Tom Swift and his Air Glider

Tom Swift Sr. #12

by Victor Appleton

This edition of Tom Swift and his Air Glider or. Seeking the Platinum Treasure by Victor Appleton is given by Ashed Phoenix - Million Book Edition

Genres: Science Fiction, Adventure, Fiction

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1912

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

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike most of the other Tom Swift books, the person instigating the story came not from a previous book but from a man in chapter one who saw that Tom was hampered by a lack of good quality platinum. This man, Mr. Petrofsky, was new to the Shopton area having recently emigrated from Russia. He invited Tom to his house and gave him some high quality platinum which he said came from a platinum mine in Siberia. At the Olympics, gold, silver, and bronze are the top three metals for medals. However, in other situations, platinum is preferred. Which costs more, gold or platinum, varies over time.

Mr. Ivan Petrofsky and his younger brother Peter had discovered a platinum mine by accident and were not sure how to get back to it. Apparently, no one else could find it either. It was a lost mine. Ivan said that he hoped to find the mine again and also find his younger brother Peter who was being held by the Czar. Yes, he was being held by the Czar of Russia. Remember that this book was published in 1912 when Russia was ruled by the Czar.

Of course, Tom was eager to help. That was his nature. Tom thought that the best approach to finding the mine and rescuing the younger Mr. Petrofsky would be to search by air. After adventures on the ground, on a lake, under the sea, and in the air, Tom’s preferred mode of transportation turned out to be travel by air. However, in this case, Mr. Petrofsky warned Tom that constant strong winds in Siberia would be a problem. It hurt previous efforts to find the mine. So, of course, the inventive Tom Swift decided to invent an air glider (which had no engine) which would use those strong winds as a way to fly — and hover when necessary. Birds could do it. Bees could do it. So, of course, Tom Swift could do it.

Being a formidable adversary, more of a force than Andy Foger and his dad, the Czar’s police would harass Mr. Petrofsky, Tom, Ned Newton, and Mr. Damon throughout the book. Mr. Ivan Petrofsky was an escapee as well as an emigree. His younger brother Peter was a current prisoner. So, the Petrofsky brothers and other Russians were targets. The Czar’s officers would be a problem even before the group left the U.S.A. Despite that, the heroes of the story would not be dissuaded from invention, treasure, and adventure.

Unlike other Tom Swift books, Andy Foger was not involved as a frenemy. Like other Tom Swift books, Tom said goodbye to Mary Nestor at the beginning and brought her a gift at the end. I would like her to have a more substantial role, maybe in a future book.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of the books published in the early years of the twentieth century, an effective reading of this book requires you to suspend some of your modern notions of literature. For example, there is the depiction of blacks, unusual phrasing and differences in how the characters interact. If you can do that and mentally take yourself back to the years immediately before World War I, this is a book that you can enjoy.
For it is one in a series of books that lit a spark of inventive and engineering interest in generations of young boys and girls. In this case, it is the original Tom Swift and he has invented an incredible airship. The premise is that a Russian man is exiled from the Russian Empire under the Czar after escaping from one of the Siberian work camps where dissidents are sent. The man opposes the government of the Czar, but is not a violent man, believing that education of the masses is the way forward.
His brother is still held in a camp and when both were free for a time, they managed to stumble on a mine containing high grade platinum. A material that Tom needs. Therefore, Tom, Ned, Mr. Damon and the Russian man depart on Tom’s airship to Siberia in order to free the prisoner and find the mine so that Tom can acquire some of the highest grade platinum. The fact that such an action is in violation of International Law and an act of theft is never raised in the story.
Of course, Tom and his crew face several dangers in their around-the-world adventure, yet manage to “rescue” both the prisoner and the platinum. The presentation of the adventure conforms to the literary style of the time, reading it is a lesson in pulp fiction of the early twentieth century. It is very instructive to read and compare examples of the different Tom Swift series as they conform to the new scientific and mechanical marvels. It is a lesson in the evolution of scientific adolescent literature.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually this was a kindle read from my 25 novel mega pack. Tom and his friends join up with a Russian escape from the Siberian mines and after Tom builds another plane, or in this case a glider to ride the fierce winds of the Siberian wilds, head off to rescue the Russian's Brother and rediscover a lost platinum mine. Needless to say they had many adventures and escapes on this adventure.

[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.

[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.