kerchak), Clayton is named "Tarzan" ("White Skin" in the ape language) and raised in ignorance of his human heritage.

The novel tells the story of John Clayton III. John and Alice Clayton II, Lord and Lady Greystoke of England are marooned in the western coastal jungles of equatorial Africa in 1888. In September 1889 their son John Clayton III is born. At one year old his mother dies and soon thereafter his father is killed by the savage king ape Kerchak. The infant is then adopted by the she-ape Kala. Clayton is named "Tarzan" ("White Skin" in the ape language) and raised in ignorance of his human heritage.

Tarzan Of The Apes N#1 The novel tells the story of John Clayton, born in the western coastal jungles of equatorial Africa to a marooned couple from England, John and Alice (Rutherford) Clayton, Lord and Lady Greystoke. Adopted as an infant by the she-ape Kala after his parents die (his mother dies of natural causes on Tarzan's first birthday, and his father is killed by the savage king ape Kerchak), Clayton is named "Tarzan" ("White Skin" in the ape language) and raised in ignorance of his human heritage. Feeling alienated from his peers due to their physical differences, he discovers his true parents' cabin, where he first learns of others like himself in their books, with which he eventually teaches himself to read. On his return from one visit to the cabin, he is attacked by a huge gorilla which he manages to kill with his father's knife, although he is terribly wounded in the struggle. As he grows up, Tarzan becomes a skilled hunter, gradually arousing the jealousy of Kerchak, the ape leader.

McClurg 1914, first edition, first or second state in a 90th anniversary dust jacket. 401 pages. Rebound in red leather. Description; Red pebble leather covers with gold titles front and spine. This book uses the heavier stock of paper of the first and second state. This book was purchased without any covers and I do not know if it had an acorn on the spine or not. Dust jacket is limited edition #16/100 with ERB’s stamp, dated and signed by Philip Normand who did the artwork restoration to Fred J. Arting’s wraparound illustration.

When Tarzan is orphaned as a baby deep in the African jungle, he is saved from certain death when he is adopted by a she-ape. Raised as one of her own, Tarzan learns the way of the Kerchak-the tribe of great apes who rule the jungle. They teach him how to survive, to hunt, to swing through the trees, and to communicate with the other animals of the jungle. By the time he is a young man Tarzan has the courage and strength of ten men. But it is his human brain that allows him to be the King of the Apes. And Lord of the Jungle. But when his jungle domain is disturbed by the arrival of "civilized" men, Tarzan begins to wonder about his true identity.