When I was in Arizona, I was the Book Editor for the Glendale Daily Planet, an online news source. Ed Sharpe is the publisher of the award-winning publication. Today, we turn the tables, and Ed has a review and commentary about The Radio Boys and Girls. Thank you, Ed.
Telegraph, Telephone and Wireless
Adventures for Juvenile Readers,
1890-1945 – A View Though Literature
A Review By Ed Sharpe Director and Lead Archivist for Southwest
Museum of Engineering Communications and Computation
– Glendale Daily Planet /
KKAT-IPTV
Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys series books. Some of us with a science bent
remember the Tom Swift and Rick Brant series of science adventure series
books we read in the 1960s. Rick Brant did not make it to the current era
but the Tom Swift science-based adventures continue to be published into
the 21st century.
were single issue of stories and also a entire series of books, starting
in the late 1800s, where the protagonists solved mysteries and fought bad
guys BUT were also using some form of electricity or electrical communications to aid them in their efforts.
the attributes of great adventure stories that taught good
values and morals, comradeship and loyalty between friends, a chance to learn
about other settings.The science and electronics throughout served
to provide a starting point for may young people that
went on to become engineers, inventors and scientists. The most fun of
all – the chance to read about the bad guys getting trounced
in the end!
books such as THE RADIO BOYS or THE RADIO GIRLS in which
wireless or radio was a dominant part of the plot.. There were also juvenile
series books in which there were various adventures, but only a
volume or a few were electricity or communications related. One
example is THE MOTORBOAT CLUB AND THE WIRELESS by H Irving Hancock.
Another example is TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE. Although the
pre-1940s Tom Swift books all had some sort of Gee-Whiz, this
particular Tom Swift book, from the first series, is the only one with a
plot involving wireless. There was, however, TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT
MAGNET, which falls under the category of an ‘electrical adventure’.
offerings in a series are The HARDY BOYS : SHORTWAVE MYSTERY and THE
BOBBSEY TWINS IN A RADIO PLAY.
more than 50 volumes of electrical, telegraph, telephone, wireless and radio
themed fiction. As the time and technology changed, the apparatus and fashions
change, but the common thread of good vs evil continued.
in the early history of wireless and radio, is an excellent person to
illuminate the history and progression of juvenile series books
related to Electricity, Wireless and Radio.
from the bygone era, the reader is often challenged by some of the slang
and terms of the era, while also confronting language and attitudes that we would now consider politically incorrect.
complete than any previous published work on the subject. The author
relied on his extensive knowledge and also referenced different
collections to gather data. In addition, Mike Adams
acknowledges help from James Keeline, who is perhaps the foremost
expert on Juvenile Series Fiction.
warm place in my heart as I have been a lifetime lover of this literature
since the time I could first read in the early 60’s.
discovered the Tom Swift Jr. series by Victor Appleton and
also the Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon. As time went
on, and later in my life, especially with my involvement in the SMECC
Communications Museum, I discovered more of the vintage juvenile
fiction volumes involving technology.
most part, center around a mythical town with patents that
are pretty well off and youth protagonists that have unlimited
time for adventure. This scenario set false expectations for me as a
youth as I would want to wander off for an adventure far
from the house or indulge in the use of technology or tools my parents
did not think I was ready for. Or even more irritating to
them was when I would request scientific apparatus or
electronic test equipment that cost $$$$$.
When my parents would reel me in,
back to the reality they figured was appropriate from my age level and
their spending budget, I would exclaim… “BUT TOM SWIFT
GETS TO….” and their speedy reply was… but… YOU are
not Tom Swift, Ed!
not mentioned in Adams’ book that I will mention and have
enjoyed are THE GIRLS OF RADAR by Roy J. Snell (Goldsmith Pub. 1944) and
Sally Scott of the Waves (Lots of radio!) by Roy J. Snell from the
‘Fighter for Freedom Series’, (Whitman Pub. 1943). These are neat as they are
very WWII centered, and the SECRETS OF RADAR was set at a
time when RADAR was not publicly discussed!
should be noted is TOM SWIFT AND HIS PHOTO TELEPHONE Or, The Picture That Saved
a Fortune By Victor Appleton (Jan 1, 1914). Yes, a fictional
PicturePhone!
wonderful adventure/technical books for yourself! —Ed#
Telephone and Wireless Adventures for Juvenile Readers, 1890-1945, available
now from McFarland Publishing.
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4766-2345-0
86 photos, notes, bibliography, index
240pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2016
preview.
http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com – Order Line (800) 253-2187
preview
Mike Adams has been a radio personality and a
film maker. Currently he is professor emeritus of radio, television, and film
at San Jose State University, where he has been the department chair and the
associate dean of the College of Humanities and the Arts. As a researcher and
writer of broadcast and early technology history, he created two award-winning documentaries for
PBS, the Emmy-nominated “Radio Collector” series, and
“Broadcasting’s Forgotten Father.” He has had published numerous
articles and six books, including Charles Herrold, Inventor of Radio
Broadcasting, and Lee de Forest, King of Radio, Television, and Film. His
latest book is “The Radio Boys and Girls: Radio, Telegraph, Telephone and
Wireless Adventures for Juvenile Readers, 1890-1945.” More information
about the author and his work can be found at www.mikeadams.org and
www.leedeforest.org, www.radioboysandgirls.org, or
www.youtube.com/professormikeadams
Really nice post to read…