In a significant way, Tom Swift guided me toward a career in engineering, and also toward the genre of fiction I write. I wonder if authors of young adult (YA) fiction understand the seeds they plant in young minds.
Tom Swift and Me
As a young boy growing up in the 1960s, I enjoyed reading the Tom Swift Jr. series, attributed to Victor Appleton II (a pseudonym for several contributing authors), and published by Grosset & Dunlap during the years 1954 to 1971. One of my aunts gave me the first book in the series, Tom Swift and His Flying Lab, as a gift. After that, my collection grew to include most of the thirty-three books in the series.
I loved reading about Tom Swift’s inventions and adventures. He built a nuclear airplane, a submarine, a spaceship, a robot, and earth-blasting machine, and many, many more. Each book fired my imagination. In my mind, I traveled along with Tom and his sidekick, Bud Barclay, in their amazing vehicles.
Tom Swift, I believe, influenced my later choice to major in engineering (specifically, Naval Architecture) at college. After serving in the military, I spent a career as an engineer and program manager at an engineering organization. However, I didn’t end up building my own nuclear airplane, submarine, spaceship, etc.
The Senior Tom Swift
The 1960s-era Tom Swift series I loved followed an earlier series, published from 1910 to 1941. That first series of forty books showcased the father of Tom Swift, Jr. and his inventions and adventures. I’ve collected a few of them, but their racism makes them difficult to read now.
Tom Swift vs. Harry Potter
Not meaning to disparage the Harry Potter series, but I’d rank it a step below Tom Swift. You can’t become a wizard in real life, but you can become a scientist, inventor, or engineer. Yes, I understand Harry Potter inspires qualities besides magic, such real-life attributes as friendship, hard work, cleverness, and a willingness to confront and overcome evil. All of those virtues will serve Harry Potter fans well in their later working lives.
I also know, if I point out how unrealistic a magic academy is, you’ll counter with how unbelievable it is for an eighteen-year-old to be inventing the gadgets Tom Swift does. You’ll tell me how Tomasite plastic and Swiftonium nuclear material and “repelatrons” violate just as many laws of physics as Harry Potter’s magical conjuring does.
Still, Tom Swift inspires kids toward real lines of work, but Harry Potter doesn’t.
Tom Swift Reborn
Modern authors have updated Tom Swift for today’s young readers. I know of five such series:
- 1981-1984, Tom Swift III series, 11 books
- 1991-1993, Tom Swift IV series, 13 books
- 2006-2007, Tom Swift, Young Inventor series, 6 books
- 2019-2022, Tom Swift, Inventors’ Academy series, 8 books
- 2018-2023, Tom Swift Lives! series, by Scott Dickerson, 50 books
I hope one or more of these series gains in popularity and serves to steer many children toward science and engineering.
Past attempts to bring Tom Swift to the screen in movies or TV series have all failed. Perhaps with good screenwriting, realistic computer graphics to depict the inventions, and a strong focus on the target audience, a Tom Swift show could succeed.
Two to three decades ago, when society lamented how few women graduated in male-dominated fields, I considered writing a series of YA books about a female version of Tom Swift. I never wrote that, but now, women hold their own in most fields. You go, girls!
Perhaps someone could write YA novels featuring twins—a boy and a girl—working together on amazing inventions, and experiencing perilous adventures.
I offer that idea for free—go crazy with it. The world would have to wait a long time for those books to get written by—
Poseidon’s Scribe
