Slightly more than a hundred years has passed since Robert E. Howard's birth, seventy since his death. Time has shown him to be incontestably one of the great writers of the pulp era. His greatest creation, Conan of Cimmeria, is an icon of popular culture, as well known as Tarzan or Sherlock Holmes. His works are widely reprinted, all over the world, in new and better editions, edited with the scholarly rigor given to a writer whose works matter. That is because the works of Robert E. Howard do matter. THE ROBERT E. HOWARD READER presents a broad survey of his life, writings, and cultural importance. Here we have grandmasters of fantasy, plus the leading Howardian scholars of the present day, coming together in a celebration and examination of the art of the creator of sword-and-sorcery fiction. Contributors include Michael Moorcock, Fritz Leiber, L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson, S.T. Joshi, Don D'Ammassa, Leo Grin, Robert Weinberg, Robert M. Price, Charles Hoffman, George Scithers, Mark Hall, Gary Romeo, Steve Tompkins, Darrell Schweitzer, Scott Connors, and Howard Waldrop.