Tom Swift and His Airship

Tom Swift Sr. #3

by Victor Appleton

A thrilling adventure in the famous Tom Swift series

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Classics, Science Fiction Fantasy, Young Adult

100 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1910

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

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

After spending lots of time reading boy books written in the mid to late 1800s, I've finally continued my time travel experience to the early 1900s. The Tom Swift series is one of the earliest books in the Stratemeyer Syndicate (think The Bobbsey Twins Series, Hardy Boys Complete Series Set Books 1-66, and Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew. I grew up reading Nancy Drew and I knew that the books I read were re-written in the 1970s. At one point, I read some of the original Nancy Drew books. I knew about the Stratemeyer Syndicate but had never heard of the Tom Swift books until recently. Unlike the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, Tom Swift is not a detective. He is a teen inventor. He's the son of Barton Swift, who is also an inventor.

This is the third in the series. Tom has now invented a motorcycle and a boat. So, what's next? An airplane. This is shortly after the Wright Brothers. Tom's airship,the Red Cloud, is a combination blimp/dirigible and half airplane. When Tom and his friends, including the eccentric Mr. Damon,, take the Red Cloud for a flight, they later find out that they've been accused of a crime. There are many adventures and close calls and Tom also has to figure out how to clear his name.

Some reader will have trouble reading about supporting character Eradicate Samson, the "colored" helper, so named (by himself) because he eradicates dirt. All I can say is times were different. What we recognize as racist today was just the way writers wrote African American characters.

Tom was likely modeled off Horatio Alger Jr.'s boy characters. Tom is honest, loyal, and courageous. He gets into frequent spats with the town bully, Andy Foger. Andy is mean and treacherous and lies and steals. Tom never starts a battle but is always very quick to defend himself and always comes out the victor.

[Muzzlehatch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this is the first Tom Swift book I've read; I read the Applewood facsimile edition, so all the original writing. I read plenty of series books as a kid growing up in the 1970s - the Hardy Boys and the Lone Ranger being the two major ones for me, and a few from the Bobbsey Twins and perhaps a couple of the other older juveniles. Growing up with a mother who had read some of these things and kept them, and with an appreciation always for earlier days, and forgotten modes of literature, I didn't have the problem with some of this dated stuff that many people have, and I still don't - I've gone back and re-read some Hardy Boys in the past few years and enjoyed them.

But Tom Swift... well, I will have to say Tom Swift may take some getting used to, or might not work for me; at the least it will probably require another book or two for me to determine whether I want to start collecting and reading them in quantity. Certainly as many readers and critics will point out, there are plenty of issues with the way in which the book approaches African-American characters - it's really pretty cringe-inducing. But this is common to all of these series and much American popular fiction of this era, and while it's deeply problematic, I don't think on it's own it invalidates the value of the book as historical document, of early science fiction or perhaps I should say "inventor fiction" or "boy inventor" writing. The real problem for me here is the dullness and repetition in the writing, e.g. the usage of the same adjectives over and over and over to describe each character - "the eccentric man", "the aged inventor", etc. It's all very dull and at best workmanlike, and this coupled with the central inanity in the plot - on the word of one teenager, our hero and his friends are instantly hounded for a bank robbery, including being shot at en masse as they fly cross-country in their airship - really makes for mixed feelings on the part of this reader, at best.

Still overall I wouldn't un-recommend it to those looking for some insight into the development of early juvenile literature or early science fiction (admittedly it's barely SF even by the standards of 1910), and some may find the flat language and stereotyping to be less problematic than I do. It certainly moves quickly enough, and while it's not exactly loaded with colorful descriptions or dialogue, it does act as a bit of a time machine. And that's really all that I wanted or expected from it.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

An improvement over the first two books in the series as Tom had several travelling companions meaning that he monologued less often. As the hybrid blimp / airplane was something of an invention versus the motorcycle and motorboat of the first two novels where Tom was simply a mechanic.
The mystery / adventure was much too silly as the concepts of evidence and innocent until proven guilty were completely thrown out the window. This is rather ironic given that eventually the syndicate would be known for the twin series of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew both of which specialized in gathering enough evidence, or confessions from idiotic crooks, to seal their latest mystery.
Hard to recommend the series yet as anything except a nostalgia trip or those wanting to read the Tom Swift series from beginning to end. Very dated with cringe inducing depictions and dialect.

[Garrett Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book many, many times, and to this day it is still my favorite tom swift book in the series. The book starts with young inventor tom swift creating an airship in his laboratory and testing it. To test it, they decide to take a long trip across america, but after they leave, they are falsely accused of stealing 50,000 dollars from the bank, they then track down the real criminals and save the bank. This book does not have great writing, but the story and the novelty of what an old book it s makes up for it, and it is a great book all in all.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Swift has to deal with the bully Andy Foger when he provides false evidence pointing at Tom for robbing the bank. after a few adventures, Tom and his friends find the evidence they need to clear their name and return home.
4 out of 5 stars. Great book. Has a lot of elements that make a great story. Would read again, after I finish the series.

[Nikky3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our hero Tom Swift! in this epic story must take on... the local bullies!! (What? Really? Not ninjas? Not Nazis? Huh. Okay.) Can Tom Swift fly his air ship through bullets, fire and storm to clear his name!?!?!??!

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The airship was a much more compelling "gadget" than the motorcycle or motorboat, but the villains are too repetitive, making the otherwise interesting bank heist plot detail come across as a bit "tired".

[Steven Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

7 out of 10

[Chris Potgieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom built an airship and finally caught the gang that has annoyed them the past 5 months. I like Tom Swift because he never gives up - he has lots of endurance

[Steve Rutherford]

Applewood reprint

[Randy Garry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh

[Jeff Carpenter]

This is the third book in the Tom Swift series and the third that I have read. Although I was quite the fan of the Hardy Boys and occasionally Nancy Drew, when I couldn't get my hands on a new Hardy Boys edition, I never read Tom Swift as a child. I knew of the Bobbsey Twins and I was vaguely familiar with the concept of the Stratemeyer Syndicate however I never ventured past the Hardy Boys. I wish I had discovered Tom Swift in my youth as I would have thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories. I am reading them now because I did not read them then. Even though they are written for young adults I enjoy them for the time period they are written in. Reading a story of this sort gives an insight into a bygone time that you cannot capture by reading historical nonfiction. I thoroughly enjoy reading history but it is also very informative to read novels from a particular time period in addition, in order to gain a more complete picture. These stories are very simplistic but enjoyable, and for the history buff like me they are a good find.

[Rhonda Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading this was a blast in so many ways. The fact that it was originally written in 1910 is amazing. There are so many things that were speculation that are now fact. And so many speculations that are debunked.

The plot is amusing. A bit predictable, but still fun and fairly fast paced. It has things that are so very on point for today as for 1910 - like the obnoxious, almost implacable actions of a bully. it also has things that are so sad, like the biases and stereotypes that are still being fought now.

Yes, it is dated because of these things. But it is also a look into our past. it has a lot of things that are objectionable - racism is so accepted that it is commonplace. Women are pretty much ornaments and abstractions or distractions from a man's life. The good guys are always morally upright, heroic characters who can and do blunder straight into winning. (Which is probably a good thing!).

but it is still a fun romp. The characters and actions made me laugh. So, yes. I like it for all of its faults.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Along with the Hardy Boys mystery series, the Bobbsey twins, and (yes, I'll admit it) even the occasional Nancy Drew mystery, Tom Swift was an early favorite of my youth. I started reading these books by the time I was in second grade, and enjoyed them until near the end of my elementary school years. I'm sure they would be quite dated by now, so I don't know that I can recommend them to today's youth, but I wish there had been something similar for my children...interesting books that demonstrated and taught good values (work, creativity, friendship, loyalty, patriotism, etc.) and entertained at the same time.

[David]

This is a very interesting book. One of the Stratemeyer line of "boys' adventures" from the 1910s, it's a very straightforward and uncomplicated tale of the boy inventor teaming up with a balloonist to go on an aerial adventure. I was initially charmed by its simplistic style, although there are some troubling racial elements that don't stand the test of time.

Still, by the end I was disappointed that it wasn't more clever or interesting. The bad guys' plots are easily foiled -- and don't even involve the airship itself! The writing style remains charming as an artifact of its era, and it was a very fast read.

[Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never got to read Tom Swift when I was younger. This was the first of his books that I've read. It's too bad that I didn't get there sooner, really, since I think the young inventor might have been one of my heroes. The writing is simple but charming. On the downside, Appleton's method of writing out almost unintelligible dialect for some characters is distracting and, in some cases, potentially offensive. Race relations were probably intended to be idealized (for the time period in which it was written) but may be offensive to African Americans. A good book, but dated in a lot of ways.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free sample Kindle edition included first two volumes and ended 75% through this one. Sneaky!

My older male friends who read these as kids loved them for the science-based adventure, and I agree on that point. I can usually find charm in dated material and try to take it in context, but something about the tone of this series rubbed me the wrong way with its daft or hysterical women and corn pone negro characters. It was insidious.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was almost too predictable, even for a boy's fiction tale. About the only interesting thing to happen was for Tom Swift's main rival to get his comeuppance not once but twice. I also have to say that having the same antagonists for three books in a row, and dullish bad guys at that, is just supremely lazy writing.

I haven't decided yet if I'll read the next in the series or skip ahead to a later tale, or to give a Ton Swift Jr. book a try...

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what I understand, this book was published only seven years after the Wright Brothers flew the first heavier-than-air vehicle at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It is an airship, with elements of a dirigible and an airplane. I don't know if the technology described in the book actually works, but it sounded like something in which it would be fun to travel. I have been rereading the Tom Swift books that I first read in elementary school. This one is as good or better than the first two.

[Bret · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tom Swift books are great easy reading for older children, and I fondly remember working my way through the series as a youth. There's not a lot of substance in them, though; they tend to read like episodes of Jonny Quest, with the genius boy Tom Swift devising precisely the devise he needs to solve every problem.

[Ted Iverson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was 11-12 and now reading it again I remembered why Victor Apppleton influnces my writing! Zach Bindl, one of my characters was loosely based on Tom! It is a great read and untouched to make it poltically correct. All YA should read the Tom Swift series!

[Rex Libris]

In this third installment of the original Tom Swift series Tom and the baloonist Sharp (whom we meet in the second installment) build an airship that is part airplane and part dirigible. It is used to apprehend bank robbers who pull a job for which Tom is blamed.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this one better than later ones because the achievements aren't so outrageous or ahead of their time and not everything he does is immediately a success. Plus, there is still plenty of adventure.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't find the hardcover edition that I read, so this will have to do for now.

[Mike Snodgrass · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a geeky Hardy Boys book. Couldn't be more dated, but had a charm to it.

[David Hibberd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Tom Swift Sr. books as a child and again when I got my Kindle in 2010. They are an easy read and enjoyable. It is interesting to see how writing has changed since these books were written.

[Howard]

13

[Tiffany Tinkham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good old classic young readers book about a young inventor that invents this awesome inventions and then goes on these wild and crazy adventures, sometimes getting into trouble in the process.