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F Troop: The Great Indian Uprising
Illustrated novel based on the F Troop television series.
- GenresFiction
214 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1967
12 people want to read
About the author
William Johnston
106 books15 followersLibrarian note: William Johnston has also written under the pseudonyms Susan Claudia, Willa Jay, Heather Sinclair, Ed Garth, Alex Steele, and William Howard.
William Johnston joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starr trilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).
Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”
In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him the “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.
But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse, Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.
Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).
After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He resided in San Jose, California prior to his death in 2010.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
William Johnston joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starr trilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).
Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”
In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him the “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.
But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse, Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.
Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).
After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He resided in San Jose, California prior to his death in 2010.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 17, 2024
I enjoyed reading this, but I didn't think F troop transfered as well to paper as it did screen. There is just nothing like watching the characters.
April 19, 2023
Any tie-in novel for a '60s or '70 sitcom written by William Johnston is worth reading--because it WILL be laugh-out-loud funny.
This one is no exception. Captain Parmenter mixes up numbers on his monthly report--instead of 584 potatoes peeled and 0 troops lost in combat with Indians, he writes 0 potatoes and 584 troops lost. Soon, the youngest general in the army (at one point he has to dodge a truent officer) shows up to put down the Indian uprising. When the general discovers there is no Indian uprising, he decides they have to start one so the Army doesn't look bad.
In the meantime, Sgt. O'Rourke is losing money on his Indian souvenier business and trying to renegotiate his deal with the Hekawis.
These plot lines mix together in increasingly absurd ways, with everyone (the general, the captain, the sergeant and the Indians) all constantly misinterpreting the motives of everyone else. It ends with the troopers of Fort Courage abandoning their posts to dig for gold that doesn't exist and the Hekawis "attacking" the fort to stage a sit-down strike (a tactic recommended--of course--by Sitting Bull's cousin). It is all hilarous slapstick silliness. It is indeed laugh-out-loud funny.
This one is no exception. Captain Parmenter mixes up numbers on his monthly report--instead of 584 potatoes peeled and 0 troops lost in combat with Indians, he writes 0 potatoes and 584 troops lost. Soon, the youngest general in the army (at one point he has to dodge a truent officer) shows up to put down the Indian uprising. When the general discovers there is no Indian uprising, he decides they have to start one so the Army doesn't look bad.
In the meantime, Sgt. O'Rourke is losing money on his Indian souvenier business and trying to renegotiate his deal with the Hekawis.
These plot lines mix together in increasingly absurd ways, with everyone (the general, the captain, the sergeant and the Indians) all constantly misinterpreting the motives of everyone else. It ends with the troopers of Fort Courage abandoning their posts to dig for gold that doesn't exist and the Hekawis "attacking" the fort to stage a sit-down strike (a tactic recommended--of course--by Sitting Bull's cousin). It is all hilarous slapstick silliness. It is indeed laugh-out-loud funny.
December 27, 2023
This was sort of funny in a sophomoric way.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews