This is the first book in the famous Tarzan series and has lead to a great number of sequels (over 25), films and comics. The title character Tarzan is the child of aristocratic parents, orphaned in the jungle and raised by apes. Tarzan thrives in the jungle, in large part due to his intelligence. The author Edgar Rice Burroughs has the superiority of aristocratic blood as a theme throughout his novels and Tarzan is naturally a beneficiary of this prejudice. The reader should remember that racism and white superiority was still a respectable belief at the time this novel was written, so some opinions common then are distasteful now.<br><br>After teaching himself to read Tarzan learns of his origins and has various struggles against native Africans and the jealous alpha male of his ape family. His life is changed forever however after the arrival of the first white people Tarzan has ever seen in the jungle, including the beautiful Jane.<br><br>Tarzan's exploits are extreme and fantastic, yet the skill of Edgar Rice Burroughs makes them believable in the context of this fabulous story. There is a reason Tarzan made such an impact on popular culture and readers of this book will discover it for themselves.