Shorthand Tom The Reporter or The Exploits of a Bright Boy

Working Upward #3

by Edward Stratemeyer

This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Lee and Shepard in 1903 in 292 pages; Subjects: Children's stories, American; Reporters and reporting; Juvenile Fiction / General; Juvenile Fiction / Short Stories; Language Arts & Disciplines / Journalism; Social Science / Media Studies;

259 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1897

About the author

Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) was an American publisher and writer of children's fiction. He was one of the most prolific writers in the world, producing in excess of 1,300 books himself, selling in excess of 500 million copies. He also created many well-known fictional book series for juveniles, including The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew series, many of which sold millions of copies and are still in publication today.
In the early 1880s he began writing shorts after the style of Horatio Alger under several pseudonyms, mainly using the pen names "Arthur M. Winfield" "Allen Chapman", and "Capt. Ralph Bonehill."
Stratemeyer formed the Stratemeyer Literary Syndicate in 1905 and hired journalists to write stories based on his ideas. He paid them a flat rate for each book and kept the copyrights to the novels.

Reviews

[Mika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pulpy to the max! The hero (named Tom Swift, like the series novel character) is a humble stenographer turned reporter, who can not set foot out of the newspaper office on his lunch break, without getting mugged, assaulted, or swept up into a street brawl. Calling the portrayal of the NYC public “gritty,” in this book, would be an understatement. He also gets shanghaied by smugglers, and is knocked senseless at least once per chapter, by mustache twirling villains who call him a “little fool” and such like. Unfortunately, about halfway through, and after the introduction of a heroine complete with a “heaving bosom,” the action became a trifle repetitive, and lost some of its original zing.