The Big Book of Adventure Stories: The Most Daring, Dangerous, and Death-Defying Collection of Adventure Tales Ever Captured in One Mammoth Volume

Otto Penzler might be more well-known for his Mysterious Bookshop and curated collections of mystery writing, but his skills of selection and compilation are not limited by genre, as The Big Book of Adventure Stories proves. Like other volumes in his "Big Book" collection, Penzler has assembled a gargantuan trove of pure adventures by classic masters of the genre. Keep in mind, of course, that these stories are a product of their times (Preston and Penzler address this fact in the foreword and introduction respectively), meaning this: if you're easily offended by almost comically out-dated stereotypes, then this tome and others of its ilk are not for you. If, on the other hand, you are the type of person who loves Indiana Jones movies and the old-school gusto associated with the Age of Exploration and you aren't familiar with the table of contents, consider this a valuable primer (and if they are familiar, consider it a convenient collection of old favorites). If you're on the fence about whether or not it's a worthy addition to your library, consider the 47 tales contained within a sampler - there is bound to be one story among them that you've never heard, or at the very least you will find interesting enough to investigate a new author.

Great and I mean great collection of stories of this type, bar none. The editor Otto Penzler has put together a wonderful variety of different kinds of adventure tales. They are divided into the following categories. Sword and Sorcery Megalomania Rules Man VS. NatureIsland Paradise Sand and Sun Something Feels Funny Go West Young ManFuture Shock I Spy Yellow Peril In darkest Africa. In each of these are several tale representing each category. They are all wonderful. Concluding the In Darkest Africa section is a complete Tarzan short novel titled "Tarzan the Terrible" by Edgar Rice Burroughs of 131 pages of sheer delight. But than again this could be applied to this whole collection. I only wish there was a second collection in the works because this is simply not enough! Bravo!!!

This one worked out great! I had no idea what to get my dad for Fathers Day, so I went online searching with that key phrase and found a list of books dads might enjoy. I always get my books on Amazon, it's very rare that anyone else will have a better price. But here's the clincher, as usual I wait until the last minute for gifts and Amazon always saves the day with their unbeatable shipping time and price! Since my dad is in my Amazon address contacts it couldn't have been easier, and for the guy who is extremely hard to shop for this book actually tickled his fancy. He doesn't read that much so a novel was out of the question. This is a nice collection of stories, with ample variety, it will hopefully keep him entertained enough to get through the whole book someday. (I'll get back to the review then.)

The cover is a little misleading, these are classic stories by famous writers.

This is the best contemporary collection available across the genre of adventure. There are no bad stories. Many are fantastic or iconic; all are at least quite good. The audiobook is also great.

I love this book, but I feel some guilt recommending it. I'm frankly concerned about how my Asian friends would feel about my recommending a book that has a section titled "Yellow Peril." Many of the stories in this collection come from the early 20th Century, where racism was a part of life. The racism in these stories is far less than the racism to be found in many other stories of the era, though I know that does not excuse it. I love the genre so much that I have to rue the racism, and enoy everything else in the book. Well, there's also some sexism. But aside from the occasional racism and sexism, this is a wonderful book.

There are some rip-roaring stories in this collection -- lots of them in a book just shy of 900 pages. I'm a fan of swashbuckler films and books, so I purchased it just to get "Zorro Deals With Treason", but I started at the beginning and have been enjoying almost every tale. I wish this were hard-cover, but for less than $10, even beat-up paperback is fine when it has so many fun stories. If you like escapist adventure stories that whisk you away to another world for a little bit, this book is for you.

This book is expansive with a ton of stories. As such, there are definitely some wasted pages on terrible stories. However there are more than enough gems, both in terms of selection and authorship, to make it a worthwhile purchase. I was particularly impressed to read the original Buck Rogers. Enjoy!

a nice convenient format for packing up for travel, long hospital stays, that kind of thing; because it has so many stories from a wide range of authors. You can just throw it in until your bag or suitcase and know you have something to keep you occupied. The stories are well chosen, enjoyable and vary greatly in content, style and “feel”. However, if you are already an avid reader you may find, like myself, you have already read a few of them. The book itself is a basic cheaper paperback format, not the best quality paper or cover but definitely serviceable.

This book is excellent value for anyone who wants something to read and while away some time lost in the world of make believe.

I read some stories and what I read I really loved a lot.It has a lot of adventure stories (by authors) you ever heard of or seen on TV or read in comic books. Heroes and Villains with conflict and excitement. People beaten, tortured, and killed. So go with it. Love all these big books and will buy them all.