Review: Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Bibliography by Dr. Robert B. Zeuschner

Christmas has come early for fans and scholars of Edgar Rice Burroughs, with the publication of Dr. Robert B. Zeuschner’s Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Bibliography, a spectacular and passionately assembled compendium representing two decades of work spent documenting the complete catalogue of Burroughs’ North American published works.   Zeuschner has done far more than simply document the works of Burroughs, however — he has breathed life into the telling of the history of Burroughs’ published output — a remarkable century plus run  that began with the publication of A Princess of Mars in All-Story magazine in February 1912, then continued throughout Burroughs’ life only to be re-born a dozen years after the author’s death with the great paperback surge of the sixties, and continues until today, with new editions continuing to appear more than a century after the first book was published.

Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Bibliography clocks in at over 700 pages, the majority of them in color, and begins with a biographical sketch of Burroughs that will be familiar to most fans, but which grounds what follows in the story of a life exceedingly well lived, with its share of adventures, heartaches, defeats, and ultimately some glorious victories that fans can share. Then comes the meat of the book — a chapter on each book, tracing its life via publication, more than 2000 entries in all.  Along the way are more than 500 color illustrations of the book covers and dust jackets under discussion, plus 100 interior black and white illustrations, many with inscriptions to family.

The book will be of special interest to the battalions of dedicated collectors of ERB’s works, giving them a road map for the acquisition of rare titles as well as a handy means of charting and evaluating the status of their holdings.   Knowing that the author is Dr. Robert B. Zeuschner one of the most respected longtime Burroughs scholars,  and the publisher is Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., readers can be confident in the definitive nature of the compendium.

Sample Page

Finally, a note about the small treasures that are to be found inside. Aside from the illustrations, there are examples of the promotional materials used by the publishers, both for trade and public consumption, plus samples of Burroughs’ correspondence, work-in-progress artwork,  and other unexpected delights.

If it’s not yet clear — let me make it so: I highly recommend this work as an essential companion to any fan or scholar’s collections of the works of the great master of speculative fiction, Edgar Rice Burroughs.   I have been waiting for years for Dr. Zeuschner, a professor of comparative philosophy and longtime Burroughs Bibliophile, to complete his epic project, and when it arrived — I found that it exceeds even my highest expectations.   Its an essential and extraordinary labor of love, passion, curiousity, and insight.

 

A word about the editions:

The “Standard” Edition (ISBN 978-1-945462-00-9) list priced at $100.00 is “Bound in midnight blue Cialux Italian book cloth with the spine and front cover decorative stamped in gilt. Color wrap-around dust jacket.”

The “Deluxe” Edition (ISBN 978-1-945462-01-6) list priced at $150.00 is “Bound in genuine red leather with a hub spine and cover decorations stamped in gilt. Color wrap-around dust jacket.”

Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Bibiliography is available from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc and ordering information can be found at ERBBooks.com .