Rockwood, Roy: Five Thousand Miles Underground. 31 July 2007

[Roy White]

This book was 'written' by Roy Rockwood, A a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for boy's adventure books. The name is most well-remembered for the Bomba, the Jungle Boy and Great Marvel series.

They aslo put out the Tom Swift Series.

I read this book as a boy and always remembered it fondly. Fast read. (I've always been a sucker for the center of the Earth Books..)

I'm thinking of putting together a Tom Swift anthology...

Maybe Dr. Drib will beat me to the punch? He appears to be retired.. (Or maybe he's a State Worker with computer time on his hands)

Enjoy

Roy

[Dr. Drib]

The Tom Swift anthology sounds great! I, too, read those as a boy, along with the Bomba books and I loved them all. I really look forward to seeing come out. Those are your babies, so don't worry about me doing anything. Seriously.

I'm busy on a noir kick right now, but I'm also moving around in the classics. I have very eclectic tastes.

Please do these; they'll be wonderful!!

I look forward to reading the title you've just made available. Thanks!


Don

[RWood]

Guys, Harry already did a series of all the Tom Swifts available. Its in several volumes under "Appleton, Victor" Good stuff. "Easy fast reading!" he said quickly.

[Dr. Drib]

I remember them, now that you jogged my memory.

However, aren't those the one's that were written during the early part of the 20th Century?

The one's I read, as a child, were the ones written during the 1940s or 1950s (I think), and written by his son.

I distinctly remember these two different "generational" series because I remember finding an old one published from around 1910 or so, and reading it and being VERY amused.

Thanks,
Don

[RWood]

You sir are thinking of the "Tom Swift, Jr." series. There are only three that I believe that PG has cleared -- TS & His Giant Telescope, TS & the Electronic Hydrolung, and TS & the Visitor from Planet X. These were by Victor Appleton II (another house name.)

I read a bunch of these when I was a kid and remember being rather bored by them. The older ones were much better IMHO.

The original series ran from 1910 to 1941 so a lot of them are still locked away in copyright in the US. The "Jr." series ran from 1954 to 1971.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I remember them, now that you jogged my memory.

However, aren't those the one's that were written during the early part of the 20th Century?

The one's I read, as a child, were the ones written during the 1940s or 1950s (I think), and written by his son.

I distinctly remember these two different "generational" series because I remember finding an old one published from around 1910 or so, and reading it and being VERY amused.

Thanks,
Don

Absolutely correct. The books that I've published as 5 anthologies are the 25 (out of 40-ish) books in the original Tom Swift series, published between 1910 and 1941.

The ones that you remember reading (I read them too as a teenager) are the "Tom Swift Jr" (the son of the "original" Tom Swift) series, published between 1954 and 1971. They are still under copyright protection.

I think personally that the original series were much better stories; when I read the Tom Swift Jr series now (which were mainly written during the height of the Cold War), the recurring "Brungarian" enemies are crudely-disguised referrences to the Soviet Union, and I find their whole tone to be rather unpleasantly xenophobic.

I've been collecting these juvenile "series" books for many years, and have all except the very last of the Tom Swift Jr series (the last one is exceedingly rare and expensive, selling for over $1000 for a copy in good condition. Every Tom Swift collector's dream is to find one in a 2nd hand bookshop for peanuts!).

[Dr. Drib]

Thanks, Roy and Harry for the clarification.

So, Harry, the LAST one in the "Jr." series is the most valuable one and was published in 1971?

I'm a book collector, so I understand many of the issues that make books valuable. Did the last book in the series have a substantially lower print run? Or were many of them purchased by libraries? Or?

When I was working at a bookstore about 20 years ago, we liked to joke around about how INCREDIBLE it would be to find a Second Edition printing of a Stephen King novel! All the remainders seemed to be Firsts.

Don

[HarryT]

That's right - strange as it may seem, it's the most recent one which is the rarest and most valuable; in case you ever come across it, it's "Tom Swift and the Galaxy Ghosts" - if you do see it, buy it for me, would you?

You're absolutely right about the reason; the series was being "wound down" by the publisher and the last book had a very small print run and most of them went to libraries. Even ex-Library copies fetch upwards of $500.

[Dr. Drib]

I'll be happy to keep my open for it. I regularly shop for books, all the time as a matter of fact.

Don

[HarryT]

Thanks - much appreciated. All the books that I collect are American, which means that I have to reply on mail-order booksellers. Whenever I visit the US I spend a great deal of time browsing around 2nd hand book stores .

[MCompeau]

I was in elementary school when I devoured this entire Victor Appleton II series during third grade-- mostly read during recess, while sitting in a corner of the library. (Ah, I was a sad little nerd, eh?) heehee
So, go grab this one...there's one with three days left on ebay currently at $80 or so: LINK

Enjoy. I have such VERY VERY fond memories of these books. They really excited my already rich interest in science at that tender young age.

Mike Compeau
PA