Victor Appleton (1)

Tom Swift and His Big Dirigible, book 33 in the original series, was first published in 1930, or seven years before the famous Hindenburg disaster, but our intrepid inventor makes use of a fictionsl less explosive gas Tom invented (safer than nitrogen, but not as safe as helium, we're told), and a fictional metal called 'oralum' to build his huge dirigible. It was commissioned by Mr. Martin Jardine of the Jardine Company. Martin Jardine is not the easiest customer to work with. There's a chapter in which he brings in several impractical ideas and doesn't want to listen to Tom.

The airship in the third book in the orginal series, Tom Swift and His Airship, was named the Red Cloud. The dirigible is named the Silver Cloud.

Tom's father becomes ill early in the book. Mr. Swift, Tom's wife, Mary, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nestor, are spending some time at a lovely hotel on Mount Camon. The fact that the surrounding forest is very dry is mentioned several times.

There are misadventures in the book. Tom takes his family and in-laws to the hotel in the house on wheels from book 32. On the way, they help a couple with a traveling marionette show whose van has overturned. The Notines go on to provide entertainment at the hotel on Mt. Carmon. Not long after that rescue, the house on wheels is caught in a disaster of its own.

The Silver Cloud runs into an interesting problem during one of its test flights, but the climax of the book involves a forest fire. (This is no spoiler. The original title of the book was Tom Swift and His Big Dirigible; or Adventures Over the Forest of Fire.) Tom and his employees have their work cut out for them to save some people who are trapped in that fire.

The only downside to this book is the way some characters are portrayed. Pietro and Maria Notine, the Italian (or Italian-American) marionettists, are merely passionate about their work. The Italian (or Italian-American) hotel gardener, Cosso Tobini, is described as 'evil-faced' as well as being less than sane when it comes to guests picking the roses. (Decades ago I knew a Red Cross volunteer who was retired military and Civil Service. He had been called 'Italian' when he was young, although I think he was born in Connecticut. He used to tell me that when he was young he was Italian, but now he's considered a WASP.) The Swifts' faithful African-American employee, Eradicate, speaks in stereotypical dialect for the era. So does the giant employee Koku. There's a dwarf named James Chock who is treated as a suspicious character. If you can hold your nose for those portrayals, this is an enjoyable read.… (altro)

review of
'Victor Appleton II''s Tom Swift and His Flying Lab
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - July 16, 2012

This is the 3rd serialized bk targeted to boys that I've (re)read in the recent past in my project of revisiting bks I originally read probably between ages 7 & 9. This revisitation project started as a side-effect of answering an interview question posited to me by my friend the poet/essayist Alan Davies regarding what I read as a child. In answer, I mentioned the Tom Swift Jr series. Given that I read them 50 yrs or so ago, I didn't necessarily remember them vividly.

The 1st Tom Swift series (Sr, as it were), starting in 1910, were ghostwritten under the pseudonym "Victor Appleton", & this 2nd series, starting in 1954, under "Victor Appleton II". Since I was born in 1953, I think of this series as being somewhat directed at my generation of post-'WWII' baby-boomers.

I've already reviewed the Hardy Boys bk The Clue in the Embers ( http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13583071-the-clue-in-the-embers ) & the "Rick Brant Electronic Adventure" The Lost City ( http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4547891-the-lost-city ). In both of these reviews, I try to both explain what was inspiring & likable to me about these bks & try to analyze their subtext of popular American attitudes at the time - esp racist & imperialist ones.

Hardy Boys:

"""Ladinos," the explorer explained, "are Spanish-speaking, mixed-breed people. They are very proud and do no manual work like laboring in the fields or carrying loads. Mainly, they own stores and cantinas in the towns and villages and hold political offices.""

"Now, I sortof cringe when I read of people described in terms of "breeding". It makes me think of 'good breeding' (rich people) & 'ill bred' (poor people) or of mating a poodle w/ a pit-bull or something. It reeks of nazi genetics."

Rick Brant:

"In other words, this is formulaic writing meant to encourage 'white' boys to be resourceful in 'conquering' the world - wch is, of course, their oyster.

"This isn't really as 'bad' as my use of the word 'conquering' implies. The use of far-flung locales (in relation to the New Jersey origins of the young men) is a way of introducing parts of the world to the readers to get their imaginations 'out of the box' & into a wider world. In this story, the main villain is an impeccably dressed 'white' man from the Netherlands wearing a clean white suit - & 'our heros' fall for him as someone to be trusted b/c of this appearance. On the other hand, the most helpful character is an impoverished young Indian lad who's dirty & ragged & who speaks pigeon-English & who the protagonists make the mistake of not taking seriously. SO, there's a bit of parody of American stereotyping."

I vaguely remember liking the Hardy Boys the most & Tom Swift Jr not so much. I might've read every HB I cd get my hands on & just a few TSs from time-to-time. As I was about to (re)read this 1 I had a slight expectation that I'd like it more now b/c it's more SF than the HB bks. Instead, I disliked it considerably more than the Hardy Boys or the Rick Brant b/c the negative (for me) political subtext was even more exaggerated.

Basically, tho, the formulaicness commented on in my Brant review extends across all 3 of these serials. Some young 'white' men, probably based in the North East United States, have an extraordinary father from whom they learn extraordinary skills. They become embroiled in some activity that involves an 'exotic' locale (South America in this bk & in The Clue in the Embers, the Himalayas in The Lost City) & whatever scientific activity they're involved w/ becomes immediately sabotaged by mysterious people. Chances are they're 'rebels' or some other sort of threatening military possibility not 'validated' by a government recognized by the US.

The protagonists, like cartoon characters, spring back from their frequent injuries & death-defying predicaments w/ only minor consequences. Hence, no matter how many times they're hit on the head, they never suffer permanent brain-damage that creates personality change. No matter how many times they run from landslides or volcanos they never even sprain an ankle. If only! In the end, of course, their superhuman courage, technical know-how, & red-blooded Americanism triumphs over all those sniveling evil inferior peoples & some sort of 'advance' is made in the world at large. In other words, this is pure fantasy disguised as some sort of 'realistic' daydream for 'white' boys growing up into Future Leaders. I wonder: how many CIA agents grew up on this stuff & bought it hook, line, & sinker?

I don't mind being stimulated to fantastic daydreams, having an imagination is important. I DO mind the imperialistic dehumanizing that demonizes people in such a casual way. Ultimately, it paves the ideological road to plunder.

An organization called "Hemispak" is introduced as a key player early on:

""Hemispak! The scientific society of the Americas!" Mr. Swift cried. "The group formed to pool information and resources for the protection of the Western Hemisphere!"

Wow! Right away I'm reminded of the S.O.A. (School of the Americas) now known as WHINSEC:

"The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) (formerly named School of the Americas) is a United States Department of Defense Institute located at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia in the United States. Authorized by US Congress through 10 USC 2166 in 2001,[1] WHINSEC "Provides professional education and training to eligible personnel of nations of the Western Hemisphere within the context of the democratic principles set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States[2] (such charter being a treaty to which the United States is a party), while fostering mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating nations and promoting democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of United States customs and traditions.[3] Throughout the decade since its establishment, WHINSEC has provided training for more than 13,000 US and International students. Its educational format incorporates guest lecturers and subject matter experts from sectors of US and International government, non-government, human rights, law enforcement, academic institutions and interagency departments[4] to share best practices in pursuit of improved security cooperation between all nations of the Western Hemisphere." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Institute_for_Security_Cooperati...

"World War II was the "good war". After that conflict, most Americans believed that US intentions in the world were noble -- the US was the punisher of aggression and a warrior for freedom. This image was for generations of Americans the measure by which they judged their country in world affairs. The war in Vietnam ended the illusion that America was always on the "right side". Today, America's image as a defender of democracy and justice has been further eroded by the School of the Americas (SOA), which trains Latin American and Caribbean military officers and soldiers to subvert democracy and kill hope in their own countries.

"Founded by the United States in 1946, the SOA was initially located in Panama, but in 1984 it was kicked out under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty and moved to the army base at Fort Benning, Georgia. Then-President of Panama Jorge Illueca called it "the biggest base for de-stabilization in Latin America," and a major Panamanian newspaper dubbed it " The School of Assassins."" - http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Terrorism/SOA.html

Perhaps it seems far-fetched of me to bring up Tom Swift and His Flying Lab's Hemispak & the S.O.A.. Consider this, by the next page (p 21) after Hemispak's introduction, the threat of torture is given by a still-unknown enemy. Torture? In a kid's bk? As it turns out, the torture is being threatened by some 'rebels':

""my country is having trouble with a certain group of its people - the Veranos. Verano is really a splinter state, run by rebels who broke away from the mother country. They carry on continual guerrilla warfare against us." - p 32

On no more info than the word of a newly met man, the Swifts immediately accept this word w/o further explanation & accept the Veranos as their enemy. No questions are asked as to WHY the 'rebels' might rebel - such niceties don't fit into this world of simpletons.

""Will you and your father help us thwart these dangerous rebels?"

"TOM'S EYES gleamed with eagerness as he waited a moment for his father's reply to the South American's question. This could be a high adventure!

""We need the help of you Swifts and your wonderful inventions," continued Señor Ricardo as he pressed his case, "both to locate our missing scientists and to investigate the presence of uranium deposits."

""I'd like to do it!" Tom cried. "What do you think, Dad?"

"Mr. Swift, more cautious, asked whether Ricardo's government had tried to find the scientists.

""Yes, but we have not succeeded," the South American replied. "We believe if someone from a North American country came there the rebels would not - what you say - catch on."" - pp 34-35

This is so ridiculous at so many levels that it irks me to even feel compelled to explain it to any degree. ONE "North American" (read: US) family (who happen to be fabulously wealthy & powerful - but, of course, they 'deserve' it?!) will succeed where a government has failed despite being unfamiliar w/ the country they're about to intercede in. Furthermore, the rebels will be taken off-guard even tho that's already been demonstrated to be not true by the rebels having already started to try to prevent the Swift's interference. Go figger.

Another subtext of all this crap is that the Swifts & their allies are just nice ordinary folks who happen to be scientific geniuses. B/c they're American scientists anything that they do is for the good of mankind. Sure, the enemy scientists are clever too (even, perhaps, diabolically clever - as the 'bad guys' are in Michael Crichton's propagandistic State of Fear: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15860.State_of_Fear ) but, you know, they're the bad guys & we don't even need to question their motives, do we? I mean, they're just greedy or sumpin'. Science is good, American science is even better, the world's resources belong in the hands of American scientists & their allies (read: puppets). In this case, the resource that's the crux of the matter is uranium.

""Are we going to dig tonight for that stuff what's goin' to make us all rich?" Chow asked. "I sure could use any extry wad of bills."

""That'll be Tom's next neat trick," Bud spoke up. "How to turn uranium into a bank roll in one easy lesson."" - p 146

Now, THAT, of course, isn't GREED. It's just good old American boy common sense & good humor. Really, tho, the fantasy of this bk is filled w/ get-rich-quick schemes. Tom Swift Sr & Jr can both invent the most miraculous things in very short time and get them built at their (not-very) well-protected HQ by their employees in record time. Atomic thrusters? Coming right up! All b/c of their natural genius combined w/ good old American know-how.

"It took the combined efforts of all four of the party to maneuver the tremendous nylon netting over the body and wings of the plane. For half an hour they sweated and strained, but at last the job was done." - p 146

"At this very moment the two men were hard at work in good-sized pits which they had laboriously hewed out of the rocky tableland between the two peaks." - p 158

Are these guys on speed?! B/c, even if they were, the above wd be impossible. To hand-wrangle a giant camouflage netting over a huge jet in a half hr by hand is pretty unrealistic. To dig "good-sized pits" w/ picks & shovel in a matter less than 2 hrs out of ROCK is utterly ridiculous. Have these ghost writers ever done any manual labor?! Ok, ok, it's a kid's bk, a fantasy, it's not supposed to be realistic. But my argument here is that this is propaganda aimed at boys to inculcate them w/ a feeling of being supermen. As they grow into adults they can always get Free Trade slave labor to do the actual work.

Despite the Swifts being taken in by imposters (&, of course, gassed or clunked on the head or what-not w/o serious after-effect), they're still quick to jump to conclusions that're so lacking in deductive substance one's amazed by their otherwise 'brilliant' careers as scientists:

""From South America!" Tom cried. "If that man dropped this, then I'd say he's one of the rebels."" - p 47

"Then Tom questioned, "Who is their leader? Apparently they're only stooges for a higher-up - someone of a different nationality, perhaps."" - p 188

Eureka! The rebels in South America are just stooges (unlike Tom & his friends) for a foreign power. I wonder who that cd be? At the formulaic usual moment when our heros are held captive & when their captor needn't worry any longer about their knowing everything b/c they're about to die or whatever:

""First, I will tell you a little about myself. I am a Eurasian by birth."

[His dad must've been Fu Manchu!]

"Eurasian! Hanson and Chow instantly thought of Leeskol, the Eurasian who Rip Hulse had captured. Had the two been in league?"

"The man continued, "By choice I serve Europe or Asia, whichever suits my purposes best."

""You mean you ain't got a country you stick to?" Chow burst out.

""Is that so necessary?" the man asked suavely, a sardonic smile playing over his face.

""It sure is!" Chow cried. "Why, you low-down-"" - p 193

Chow reminds me of the captured Texan soldiers interviewed in the 2004 documentary Control Room: 'I just follow orders.' Patriotism vs free thinking. This Swift bk pretends to support the latter while firmly supporting the former - just like all the other American propaganda I grew up w/.

""I said you were smart," he remarked. "Now you are becoming sensible too. You will call me Vladimir."" - p 195

Yep, we weren't fooled! This Eurasian's one of those commie Russkies! &, yep, Tom's a quick thinker alright (as will be most of his readers):

""Ordep?" Tom repeated to himself. Then he realized what it was - Pedro spelled backward!" - p 94

All of these boys bks have comic supporting characters. In the Hardy Boys it's Chet Morton, who loves to eat alot. In Tom Swift Jr it's Chow, the cook, who loves to eat alot. Overeaters are comic relief. At bottom, of course, these characters are another variety of good ole boy:

"Chow waved a stout rope he was carrying.

""I'll tie that Leeskol up myself! Nobody can double-cross Uncle Sam when I'm around an' get away with it!"" - p 122

Yee-haw! Ride 'em cowboy! Yep, the myth of the Cowboys & the Injuns lives on:

"the Indians suddenly appeared again.

""They're going to shoot!" Hanson cried. "Run!"

""Wait!" Chow cried.

"To everyone's amazement, he stepped forward and haltingly spoke a jargon of guttural sounds. Slowly, smiles of understanding broke out on the faces of the Indians.

""What are you telling them?" Tom asked.

""That I fetched 'em some presents from the Lone Star State."

""Presents?"

""Sure thing. I'd never get caught in Injun country without some little ole knickknacks."

"From a pocket he pulled several cheap bracelets, rings, brooches, and four pearl necklaces, and distributed them." - pp 122-123

Well.. not only do these good ole boys have their own security force at the family plant, they also have the power to call upon the local police force every day or so as their various family members get shot at or kidnapped or whatever (how DO they survive?!). But, NO, that's not all!:

"Tom put in a long-distance call to the capital of Bapcho [the code-name for the South American country] asking for the president's office. After a seemingly interminable wait, he was finally connected." - p 132

Yep, Tom can just go to one of them thar Banana Republics & call up the president. But he had to wait! We'll have to do something about that!

& what's the motive for all this? ""And what ore! The richest deposit in the world - and all for Verano and her ally. It will make her the richest nation in this part of the globe. And wealth means power!"" - p 201

Right. That last quote's from a rebel leader & it's obviously meant to be 'bad guy' logic but, of course, it's no different from the 'good guy' logic. It's just that it's ok for the rich American industrialists to go into a South American country & plunder its natural resources that can be used for making nuclear weapons & it's NOT ok for those evil commies to do it. I shd qualify here that communism is never mentioned directly, it's only implied.

Online, the Swift bks are credited w/ foreseeing inventions. In the light of my political criticism above, I found this particularly interesting:

"Several inventions, including the taser, have been directly inspired by the fictional inventions. "TASER" is an acronym for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle."" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift… (altro)

The very first Tom Swift book, from 1910, is a bit of fun, but only a bit. It is a far cry from the science-fictional Tom Swift I read a few adventures of in the 1960s. Those books were from a later, much different second series. This book is very much grounded in 1910, and the setting (New York State) is quite interesting. Not so interesting is the book's casual racism as Tom meets up with a black man named Eradicate Sampson, who is called a "darky" numerous times and refers to himself as a "coon". Each time Tom meets him, he is sitting hopelessly while some machine or another fails to work, which Tom, of course, fixes quickly, leaving Eradicate marveling at how smart he is. Throughout the book, Tom is referred to as "the young inventor" or "our hero". Of course, this is hardly a book for adults. Kids are supposed to admire Tom for his intelligence and his industriousness, although he makes more than one mistake during the book that gets him into trouble (and prolongs the plot.) The plot itself is modern enough. A group of men, working for some unscrupulous lawyers, are trying to steal an invention from Tom's father, inventor Barton Swift. When reading a book like this, one knows it will have a happy ending, but dark clouds still loom ahead, as in the tradition of other books from the same publishing syndicate, the next adventure is introduced on the final pages. I can't say I didn't enjoy reading this, but it is definitely lacking the plotting and characterization of the best Hardy Boys books I remember from my youth.… (altro)