Tom Swift, Jr.

Tom Swift, Jr is the protagonist in a series of children's adventure novels, following in the tradition of the earlier Tom Swift novels. Unlike the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles that were also Stratemeyer products, the older Tom Swift stories were not rewritten in the 1950's to modernize them. For some reason it was decided that Tom Swift, Jr, would be the son of Tom Swift and his sweetheart, Mary Nestor. No attempt was made to maintain a 'genetic memory' of Tom Swift exploits in the Tom Swift III, series by Wanderer Press. The fourth Tom Swift Series, Tom Swift IV, does a better job of connecting itself to the first two series.

For this series the books were mostly outlined by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, written under the pseudonym Victor Appleton II, and published by Grosset & Dunlap, Inc. Many of the books were written by James Lawrence, who had an interest in science and technology and was faithful to the canon of the previous 'Old Tom' series. Title #7 Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter has many references to the first series including one to Mrs. Baggart, who was Tom, Sr's house keeper. James Lawrence once said that Tom Swift and His Triphibian Atomicar was one of his favorite Tom Swift, Jr stories. Typical elements include Tom's friend Bud Barclay, spies, typically from the fictitious East-European countries of Brungaria or Kranjovia, use of a wonder-material called Tomasite that did anything the book needed, and atomic-powered everything. One subplot which ran across a number of books is Tom's communication with beings from Planet X. This mystery is never completely resolved despite the beings sending an energy entity to inhabit a robot body built by Tom in book 17. Scientifically recreated dinosaurs make an appearance in book 22, years before Jurassic Park. A total of 33 volumes were eventually published.

The list of books in The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures includes:

1. Tom Swift and His Flying Lab 1954
2. Tom Swift and His Jetmarine 1954
3. Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship 1954
4. Tom Swift and His Giant Robot 1954
5. Tom Swift and His Atomic Earth Blaster 1954
6. Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space 1955
7. Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter 1956
8. Tom Swift in the Caves of Nuclear Fire 1956
9. Tom Swift on the Phantom Satellite 1956
10. Tom Swift and Ultrasonic Cycloplane 1957
11. Tom Swift and His Deep Sea Hydrodome 1958
12. Tom Swift in the Race to the Moon 1958
13. Tom Swift and Space Solartron 1958
14. Tom Swift and His Electronic Retroscope 1959
15. Tom Swift and His Spectromarine Selector 1960
16. Tom Swift and the Cosmic Astronauts 1960
17. Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X 1961
18. Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung 1961
19. Tom Swift and His Triphibian Atomicar 1962
20. Tom Swift and His Megascope Space Prober 1962
21. Tom Swift and the Astroid Pirates 1963
22. Tom Swift and His Repelatron Skyway 1963
23. Tom Swift and His Aquatomic Tracker 1964
24. Tom Swift and His 3-D Telejector 1964
25. Tom Swift and His Polar-Ray Dynasphere 1965
26. Tom Swift and His Sonic Boom Trap 1965
27. Tom Swift and His Subocean Geotron 1966
28. Tom Swift and the Mystery Comet 1966
29. Tom Swift and the Captive Planetoid 1967
30. Tom Swift and His G-Force Inverter 1968
31. Tom Swift and His Dyna-4 Capsule 1969
32. Tom Swift and His Cosmotron Express 1970
33. Tom Swift and the Galaxy Ghosts 1971

The first 18 titles were released in a blue tweed cloth cover with a full color paper jacket. Volumes 1 - 18 were also published in a blue picture cover edition with Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung as the only title with the picture cover wrapping around the spine. Perhaps because the blue covers were similar to the Hardy Boys blue picture covers, the Tom Swift, Jr. books were reproduced in a school-bus yellow series including all volumes 1-33.

A few of the early titles of the Tom Swift Jr. series were re-released in the 1970s in paperback with new illustrations. In 1972, four (#14, #15, #16, and #17) were released as trade paperbacks. #14 was retitled Tom Swift in the Jungle of the Mayas and #15 was renamed Tom Swift and the City of Gold. In 1977, six (#1-4, #6, and #8) were released as mass market paperbacks. One of the novels, #6 Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space was re-released and renamed as #5 Tom Swift and His Sky Wheel.

There exists a number of foreign reprints of Tom Swift, Jr titles including British, and Japanese. There is also a Tom Swift, Jr activity/coloring book and a rare Tom Swift, Jr. board game. There was one episode aired of the Tom Swift/Linda Craig Mystery hour 1983.

External Links

• The Unofficial Tom Swift Home Page (http://tomswift.bobfinnan.com/ts2.htm)
• Tom Swift and his Amazing Works Catalog (http://www.glitterglow.com/)
• Tom Swift, Jr. An Appreciation (http://www.duntemann.com/tomswift.htm)

-- Note: You must have a Yahoo ID to access these groups - but the enrollment is free.

• Yahoo Tom Swift discussion group 1 (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tomswift)
• Yahoo Tom Swift discussion group 2 (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tom_swift)