Edgar Rice Burroughs was born in Chicago on September 1st, 1875. His father, George Tyler Burroughs, was a Civil War veteran and now a successful businessman. Major Burroughs and his wife Mary had five other boys besides Edgar, but two of the children died in infancy, leaving Edgar the youngest of the family.

"Eddie" attended several schools during his formative years, often being shuttled from one to another due to the outbreak of various diseases. At this time it was standard to learn Greek and Latin in addition to English composition, and Burroughs would often lament his erratic schooling, which resulted in his (or so he said) learning little English while taking the same Greek and Latin courses over and over again. Despite his claims to the contrary, this early exposure to Classical literature and mythology would serve Burroughs well in his future writing career.

 An influenza epidemic hit Chicago in 1891; hundreds died, and Edgar's worried parents wondered how they could protect their fifteen-year-old son. A few years earlier two of Edgar's brothers, George and Harry, had started a cattle ranch out west in Idaho. This seemed like a logical safe haven, so George and Mary packed Edgar onto an Idaho-bound train.

He didn't begin writing fiction until he was almost 36 years old, with a mediocre track record in school, the army, and business. But once Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) found his calling, it took him barely six months to produce one of the most enduring characters in popular culture. Tarzan of the Apes was a smash hit all around--in the pulp magazine where he first appeared, in book form, and eventually in a series of movies. As in his previous book about "America's Cowboy Artist" Charles M. Russell, Texas-based journalist Taliaferro displays a healthy appreciation for the work of a mass entertainer without making exaggerated claims for its artistic merits. The biographer also knowledgeably describes the publishing environment in which Burroughs operated, showing how the managerial skills the author acquired in a long string of boring jobs helped him squeeze every nickel out of his literary creations. This all-American moxie linked Chicago-born Burroughs to his readers, who also shared his fascination with exotic places (from Africa to Mars), heroes distinguished by brawn and brains, and heroines as scantily clad as possible. While the text capably chronicles Burroughs's personal affairs, Taliaferro sensibly keeps his focus on the fascinating role the Tarzan creator played in our collective fantasy life and in the development of commercial culture. --Wendy Smith