Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle or Fun and Adventures on the Road

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful Book!
Review: I read this book to my 8 1/2 year old son and he could hardly stand it when we ended the chapter at night, begging me to read to him the next night. We both loved it. The vernacular lent a perfect discussion to the meaning of words and expressions and how our language has changed. Others have referenced the character "Eradicate" who is a "Darky" as being a negative. I found it just the opposite with a wonderful teaching platform as to how our world has changed. My son understands that Blacks weren't always viewed with respect and he's thankful that has changed. He also loved thinking that his grandfather who died before he was born also read these books. I highly recommend it for some good old fashioned fun. Editor reccommends 4-8 years old. I'd say 8-16 years.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful Book!
Review: I read this book to my 8 1/2 year old son and he could hardly stand it when we ended the chapter at night, begging me to read to him the next night. We both loved it. The vernacular lent a perfect discussion to the meaning of words and expressions and how our language has changed. Others have referenced the character "Eradicate" who is a "Darky" as being a negative. I found it just the opposite with a wonderful teaching platform as to how our world has changed. My son understands that Blacks weren't always viewed with respect and he's thankful that has changed. He also loved thinking that his grandfather who died before he was born also read these books. I highly recommend it for some good old fashioned fun. Editor reccommends 4-8 years old. I'd say 8-16 years.

Rating:
Summary: A rousing adventure & story of a young man helping his Dad
Review: The first in the series of Tom Swift books. Young Tom shows his bravery in outwitting the bad guys, love for his father in putting himself in peril to save his Dad's invention, and compassion and lack of prejudice by helping others in need. Excellent kids book, unless the reader is sensitive to how Blacks were portrayed in the early 1900's. Subsequent Tom Swift books were much more sensitive to the portrayal of old "Eradicate". I highly recommend this book and all of the Tom Swift books written up through the early 1970's.

Rating:
Summary: History Captured.
Review: The Tom Swift books are fun and simple reading. It's easy to see why these became so popular with the youth of the era. While I don't quite rank their plotting and general literary qualities as high as The Hardy Boy series, they are certainly well worth a look-see, even today.

This particular book interested me as a motorcycle enthusiast. It was fascinating to read about how the technology and terminology have changed in ninety-some years. The motor's rumble was called "explosions." Easing off the throttle was called "turning off some power." And the differences in speed were eye-opening. Tom was thrilled to be able to travel thirty miles in half a day. But the hilarious part was the full conversations he could have or overhear while careening toward imminent collision at such break-neck speeds. The one thing that hasn't changed a bit in all this time is the thrill and love of two-wheels in the wind. Appleton explains it in 1910 as well as anyone since.

The book is also worthwhile in that, without trying, it captures a snapshot of Americana at the turn of the century. Then-current views toward work ethic, criminals, and even minorities are revealed. Perhaps the most surprising is how the freedom, trust, and self-reliance of kids has changed. Today is certainly a different world. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

Rating:
Summary: A flawed masterpiece
Review: Tom Swift is an above average teenager living in 1910; he is an inventor, and the son of an inventor. Tom's excitement begins when he gets the chance to trade his bicycle for a motorcycle, but really takes off when a group of scoundrels set their sights on stealing Barton Swift's (Tom's father) newest invention. Using his mechanical acumen, Tom helps anyone at the mercy of a malfunctioning machine, and foils the plans of those who would steal his father's newest invention.

This book is a wonderful window on the United States of 1910. When reading this book, one is struck by the mechanics of Tom's motorcycle, the quality of roads, the organization of the police, and so much more. The story is fascinating, and yet easy to read.

And now for the bad news: this book contains an African-American character that is routinely referred to as a "darky". He is ill-educated, and speaks in an irritating Amos and Andy patter, "He was a tramp, an' he had de nerve to ask me fer money--me, a hard-wukin' coon."

So, while this is a generally a very good book, its racism is a bit much to take. Overall, I would recommend that you consider before purchasing it for younger readers, but that it is still a book worth reading.