Tarzan: A Man Therapy Book
Published July 23, 2010
Every once in a while I come across some article or self-help book which touts the ideal of men heading back to their untamed roots in order to find themselves. The opinion being that if some of society’s overly-nurtured, depressed guys can get in touch with their masculine native side and do manly things which will spark their manly spirits—they will become better, happier men.
I’ve not actually read any of these books…because…well…I’m not a man, nor am I seeking to wild-ize the one I’ve got. He pees and burps in the wild of our home just fine without any extra need for undomesticated encouragement, thank you very much.
But…for those of you seeking self-help in the wildization department, I’ve got a book for you. “The Beasts of Tarzan.”
It seriously might be the perfect recipe for man-emotional-therapy. The book opens with Lord Graystoke bored and unhappy with his wealthy, London, socialite existence until his wife and son get kidnapped and he’s presented with the ultimate guy challenge: To save the ones you love. To do so, though, he must revert back to the ape-man he once was and return to the jungles whence he originally came. The adventure that follows for Tarzan mainly involves a lot of running around naked, killing his own dinner, befriending the local wildlife, and breaking the necks of bad guys. Disturbing? Yes. (As would be the generalized racism if I didn’t find it such an interesting study on the subject.) And, yet, the female character (Tarzan’s wife, Jane) proves one gutsy, rear-kicking broad which, based on that fact alone, meant I was able to finish the book. Well…that and I needed to see whether Tarzan finds decent clothing or rescues his son before the end. Not necessarily in that order.
Anyhow, there you have it–my recommendation for those days when you just feel your testosterone waning and the call of the wild in your spirit. But for today…how about you? Give us a manly book recommend….
What’s the mood noise of the moment? Pure awesomeness.
Tags: Edgar Burroughs Tarzan, masculine spirit book, overly-nurtured, youtube Tarzan
07.23.2010 / 6:33 pm
Should the guys use that call to gather the men for the next beer night? Might make the gathering more sweaty. Has Korbin heard that Tarzan call? Has Peter read the book to him yet? Has Peter read the book? Should I expect to see them running naked around your place the next time I stop by, or will you have tamed the savage beasts by then? Is this one of those books you got from from your grandfather? Should your dad read it?
07.23.2010 / 6:56 pm
Great writing. I chuckled all the way through it. I have always wondered if Johnny really did his own call for the TV series?
07.23.2010 / 10:07 pm
All I have to say is in my home, we grew up on Johny’s “call of the wild’. When we heard it we came running to sit in front of the old black and white. This was followed by a run outside of all four siblings (two of each), whereupon we would chase each other up the hill to the wild grape arbor and do our best to swing across the wide expanse – I am sure it was wide, I remember it as so, so it must have been right?- calling out like Johnny … er, Tarzan all the while.
The worst day of all was when the “new” Tarzan took over for Johnny.There is NO Tarzan like Johnny.
07.23.2010 / 10:08 pm
Why is it only the old folks are commenting on this post? :p
07.24.2010 / 1:47 am
Our contemporary male ideal owes a lot to Mr. Burroughs. I would argue that there would be no Superman without his John Carter of Mars… not to mention a whole testosterone fueled sub-genre of pulpy adventure fiction (i.e. Robert Howard’s Conan). Good call, Mary. And way to denounce Victorian era racism… it’s about time someone spoke out against it. So brave.
07.24.2010 / 9:33 am
Nerd fact for you Dad and Lisa: Yes, apparently Johnny did do his own call. Also, the fact that you both referred to him as “Johnny” made me snicker. Lisa, that’s a really cute memory
.
Mom, Korbin ran in the room as soon as the youtube video came on. He stood entranced. And, no, Pete hasn’t read the book. I’m afraid of where that might lead him and Korbin…especially because I caught Korbin attempting to pee on some of the outdoor wildlife the other day. Also, yes, it’s one from Grandpa.
Ah, Andy! I love your historical influence weigh-in! Sweeeeet. Also, I kind of have a thing for Conan…
07.24.2010 / 5:33 pm
Truly an underrated post-modern hero–or pre-Christian, hm. In any case, someone needs to re-launch the movie franchise minus a certain Austrian-American bone head. That would be a world of fun, you ask me.
07.24.2010 / 5:33 pm
My man was obsessed with this book and convinced me to read it. Crazy memoir. Testosterone fueled….I had trouble getting through it though. I need a little more fluff and little less reality. No Angel, by Jay Dobyns. I think I would have enjoyed reading about an alligator wrestling Tarzan more.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9781400112487&ourl=No%2DAngel%2FJay%2DDobyns&cm_mmc=Google%20Product%20Search-_-Q000000630-_-No%20Angel-_-9781400112487
07.27.2010 / 4:37 pm
Andy, definitely. I’d be all over that…
Margo, I confess, I had no idea the Hell’s Angels were so intense. And is it weird that the book actually kind of interests me? IF the guy’s a good writer…if not, the guy should’ve added alligators. As I recall, statistically, the top selling magazines have either sharks or crocodiles on the front covers, so…he would’ve been close enough
. Go figure…
07.27.2010 / 6:38 pm
It was a best seller. I thought it was actually really well written, I am just more of a (lose myself in a happy place) kind of a book person. You might actually enjoy it
. Crocodiles or not. Ha ha