Tom Swift Jr. is the central character in a series of 33 science fiction adventure novels for male adolescents, following in the tradition of the earlier Tom Swift ("Senior") novels. The series was titled The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures. Unlike the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles that were also products of the prolific Stratemeyer Syndicate, the original Tom Swift stories were not rewritten in the 1950s to modernize them. It was decided that the protagonist of the new series would be the son of the earlier Tom Swift and his wife, Mary Nestor Swift; the original hero continued as a series regular, as did his pal Ned Newton. The covers were created by illustrator J. Graham Kaye. Covers in the later half of the series were mostly by Charles Brey. A total of 33 volumes were eventually published.
A motorboat, speedboat, or powerboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.
Edward L. Stratemeyer was an American publisher and writer of children's fiction. He was one of the most prolific writers in the world, producing in excess of 1,300 books himself, selling in excess of 500 million copies. He also created many well-known fictional book series for juveniles, including The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew series, many of which sold millions of copies and are still in publication today. On Stratemeyer's legacy, Fortune wrote: "As oil had its Rockefeller, literature had its Stratemeyer."
Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was a maker of Evinrude, Johnson and Gale Outboard Motors boat motors and many different brands of boats. It was a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 corporation. Evinrude began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1907. OMC was based in Waukegan, Illinois. They also owned several lines of boats such as Chris Craft, Lowe Boats, Princecraft, Four Winns, SeaSwirl, Stratos, and Javelin. OMC was also a parent company to Ryan, which made lawn mowers.
Mercury Marine, founded in 1939 as Kiekhaefer Mercury, is a division of the Brunswick Corporation. It is based in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The company manufactures marine engines.
Matthew Murray was an English steam engine and machine tool manufacturer, who designed and built the first commercially viable steam locomotive, the twin cylinder Salamanca in 1812. He was an innovative designer in many fields, including steam engines, machine tools and machinery for the textile industry.
Waterland is a 1983 novel by Graham Swift. It won the Guardian Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It is considered the author's premier novel.
Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice, or, The Wreck of the Airship, is Volume 8 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat, or, Under the Ocean for Sunken Treasure, is Volume 4 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Airship, or, The Stirring Cruise of the Red Cloud, is Volume 3 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle, or, Fun and Adventure on the Road, is Volume 1 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle; or, Daring Adventures in Elephant Land is a young adult novel published in 1911, written by Stratemeyer Syndicate writers using the pen name Victor Appleton. It is Volume 10 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap. The novel is notable for inspiring the name of the Taser.
Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight, or, On the Border For Uncle Sam, is Volume 15 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Giant Cannon, or, The Longest Shots on Record, is Volume 16 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Photo Telephone, or, The Picture That Saved A Fortune, is Volume 17 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship, or, The Naval Terror of the Seas, is Volume 18 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Air Scout, Or, Uncle Sam's Mastery of the Sky, is Volume 22 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Tom Swift and His Undersea Search, Or, The Treasure on the Floor of the Atlantic, is Volume 23 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap.
A naphtha launch, sometimes called a "vapor launch", was a small motor launch, powered by a naphtha engine. They were a particularly American design, brought into being by a local law that made it impractical to use a steam launch for private use.
