Tom Swift And His Motor-boat: Appleton, Victor: 9781414242538: Amazon.com: Books

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Victor Appleton II

Tom Swift And His Motor-boat Paperback

by Victor Appleton (Author)

3.8 10 ratings

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Book number 2 in the original Tom Swift Series. Tom Swift has gone through four series and through generations of the Tom Swift family. Quiet Vision has republished the first twenty five titles in the original Tom Swift series. The original Tom Swift series is referred to as Tom Swift Sr. Quiet Vision tracks Tom Swift from "His Motor Cycle" to "His Electric Locomotive." Many characters reoccur through the series Mary Nestor, who Tom eventually marries, Mr. Damon who is always blessing almost everything, Eradicate Sampson and his mule Boomerang who is braver and more intelligent than assumed and many others. Called an inventor, Tom Swift is more of a talented mechanic with a special love for airships and airplanes.

Reading age

4 - 9 years
Print length

148 pages
Language

English
Grade level

Preschool - 3
Dimensions

6 x 0.5 x 8.75 inches
Publisher

Indypublish.Com
ISBN-10

1414242530
ISBN-13

978-1414242538
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Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5

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Book is a time machine

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2013

Verified Purchase

The condition of the book was good, service was excellent. Takes me back to my youth when I had the same book.

Neil J Heinrich

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

Love these old books. Fast paced and interesting.

Kindle Customer

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

Building a legacy library and this is a great part of it! Read and grow.

A look back at a simpler era in youthful fiction

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2015

If you've read the more recent Tom Swift book series, you'll probably find the originals kind of boring - and to be honest, they are. But they were written at the turn of the 20th century, so that might be expected. These predate Edgar Rice Burroughs' adventure tales by half a decade. This is more of the Rover Boys, the Chums of Scranton High, and Frank Merriwell vein.

This Tom Swift is more of a mechanic than a true inventor - at least at this point in his literary career - and is more concerned with mundane matters like helping his dad, or running a boat on the lake, or the like. The stories do have a certain quaint charm to them. This one has Tom squabbling with one of his teen-aged rivals and the thieves who tried to steal his father's patents in the first book. Everything's very polite and orderly, in a Waltons kind of way.

Not a bad book, not a completely dull one, either. It's definitely a look back on a forgotten era.

One person found this helpful

Randolph Russell

Never a Dull Moment on Lake Carlopa

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2021

This book is the second of the series, (after “Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle”) and is subtitled: “Or the Rivals of Lake Carlopa.” Lake Carlopa is the presumedly fictional like on which Tom Swift lives and most of the adventures in this book take place. And there's a lot of a adventures—no outing is with without incident. One of the most alarming jaunts is when Tom comes upon an older friend who accidentally shot himself while out hunting. There are a lot of secondary characters—the funniest is old Mr. Damon, who speaks with expression like “Bless my shirt studs.” Probably the strangest is a hot-air balloon pilot who Tom and his father just barely save from a truly harrowing incident that goes on for pages. The man almost immediately becomes part of the family, so it's easy to speculate he might be involved in the next book in the series, “Tom Swift and His Airship.” In spite of all that action and eccentricity, there is still time for some practical, even educational passages, as Tom constantly tinkers with the mechanics of the boat and the engine. I'm assuming the author knew what he was talking about, and enjoyed infusing the story with some nuts and bolts. And there's even a few meals (often my favorite parts of series books). After one lunch, Tom lingers on for “a second apple dumpling with hard sauce on”—after which he's taken with a “very comfortable feeling” and even a sense of forgiveness toward his nemesis, the bully, Andy Foger. At least until he discovers that his boat is stolen!

Lonnie E. Holder

A Period Story from 1910

Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2006

When I was a young boy I read the adventures of Tom Swift, Jr., the son of the Tom Swift in this series of books. I was accustomed to the science fiction stories in the new series, and I thought the original series would be similarly oriented. While this series of books incorporates technology, the level of technology is so archaic as to occasionally be humorous. Some terms are no longer used, and I suspect some technologies have changed so much from this series that I found it difficult to understand precisely what Tom was doing as he adjusted an engine.

This book is a sequel to the first book in the series, "Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle." In this story, Tom purchases a motor boat with a mystery. A gang of robbers appears to be anxious to steal the boat for some reason. The same gang of robbers also seems anxious to steal some of Tom's father's secrets. Tom and various companions cruise up and down Lake Carlopa at the blistering speed of 10 to 12 miles per hour, getting into various exciting situations. Tom frequently has to adjust his motor, which forever seems to fall into disrepair.

In the course of Tom's adventures, someone is injured and a tourniquet is required before that person goes to a sanitarium for treatment. Tom quickly acquires a fine shotgun and is happy of the fact. I was uncomfortable with the characterization of African-American Eradicate Sampson. Eradicate is illiterate and speaks poor English, though this series indicates that Eradicate is quite brave, intelligent and loyal. However, this book was written in another era. Consider that our knowledge and attitudes are very different from that era.

I initially found this book a little hard to read until I became accustomed to the style of the book. I have read quite a few books by Charles Dickens and Mark Twain that I thought were much easier to read. I do not know if this style was one that was used only for children and in this era or whether the style is that of author Howard Garis, who was the "Victor Appleton" of this book.

I found this book enjoyable once I became used to the style of the writing and once I was able to grasp the technology. I think that adults who are fans of Tom Swift, Jr. and those looking for a quaint mystery from the era before World War I will find this book an interesting read.

Enjoy!

2 people found this helpful

Patrick J. Callahan

Great gift for a young person . . . .

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 1998

This fine facsimile of a classic 1910 boys' adventure book would make a beautiful gift. Young people up to about age 14 would love it. Tom discovers a secret tunnel dug by criminals to access Swift Enterprises grounds and steal his secrets. He soups up a motorboat to get double the original speed. At one point, he fights for his life as he tries to outrace a boat full of gunmen from a criminal gang. Tom is kidnapped and imprisoned, but escapes. The style is lucid, simple, and clean for young readers. The setting of 1910 adds an exotic quality to today's readers. These were the best-selling boys books of all time, with possible exception of Hardy Boys. Your son or grandson would love it. In a beautiful reprint of the original edition.

9 people found this helpful

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