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Tom Swift Sr. #31
Tom Swift and His Talking Pictures, or, The Greatest Invention on Record
"Tom Swift and his Talking Pictures, or, The Greatest Invention on Record" by Howard R. Garis. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1928
38 people want to read
About the author
Victor Appleton
372 books46 followersVictor 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 22, 2020
Another disappointing book that had little adventure. The story again focused more on the bad guys trying to stop Tom than anything resembling an adventure. Tom invents what is essentially a TV camera, and the movie interests try to stop him because they are afraid they will lose business coming into the seats.
As in the previous story, Tom had to complete the invention or go broke. For someone who is so successful, he always seems to be on the verge of losing it all.
As in the previous story, Tom had to complete the invention or go broke. For someone who is so successful, he always seems to be on the verge of losing it all.
April 18, 2012
This book is so bad that I feel dirty giving it even the lowest rating. Oh, would that there were negative stars, dark stars, a black hole that could suck this book and even the memory of it away.
I got this book as research, and reading it, have come to realize the the Tom Swift books I read as a kid were as much semi-self-conscious parodies as anything else. Tom Swift and His Talking Pictures does everything wrong, both from a writerly/craft perspective and from every other perspective. Racism and antisemitism pervade just about every page, as does a certain level of classism. The book is a piece of blatant capitalist propaganda, celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit, the fundamentally good nature of men of good breeding, and the value of extortion as a way to solve problems. At some point soon, I'll write a longer critique of this book on my blog, and will link it here.
I got this book as research, and reading it, have come to realize the the Tom Swift books I read as a kid were as much semi-self-conscious parodies as anything else. Tom Swift and His Talking Pictures does everything wrong, both from a writerly/craft perspective and from every other perspective. Racism and antisemitism pervade just about every page, as does a certain level of classism. The book is a piece of blatant capitalist propaganda, celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit, the fundamentally good nature of men of good breeding, and the value of extortion as a way to solve problems. At some point soon, I'll write a longer critique of this book on my blog, and will link it here.
July 1, 2016
Tom Swift invents television and the motion picture industry comes after him because they think it will ruin their business. Pretty prophetic and relevant to today what with DRM and the like. Unfortunately these books are steeped in the male white privilege of the time and so might be uncomfortable reading for the younger generation today.
March 1, 2014
Tom Swift invents picture radio! Can you top that?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews