About book Tom Swift And His Motor-Cycle, Or, Fun And Adventures On The Road (2006)
From Wikipedia.comThe Tom Swift books have been credited with "[laying:] a foundation for the success of American SF. The series firmly established the edisonade as a basic cultural myth."[43:] Tom Swift's adventures have been popular since the character’s inception in 1910: by 1914, 150,000 copies a year were sold[41:] and in "a 1929 study [the series:] was found to be second in popularity for boys in their early teens only to the Bible."[44:] To date, Tom Swift books have sold over 20[42:] to 30 million copies worldwide.[2:] The series' writing style, which was sometimes adverb-heavy, gave rise in the 1960s to "Tom Swifties", a type of adverbial pun. Some examples are: "I lost my crutches," said Tom lamely; "I'll take the prisoner downstairs," said Tom condescendingly.[1:]Cover of Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X (1961), from the Tom Swift, Jr. Adventure SeriesTom Swift's fictional inventions have directly inspired several actual inventions, among them Lee Felsenstein's "Tom Swift Terminal," which "drove the creation of an early personal computer known as the Sol,"[45:] and the taser. The name "taser" was originally "TSER," for "Tom Swift Electric Rifle." The invention was named after the central device in Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle (1911); according to inventor Jack Cover, "an 'A' was added because we got tired of answering the phone 'TSER.'"[46:]A number of scientists, inventors, and science fiction writers have also credited Tom Swift with inspiring them, including Ray Kurzweil,[47:] Robert A. Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov.[48:] The Tom Swift, Jr. adventures were Steve Wozniak's favorite reading as a boy[49:] and inspired him to become a scientist.[50:] According to Wozniak, reading the Tom Swift books made him feel "that engineers can save the world from all sorts of conflict and evil."[51:]The series has been criticized for its view of science and nature. Robert Von der Osten argues that the books' view of invention is focused on the importance of novelty and money-making, rather than using technology for the social good:Tom Swift's Ultrasonic Cycloplane is developed to break the sound barrier and fly by a different principle from traditional aircraft; his jetmarine is developed to go deeper and faster and use an unusual type of propulsion. The novelty of the invention is the focus; while the invention may in the end accomplish some good, that social end is usually far from the inventor's mind.... [Tom's:] inventions seem to be either for the military, especially during World War I (giant cannon, aerial warship, war tank, and air scout) or for the wealthy, who buy the Swift Pigeon Special as a private plane, all contributing to the bottom line for Swift Enterprises.... invention is an avocation, a diversion, made possible by wealth and the already existing advanced technology.[52:]Von der Osten argues further that most Swift series view nature as a source of plunder. In Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, the hero uses his invention to kill elephants for their ivory, and in Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster Tom plans to drill to the center of the earth for iron over the protests of people around the world. Inevitably, Von der Osten argues, Tom's drive to invent and harvest resources is proven right and any suggestion that he refrain from such activities portrayed as un-American.[53:] The fourth series is an exception: only in this series "do Tom's friends become concerned about the dangers of his experiments and finally find themselves confronted by harmful consequences. By the 1990s we have lost our naivete about technological development. But here, too, despite the last Tom's abysmal safety record, his inventive fervor proceeds unchecked and without oversight."[54:]The character has also been criticized for anti-intellectualism. Though an indefatigable inventor, Tom is "made handy with his fists" in order to "make absolutely sure no intellectual taint clings" to him.[55:] Tom "enjoys the titillating attractions of thought without seriously risking its arduousness. Here lies the key to his easy popularity suggesting at the same time the kind of inventor the public is prepared to embrace without reservation."[56:]Some contend that, with the advent of computers, Tom Swift is no longer a relevant figure. A boy genius might be able to tinker with a motorcycle, but he is "not likely to be running a biotech or nanotech lab in his garage. Meanwhile, the great engine of entrepreneurial activity these days is in software and website development, an occupation that (no offense meant to its practitioners) doesn't make for terribly lively fiction. Tom Swift and the Blue Screen of Death?"[57:] Marah Gubar, director of the children's literature program at the University of Pittsburgh, suggests that the Tom Swift character can no longer be relevant because children today do not work, as they did in the past.[57:]Others disagree, finding in Tom Swift a sense of the power of intellectual achievement: "the moral of these tales was simple: the right idea had the power to overcome a seemingly overwhelming challenge."[58:]^ Von der Osten (2004), 268. ^ Turner (2006), 115. ^ Sun Wire Services (2009). ^ Pilkington (2009), 32. ^ Bleiler and Bleiler (1990), 15. ^ Kendall (2000), 4. ^ Linzmayer (2004), 1. ^ Comment published on the blurb to Nitrozac (2003). ^ Von der Osten (2004), 273-274. ^ Von der Osten (2004), 275-276. ^ Von der Osten (2004), 277. ^ Gurko (1953), 56. ^ Gurko (1953), 57. ^ a b Virgin (2007), E1. ^ Kurzweil (2005), 2.
This is the first book (of 40, counting two big-little books) in the original Tom Swift series. I read this as a kid and a couple of times since, most recently thanks to Project Gutenberg. Although in later volumes Tom invents some fantastic stuff (for the period, 1910 - 1938), but in this one, he starts amall, buying a motorcycle (relatively new stuff in 1910) from the eccentric Mr. Wakefield Damon, who accidently tried to climb a tree with it. Tom improves the machine and uses it to attempt to bring a model and papers of his father's latest invention to Albany where the family's corporate lawyer was. Tom is waylaid but a gang intent on stealing the invention, and does some detective work tracking the men down after they succeed in their theft. He starts after them alone, but meets Mr. Damon and his friends, and they succeed in regaining the model and papers - the crooks manage to get away, to come back in "Tome Swift and his Motor Boat", the 2nd book of the series. We briefly meet Mary Nestor, whose horse runs away with her, but she figures more prominently in later volumes. With a more significant role, we also meet Eradicate "Rad" Sampson, and African-American man-of-all-work. Unfortunately he is given the stereotypical speech patterns given to black characters in the period this is written, but his characterization is usually quite positive (he often provided some comic relief, as he's reluctant to go on some of Tom's inventions later on). Rad, in this first book, is shown as industrious and repeatedly acquires better tools throughout the book (although Tom either fixes or improves the tools), and it is Rad that gives Tom the clue that tracks down the thieves. Ned Newton, Tom's friend, and Andy Foger, Tom's enemy, are also introduced, but their parts are small; like Mary, they become more significant later.This isn't "great literature" but it's a fun read, and reflects the period well. The dialogue is a tad stilted at times ("Oh, I say, Tom, that's too bad!") but believeable. AND, for the record, there are NO "Tom Swifties" in this book or in ANY OTHER Tom Swift book. Whoever named the adverbial pun a "Tom Swiftie" was ignorant of this and didn't know what he or she was talking about... ;)
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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.Note: This was one of the books that started me on a lifelong love of motorcycling...blame it on a well-spent youth!
—Greg
This one hasn't really aged that well. Yes, it was fun, as I had never read this one as a kid, though I think my brother had a copy in our family library. However, in some ways it is like reading Shakespeare due to older and outdate language. It was written with juveniles in mind and is pretty simple reading.It was also written in a day and age when motorcycles were brand new technology.. For example, he has to pedal the motorcycle to get it going. There is a mystery, but it is fairly easily resolved and not nearly as interesting as one of those introduced in an animated episode of Scooby Doo and those meddling kids.Still, there is a fun, nostalgic air to reading something like this.. and since it was a few edition from project gutenberg that I read on my ipad (first full length book to try to read using the kindle ap) I definitely got MORE than my money's worth.Unless you just want to see what juvenile fiction looked like in the early part of the 20th century I won't recommend this.. but for what it was, it was fine.
—David
