Tom Swift and His Wireless Message [Hardcover]

Victor Appleton (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 211 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (1911)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0006DATS4
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best in the series . . . ., December 13, 2009

By 

Patrick J. Callahan (La Crosse, WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tom Swift And His Wireless Message: Or The Castaways Of Earthquake Island (1911) (Hardcover)

I believe this is the fifth book in the series, As a story, it is one of the best plotted. Some of the Tom Swift books key on an invention, then throw together several miscellaneous episodes to demonstrate the uses of that invention. An example of that sort of plot -- or lack thereof -- is seen in "Tom Swift and his Wizard Camera." Other of the books -- such as this one -- are more story-centered. This particular story finds Tom and several of his friends stranded on an isolated small island in the West Indies.

How they got there is quite a fun part of the novel. Tom has been assisting a Mr. Preston to perfect and fly an electric airplane. During a shakedown flight, the aviators get caught up in a gale. Tom is unable to turn the plane's nose into the wind and buck the gale, so their only recourse is to turn downwind and try to wait out the severe storm. After 24 hours of being carried southward at high speed, mechanical failures force the plane down on the desolate island described earlier, which the castaways dub "Earthquake Island." The story then becomes a contest as to whether the frequent earthquakes will tear the island apart first, or whether Tom can extricate the castaways from their dilemma first. I won't spoil the story for any prospective readers.

There's a good dash of humor included in all the Tom Swift books. In this particular book we have a scientist with a dire and gloomy outlook on life, predicting with great relish a long list of catastrophies. He is a "sad sack," as the saying goes. There's also Mr. Wakefield Damon, an eccentric but wealthy man who accompanies the party, and whose money has at times funded certain of Tom's inventions.

These are books for young readers-- probably targeted ideally for the Middle School kids. They are still fun to read, although nearly a century old. The "Wireless Message" novel is copyright 1911. I actually read this novel in the original format, although it appears that currently some of these old classics are coming back into print.

4.0 out of 5 stars Old time muscular fiction for boys, March 27, 2006

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tom Swift and his Wireless Message (Hardcover)

In this sequel to Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout, Tom Swift is invited by another inventor to help him with his airship. However, when they take off, and find themselves in the grip of a storm, their little jaunt turns downright dangerous. Can Tom Swift save the day? Perhaps, especially with his knowledge of that new technology - wireless telegraphy!

This book is listed as being written by "Victor Appleton", but that is really a pseudonym. In truth, the Tom Swift books were the fruit of the collaboration of Howard R. Garis (1873-1962), author of the Uncle Wiggily books, and Edward T. Stratemeyer (1862-1930), author of the Bomba the Jungle Boy books and the Hardy Boys mysteries. Yep, that's quite a team.

This is muscular fiction such as boys used to grow up on, filled with adventure, danger and bravery. Tom Swift himself is clean-cut, reverent and respectful, and the sort of boy that every parent in the country wished they could have. My one complaint is that the character of Eradicate Sampson is back, and is (at least in the original 1911 edition) just as much of a demeaning stereotype of African-Americans as before. Yes, I do realize that you can't expect modern thinking from people of yesteryear, but it was very disappointing.

But, that said, this was an interesting story that I highly enjoyed.