The Adventures of Tom Swift, Volume One: Four Complete Novels by Appleton, Victor (March 5, 2010) Paperback

by Victor Appleton

Collected in Volume One are Tom Swift's first four "Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle"; "Tom Swift and His Motor Boat"; "Tom Swift and His Airship"; and "Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat."

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Victor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its successors, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_...

The character of Tom Swift was conceived in 1910 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book-packaging company. Stratemeyer invented the series to capitalize on the market for children's science adventure. The Syndicate's authors created the Tom Swift books by first preparing an outline with all the plot elements, followed by drafting and editing the detailed manuscript. The books were published under the house name of Victor Appleton. Edward Stratemeyer and Howard Garis wrote most of the volumes in the original series; Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, wrote the last three volumes. The first Tom Swift series ended in 1941.
In 1954, Harriet Adams created the Tom Swift, Jr., series, which was published under the name "Victor Appleton II". Most titles were outlined and plotted by Adams. The texts were written by various writers, among them William Dougherty, John Almquist, Richard Sklar, James Duncan Lawrence, Tom Mulvey and Richard McKenna. The Tom Swift, Jr., series ended in 1971.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift

Reviews

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you read any one of the four juvenile boys adventures in this collection of four, you have read them all. These are the first four adventures of Tom Swift: Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle; Tom Swift and His Motor Boat; Tom Swift and His Airship; Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat. The attributed author is Victor Appleton but all of these TS books were co- written by staff members from the Stratemeyer Syndicate, with Mr. Stratemeyer lead on these. Several series of Tom Swift books were published on and off from these first published in 1910 and the last in 1972.

Based on these four I cannot recommend any. That they represent a certain time, and an overt intention to appeal to adolescent males is the least of the weaknesses of these stories. The stories vary so little that even the villains are re cycled from book to book. Not that they are evil geniuses, always evading capture, just that they get re-cycled on the flimsiest excuses. The writing and plotting lack imagination. Critical since the appeal to imagination is a major reason for the books.

As suggested by the titles, Tom Swift Comes into the possession of, or invents, a progression of ever more leading edge (for the period) mechanical inventions. Because of them or out of greed for them, the inventions become center pieces of what passes for plot and a chance for a child of the period to imagine the wonders of his age.

If you are a fan of old-time radio broadcasts, like Jack Armstrong, the Alllll American Boy, Tom Swift is his less well written cousin.

[Paulo Reimann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another classic