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Mad Scientists' Club #1-4
The Mad Scientists' Club: Complete Collection
The gang's all here, as are the stories, all 14 of them. Yep, that's right. All 12 individual tales and the two novels combined into one book. The book is big enough that your friends will notice it and ask you what's in it. You can proudly tell them that you have the complete Mad Scientists' Club works in your hands and can find anything they might want to know about the gang.
Even better, you can carry this around wherever you go and have every story right at your fingertips. And, like all paperbacks, after a while it will become dog-eared from constant use as you read and re-read the exploits of the seven junior geniuses of Mammoth Falls.
Written between 1961 and 1986, here is the Complete Collection of Bertrand R. Brinley's Mad Scientists' Club stories containing The Mad Scientists' Club, The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club, The Big Kerplop! and The Big Chunk of Ice. All complete with illustrations by Charles Geer.
619 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2010
6 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
Bertrand R. Brinley
20 books37 followersBertrand R. Brinley was born in Hudson, New York in 1917. He had a peripatetic childhood, living in Hudson, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania; West Newbury, Massachusetts; Evanston, Illinois; and Hollywood, California, to name just a few of the places. When he lived in Hollywood in the Twenties, he pitched pennies with Jackie Cooper, who became a child star, and sold newspapers to Charlie Chase, the silent comedy star, at the corner of Western Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.
He attended high school in West Newbury in the same building in which I went to first grade, many years later. My father lived at what the family called "the Farm." It was indeed a farm; but, it was also home on and off for a variety of intellectuals during the Depression and a young man who was later to achieve great literary fame, John Cheever. We often visited the farm when we lived in West Newbury, and I remember the large library in one room.
West Newbury contributed a good many place names and several of the characters to the Mad Scientists' Club stories. My father graduated in 1935 and went West again to Stanford University, where he studied History, English, and Speech and Drama. During his years at Stanford, he worked at the Peninsula Creamery in Palo Alto, which is still in operation.
He was recruited by Harry Bridges' waterfront union to fight in Spain for the republican side in the civil war (Bridges' union was a Communist front organization). He and a colleague went along with the deal because they wanted a free trip to Europe: they planned to jump ship in Biarritz and tour through France. Alas, his father got wind of the caper and had my father's passport pulled. I remember my father telling me about a visit from a union recruiter one day while he was working at the Creamery who wanted to know if he was still going to join up.
It was in Palo Alto that my father met my mother at the Palo Alto Community Playhouse. He was the assistant director. Here is an excerpt from his resume: "Assisted in direction of major productions...directed workshop productions, handled publicity and season ticket campaigns...Appeared in major roles in ..ten productions. Typical productions: Winterset, Pygmalion, High Tor, The Importance of Being Earnest.. Stage Door, You Can't Take it With You, Our Town, Ah, Wilderness."
After they were married, they moved to Southern California, where he worked for the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a systems analyst. Never far from the theater, he co-founded the Lockheed Players, producing and directing The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Blackmere's Fan, and Springtime for Henry.
In 1944 he entered the Army, which became his career and made his family international travelers. The service first took us to Germany and Austria, and later to Japan and Panama. Another excerpt from his resume gives a flavor of a long-lost time in our history: "...Assigned as Special Services Officer, Third U.S. Army in Munich and Heidelberg...Escorted USO shows. Directed Troop Entertainment Program for U.S. Occupied Zone, Germany...Organized road circuit of twenty-one show units and ninety-five dance bands..Arranged talent exchange with Bal Tabarin and Folies Bergeres in Paris, and the Palladium in London...Wrote and directed seven musical productions for troop entertainment...utilizing both soldier and professional talent, twenty-girl ballet, and concert orchestra."
Among his assignments were running The Stardust Club -- a nightclub for soldiers in Heidelberg, managing a resort hotel for Allied officers in Kitzbuhl, Austria, and serving as an aide to the commanding general of the Third Army in Vienna. In the latter assignment we lived in the Vienna Woods in a house that was built with straw instead of lathe to hold the coat of exterior stucco. It was our house of straw.
After returning to the States, he worked in public relations for the Salvation Army while we lived in West Newbury. He re-entered the Army during the K
He attended high school in West Newbury in the same building in which I went to first grade, many years later. My father lived at what the family called "the Farm." It was indeed a farm; but, it was also home on and off for a variety of intellectuals during the Depression and a young man who was later to achieve great literary fame, John Cheever. We often visited the farm when we lived in West Newbury, and I remember the large library in one room.
West Newbury contributed a good many place names and several of the characters to the Mad Scientists' Club stories. My father graduated in 1935 and went West again to Stanford University, where he studied History, English, and Speech and Drama. During his years at Stanford, he worked at the Peninsula Creamery in Palo Alto, which is still in operation.
He was recruited by Harry Bridges' waterfront union to fight in Spain for the republican side in the civil war (Bridges' union was a Communist front organization). He and a colleague went along with the deal because they wanted a free trip to Europe: they planned to jump ship in Biarritz and tour through France. Alas, his father got wind of the caper and had my father's passport pulled. I remember my father telling me about a visit from a union recruiter one day while he was working at the Creamery who wanted to know if he was still going to join up.
It was in Palo Alto that my father met my mother at the Palo Alto Community Playhouse. He was the assistant director. Here is an excerpt from his resume: "Assisted in direction of major productions...directed workshop productions, handled publicity and season ticket campaigns...Appeared in major roles in ..ten productions. Typical productions: Winterset, Pygmalion, High Tor, The Importance of Being Earnest.. Stage Door, You Can't Take it With You, Our Town, Ah, Wilderness."
After they were married, they moved to Southern California, where he worked for the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a systems analyst. Never far from the theater, he co-founded the Lockheed Players, producing and directing The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Blackmere's Fan, and Springtime for Henry.
In 1944 he entered the Army, which became his career and made his family international travelers. The service first took us to Germany and Austria, and later to Japan and Panama. Another excerpt from his resume gives a flavor of a long-lost time in our history: "...Assigned as Special Services Officer, Third U.S. Army in Munich and Heidelberg...Escorted USO shows. Directed Troop Entertainment Program for U.S. Occupied Zone, Germany...Organized road circuit of twenty-one show units and ninety-five dance bands..Arranged talent exchange with Bal Tabarin and Folies Bergeres in Paris, and the Palladium in London...Wrote and directed seven musical productions for troop entertainment...utilizing both soldier and professional talent, twenty-girl ballet, and concert orchestra."
Among his assignments were running The Stardust Club -- a nightclub for soldiers in Heidelberg, managing a resort hotel for Allied officers in Kitzbuhl, Austria, and serving as an aide to the commanding general of the Third Army in Vienna. In the latter assignment we lived in the Vienna Woods in a house that was built with straw instead of lathe to hold the coat of exterior stucco. It was our house of straw.
After returning to the States, he worked in public relations for the Salvation Army while we lived in West Newbury. He re-entered the Army during the K
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 7, 2022
Pure fun! And a great choice if you’re looking for a book to entice your boys with!
The Mad Scientists’ Club is a little bit Homer Price, MacGyver, and Denis the Menace all rolled into one. (Yup, take a second to chew on that! Ha, ha.) It’s full of scenes from an older era where boys rode around their small town all day on bikes and where new fangled contraptions such as remote controlled devises, ham radios, rockets and the like were relatively new and thrilling. Science was cool and the way to do a lot of really awesome things… like prank the town that there’s a monster living in the lake, make an old house sure seem haunted, fly a hot air balloon in a race and more!
The first two books in this collection have individual adventures in each chapter. The last two books are each a longer adventure, with the last, The Big Chunk of Ice, being my least favorite, though still fun. It just had some silly, slightly annoying girls that talked like hippies - cause they were.
Overall, these are pretty clean. Just wished a few things had been left out. A couple of words. A few references to girls (which were never longer than a sentence and none of the boys in the gang (except one) are even interested in girls yet). A boy runs downstairs in the nude to see what time it is and his mom and her friend see and tease him. All of these can be easily skipped over if you’re reading this aloud!
Don’t be surprised if after reading this book, your kids ask for walkie-talkies and robot kits and spend all summer outdoors making a clubhouse of their own!
Ages: 9 - 15
Cleanliness: the word “jack*ss” is used twice. Mentions that a girl has pretty legs. Mentions that one of the boys has a girlfriend and she’s pretty. Uses words like “golly” “shucks” “holy cripes” and the like throughout the book. The boys all tease each other constantly and call each other names (mostly in fun). The adults are non too bright in this book; a silly mayor, typical dumb bad guys, and Air Force officers that need the kid’s scientific minds to help them in their predicament. At one point a boy is mad at his dad for locking his bike up (cause he didn’t do his chore) and he throws a short fit. A few fibs are told. A boy runs downstairs in the nude to see what time it is and his mom and her friend see and tease him. Mentions reporters playing poker, drinking and smoking. A few adventures involve “ghosts”.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
The Mad Scientists’ Club is a little bit Homer Price, MacGyver, and Denis the Menace all rolled into one. (Yup, take a second to chew on that! Ha, ha.) It’s full of scenes from an older era where boys rode around their small town all day on bikes and where new fangled contraptions such as remote controlled devises, ham radios, rockets and the like were relatively new and thrilling. Science was cool and the way to do a lot of really awesome things… like prank the town that there’s a monster living in the lake, make an old house sure seem haunted, fly a hot air balloon in a race and more!
The first two books in this collection have individual adventures in each chapter. The last two books are each a longer adventure, with the last, The Big Chunk of Ice, being my least favorite, though still fun. It just had some silly, slightly annoying girls that talked like hippies - cause they were.
Overall, these are pretty clean. Just wished a few things had been left out. A couple of words. A few references to girls (which were never longer than a sentence and none of the boys in the gang (except one) are even interested in girls yet). A boy runs downstairs in the nude to see what time it is and his mom and her friend see and tease him. All of these can be easily skipped over if you’re reading this aloud!
Don’t be surprised if after reading this book, your kids ask for walkie-talkies and robot kits and spend all summer outdoors making a clubhouse of their own!
Ages: 9 - 15
Cleanliness: the word “jack*ss” is used twice. Mentions that a girl has pretty legs. Mentions that one of the boys has a girlfriend and she’s pretty. Uses words like “golly” “shucks” “holy cripes” and the like throughout the book. The boys all tease each other constantly and call each other names (mostly in fun). The adults are non too bright in this book; a silly mayor, typical dumb bad guys, and Air Force officers that need the kid’s scientific minds to help them in their predicament. At one point a boy is mad at his dad for locking his bike up (cause he didn’t do his chore) and he throws a short fit. A few fibs are told. A boy runs downstairs in the nude to see what time it is and his mom and her friend see and tease him. Mentions reporters playing poker, drinking and smoking. A few adventures involve “ghosts”.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
September 21, 2011
If your kid is the curious, science-minded type who gets into trouble because of it, like I was (am), you need to get them (and yourself) all of Bertrand Brinley's long out-of-print, but now reprinted hard-cover editions (published by Purple House Press) of all the "Mad Scientists' Club" books, and Brinley's two other books as well.
I discovered them on my own at school when I was 7 years old, and they're the best type of kid's book (I took a "Children's Lit" course in college) - when I bought the reprints (thanks, Chip!) I enjoyed them as much as I did from 7 years old through high school.
The best Children's Lit books are ones that work for all ages, where a 6-7 year old "early-reader" like myself, or I'd guess 11-13 year old "normal" kid will love the stories - they're somewhat like a Hardy Boys book but much more fun, with real science behind crazy adventures. By high school I enjoyed the Real but Goofy Science, and today I enjoy the writing style, excellent story telling without the "formula" of the Hardy Boys and "adult" things I get now but not when I was young. So they're a fun read for all ages.
I've given copies of them to fellow geek / enginerd pals, who then read/give them to their kids. It's too bad more weren't written, since these are true classics, but Brinley died right when they finally started selling.
I'd rank these as the "Where the Wild Things Are" for kids 5-6th grade and up. And if your kids don't like them, and you like goofy adventures about science-based pranks gone wrong, and madcap results, you'll love these books yourself. The illustrations are spot-on perfect in a unique style, much like the original "Alice in Wonderland" or "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" stuff. It's a very 1950's style and shows "nerdy, outsider" kids as being very hip and fun.
Half-Kidding Warning: I did the "fake UFO" siting prank, and blew up a tree, and faked a "Loch Ness Monster" in a nearby lake, like in the books... so you might want to keep an eye on any kid who really takes to the stories. I still like to do the "UFO" thing even as an adult, but blowing stuff up was pretty stupid... but being "stupid" is part of being a kid I believe, and why I'm still a pyromanic and prankster, but with ethics and safety in mind being a reluctant adult.
Don't let that joking warning put you off - if your kids decide to learn how to make a remote-controlled submergeable "monster", they'll probably take to science courses in high school and then go on to do wonderous things in their life / career. And likely have a good sense of humor about it all.
Timeless classics all. Recommended!
I discovered them on my own at school when I was 7 years old, and they're the best type of kid's book (I took a "Children's Lit" course in college) - when I bought the reprints (thanks, Chip!) I enjoyed them as much as I did from 7 years old through high school.
The best Children's Lit books are ones that work for all ages, where a 6-7 year old "early-reader" like myself, or I'd guess 11-13 year old "normal" kid will love the stories - they're somewhat like a Hardy Boys book but much more fun, with real science behind crazy adventures. By high school I enjoyed the Real but Goofy Science, and today I enjoy the writing style, excellent story telling without the "formula" of the Hardy Boys and "adult" things I get now but not when I was young. So they're a fun read for all ages.
I've given copies of them to fellow geek / enginerd pals, who then read/give them to their kids. It's too bad more weren't written, since these are true classics, but Brinley died right when they finally started selling.
I'd rank these as the "Where the Wild Things Are" for kids 5-6th grade and up. And if your kids don't like them, and you like goofy adventures about science-based pranks gone wrong, and madcap results, you'll love these books yourself. The illustrations are spot-on perfect in a unique style, much like the original "Alice in Wonderland" or "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" stuff. It's a very 1950's style and shows "nerdy, outsider" kids as being very hip and fun.
Half-Kidding Warning: I did the "fake UFO" siting prank, and blew up a tree, and faked a "Loch Ness Monster" in a nearby lake, like in the books... so you might want to keep an eye on any kid who really takes to the stories. I still like to do the "UFO" thing even as an adult, but blowing stuff up was pretty stupid... but being "stupid" is part of being a kid I believe, and why I'm still a pyromanic and prankster, but with ethics and safety in mind being a reluctant adult.
Don't let that joking warning put you off - if your kids decide to learn how to make a remote-controlled submergeable "monster", they'll probably take to science courses in high school and then go on to do wonderous things in their life / career. And likely have a good sense of humor about it all.
Timeless classics all. Recommended!
July 1, 2015
Anyone who has been following my reviews for a while will wonder why I gave this book five stars when it took me two years to finish it. If it was that good, why didn't I read it all the way through?
Well, I have an answer for that. It is actually four books in one and the first two books are just collections of short stories. They were all very amusing and very well written, with wonderful characters. However, I, like many readers I know, like to read many books at the same time. When I read a series, no matter how good the series is, it is a very rare thing that I will read all the books without taking a break between them to read other books that are just as good or better. So it really was a really good book. I just like to read other stuff too.
One thing about this series that I really liked was the characters. There are a heap of characters. And you're introduced to them pretty much all at once. Seven club members, plus Harmon and various girls in the town, the mayor and various other people who live in the town. Usually when I read a book that tries to introduce twenty-five characters in the first chapter, I feel completely lost and have to struggle to understand what's going on. Interestingly enough, this did not happen with The Mad Scientists' Club. The personality of each character was so drastically different that I was able to remember who was who right off the bat. And that, my friends, is the way to make your characters.
I suppose it's a book written for young boys, but I think that it is a book that everyone will find enjoyable, no matter what their age or gender. I can't wait to read it my little brother.
I would like to say, though, that there ought to have been just one more book . . . the ending of The Big Chunk of Ice was not completely satisfactory. But I like how Brinley didn't make the ending everyone expected. Because it was a complete surprise to me.
Also, the illustrations are brilliant.
Well, I have an answer for that. It is actually four books in one and the first two books are just collections of short stories. They were all very amusing and very well written, with wonderful characters. However, I, like many readers I know, like to read many books at the same time. When I read a series, no matter how good the series is, it is a very rare thing that I will read all the books without taking a break between them to read other books that are just as good or better. So it really was a really good book. I just like to read other stuff too.
One thing about this series that I really liked was the characters. There are a heap of characters. And you're introduced to them pretty much all at once. Seven club members, plus Harmon and various girls in the town, the mayor and various other people who live in the town. Usually when I read a book that tries to introduce twenty-five characters in the first chapter, I feel completely lost and have to struggle to understand what's going on. Interestingly enough, this did not happen with The Mad Scientists' Club. The personality of each character was so drastically different that I was able to remember who was who right off the bat. And that, my friends, is the way to make your characters.
I suppose it's a book written for young boys, but I think that it is a book that everyone will find enjoyable, no matter what their age or gender. I can't wait to read it my little brother.
I would like to say, though, that there ought to have been just one more book . . . the ending of The Big Chunk of Ice was not completely satisfactory. But I like how Brinley didn't make the ending everyone expected. Because it was a complete surprise to me.
Also, the illustrations are brilliant.
January 26, 2015
The Mad Scientists' Club was one of my childhood favorites. Its members were brash, clever and technologically savvy enough to let me live out my junkyard fantasies by proxy. Set in small-town America some decades ago, the stories cover the discovery of a dinosaur egg, the simulation of a lake monster, a hot-air balloon race, and many other adventures that must be read, not summarized. Seriously, if you've ever fantasized about building ultra-lites, reverse-engineering remote controls, creating hide-outs, exploring swamps or pranking whole towns, read this book.
Kristen gave me this volume for Christmas, which was a double surprise: first, because the stories bring back such delicious memories, and second because the volume contains not only the 12 short stories I know, but the two novels I've never read. Yeah. Novels. Suffice it to say that we interrupted our previous bedtime story (The Silver Chair) mid-way to get Kristen acquainted with these stories, and I can hardly tell whether to savor the stories slowly or hurry past and get to the novels.
Kristen gave me this volume for Christmas, which was a double surprise: first, because the stories bring back such delicious memories, and second because the volume contains not only the 12 short stories I know, but the two novels I've never read. Yeah. Novels. Suffice it to say that we interrupted our previous bedtime story (The Silver Chair) mid-way to get Kristen acquainted with these stories, and I can hardly tell whether to savor the stories slowly or hurry past and get to the novels.
May 25, 2015
This omnibus reprints four separate volumes: two anthologies of short stories and two novel length adventures. The first half of this was a fun trip down memory lane. I first read the Mad Scientist's Club short stories when I was in primary school, and I've always remembered them fondly.
I don't know whether it's simply the passage of years, or the humour not working as well at greater length, or the relentlessly unfunny character of Prof. Stratavarious, but the latter two stories, new to me, did not work as well. (One of them also suffers a little from being a prequel that details events that up til now readers have had to imagine for themselves, and like many prequels, is less satisfying than imagination.)
Still, it's always nice to spend some time with old friends.
I don't know whether it's simply the passage of years, or the humour not working as well at greater length, or the relentlessly unfunny character of Prof. Stratavarious, but the latter two stories, new to me, did not work as well. (One of them also suffers a little from being a prequel that details events that up til now readers have had to imagine for themselves, and like many prequels, is less satisfying than imagination.)
Still, it's always nice to spend some time with old friends.
May 7, 2012
Before the sitcom, there were storytellers like Bertrand R. Brinley. The Mad Scientists' Club is a must-read for every boy (and every grown-up boy) who likes trouble, especially when it is other people who are just one step away from getting caught.
February 13, 2013
One of the best young adult books I ever read. I've re-read the book at least a dozen times. I want to be a member of their club.
June 30, 2014
One of my childhood favorites! It's fun to read these stories with my kids now.
January 17, 2021
A collection of comic and engaging tales involving a cast of memorable characters, this book is great fun. Set in a 1950's Mayberry-style town, the antics of the boys are clever and memorable, and well-rooted in real science and engineering, showing the author's technical background. This book brings together the original tales, the prequel story of how the gang got together, and an additional unpublished story about the boys taking a trip out to Germany.
The later sections are less fun, as they become less mischevious and more goal-oriented. "The Big Kerplop" shows the characters in a new light as they come together, but unlike the more antagonistic relationship the boys had with adults in the first two books, by the end of this book, people are practically kissing the boys' hands. The last book too is not as compelling, though it mixes things up nicely by adding a couple of girls, the hard-engineering gadgetry of the earlier books is much lessened. In some ways, it may be a sign of the boys growing older that they are brought on a long trip to do more boring, procedural scientific work, but it means that much of the wit and charm of the series is lost. Still it is entertaining to see where the club ends up.
The later sections are less fun, as they become less mischevious and more goal-oriented. "The Big Kerplop" shows the characters in a new light as they come together, but unlike the more antagonistic relationship the boys had with adults in the first two books, by the end of this book, people are practically kissing the boys' hands. The last book too is not as compelling, though it mixes things up nicely by adding a couple of girls, the hard-engineering gadgetry of the earlier books is much lessened. In some ways, it may be a sign of the boys growing older that they are brought on a long trip to do more boring, procedural scientific work, but it means that much of the wit and charm of the series is lost. Still it is entertaining to see where the club ends up.
June 29, 2014
The collection consists of 4 books: two books of short stories and the other two complete books. Republished by the deceased author's son. I last read this 45 years ago and it holds up really well. Lots of fun for science kids.
Want to read
June 4, 2012I'd like to get my son reading this.
January 6, 2014
Lots of adventure! There were some parts that I didn't get.
March 28, 2017
When I was a Boy Scout lo these many (many, many) years ago I was first introduced to Brinley's Mad Scientists' Club through installment stories in "Boys' Life" magazine and I loved them. Here the original stories have been bound into a single collection. While they are a bit dated in technology they are still wonderful stories especially for teens and young adults. I don't know what that says about me since I still love them! The gang of boys uses science and technology to haunt a house, rescue a downed Air Force pilot and cause a general uproar in their sleepy little town of Mammoth Falls. But it's all in good fun and it is all about serving others. Now so many years later I am enjoying them again in this volume. Still a great read!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews