Tom Swift & His eBook

Have any of you heard of Project Gutenberg? Have any of you heard of Tom Swift? I remember as an awkward boy pouring religiously though the Hardy Boys and the Mystery of this and that and the other and their father Fenton Hardy the big time detective who was always leaving on important trips to solve his own mysteries.  It always bothered me that he was never around and the boys were left to their own devices but they were good boys and in that day no hanky panky would ensue—there were mysteries to solve after all.

AND 

I was very big on Doc Savage and his dream team of super geniuses who could solve any problem anywhere anytime because they were...well... geniuses and did I mention that Doc Savage...was the man of bronze--he invented the George Hamilton tan. 

And Then Came Tom

Tom Swift, Jr. who had an invention for every occasion including spaceships, space stations and satellites, jet packs and the list just goes on and on and like the Hardy Boys--there was always some sort of mystery to solve with Tom’s laser like mind.

So imagine my surprise when I found out that Tom Swift, Jr had a father who was as inventive as his son.

The original Tom Swift stories are in the early 1900's (the one I was reading is from 1901) and of course Tom Swift is a kid inventor (not surprising since this was the age of Edison and Bell)—and did you know that the kid had a bicycle with a motor attached to it? He invented an airship too!

 Of course, there was always the mysteries to be solved--usually involving a local bank being robbed or some kind of typical “skull duggery” involving nefarious James Cagney gangster types and Tom Swift would solve it all usually with his sound logical mind and keen observation and of course his cool inventions.  Mysteries were solved and wrapped up all in the turn of the page and these stories all happened at the turn of the century!

Some things just never change. Of course I knew about Tom, Jr’s daddy through the books that I read as a child but for some reason the thought never occurred to me that there would be an entire series of books on this father because back in the day—Tom Senior was out of print--- out of print!

Tom Swift, Sr. was definitely one of the original Steam Punkers and I was appalled that his story was so swiftly forgotten as was the stories of his brilliant son.  Now to Project Gutenberg:  If PG were an English Bog--I would gladly have myself strangled and thrown headfirst into that Bog--becoming a Bog Man.  That is how much I LOVE PG.  Project Gutenberg is just that--its chock full of Guten but is Gluten free--books to read, thoughts to entertain, places and ideas to explore, moments to remember and savor--all in this sometime forgotten or overlooked internet vault of literature--ebooks laying around everywhere the fingers can see--just there for the taking.Their mission since the 1970’s has been to rescue the old tomes and keep them safe until someone wants them again. Did I mention it’s all FREE?  Now, thanks to Project Gutenberg, I am rediscovering the Swift books--ePublishing is very hot right now--it’s the new old thing that you download and stick into that fancy new gadget you just purchased.

And get this:  you can justify to your significant other why that Ipad is so all fired important-- you can say--and quote me here when I say “that soft and loud words both spoken and heard with eyes will never just become a vague memory or a moment of chuckle as that memory sometimes emerges as an afterthought or materializes as a question from a game show.” Your significant other will stand there dazed and confused and then wonder aimlessly away stunned into silence with your phaser-like words.    Which Brings me to a point--my point and I say this pointedly:  Lending one's fingers to seek out and find these old charmers will breathe renewed life into what was once a dusty but good old memory. Ray Bradbury writes stories of the old authors, Shakespeare and Poe, for example, who live on Mars and are allowed to stay there and alive as long as we on earth remember them. 

Pretty Heavy Stuff

Ray Bradbury also writes of a day when Firemen are not the heroes who save us from towering infernos or rescue our cats from trees but are the incinerators of obsolete thought--the burners of books--the killers of Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe--watch them disappear from Mars as their thoughts go up in flames. I think that eBooks may keep the flames from uprooting important thoughts and ideas. Let's hope for the eternity of electronic processing. And on a Final Note  I'm not an on-the-go business person rushing about with my head stuck up my business ass--I like to savor moments and take a bit of time to experience the thoughts of fellow writers so whether its an eBook or a paperback or hardcover--it really makes no matter mind to me if the truth be told.  I will leave you with ONE last thought:    William Castle tried to realize reality with his over the top horror classics (such as “The 13 Ghosts”) and failed and I wonder how the ebook crowds will pull this off:  you can't smell an ebook--and the smell of a book old or new is all part of the tasty dish. You can't feel its heft, its weight; you can't enjoy the audio aroma of the turn of a page.

Content yourself with the idea itself--the naked idea without the ruffles, without the ridges and without the snap, crackle and pop of the real deal...  I'm just sayin...