|
Tom Swift And His Great Searchlight
''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. Plot summary Tom has finally perfected one of his latest inventions, a ''noiseless airship''. This is a project Tom has been working on since the last few volumes, and now that it is finished, it appears that Tom is suddenly under scrutiny by United States border agents, who are tracking smuggling operations which utilize airships to move goods out of Canada, and avoid paying duty tax. Once Tom convinces the agents that he is not involved in smuggling, he is hired to help break up the operations. Inventions and innovation In previous volumes, but only mentioned peripherally, Tom has been working on a noiseless airship. These are basically modifications to the engine: a new muffler and ''sparking device''. Built for use in this adventure is Tom's giant searchlight, as the title of the story suggests. A device utilizing a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Appleton
Victor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its successors, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books. The following series have been published under the Victor Appleton and Victor Appleton II names: * ''Tom Swift'', 1910–1941 * ''Motion Picture Chums'', 1913–1916 * ''Moving Picture Boys'', 1913–1922 * ''Movie Boys'', 1926–1927 * ''Don Sturdy'', 1925–1935 * '' Tom Swift, Jr.'', 1954–1971 (technically, "Victor Appleton II") * ''Tom Swift'' (Third Series), 1981–1984 * ''Tom Swift'' (Fourth Series)'', 1991–1993 Howard R. Garis contributed to the original Tom Swift series. James Duncan Lawrence wrote 23 of the Tom Swift, Jr. novels. See also *Roy Rockwood Roy Rockwood was a house pseudonym used by Edward Stratemeyer and the Stratemeyer Syndicate for boy's adventure books. The name is most well-remembered for the ''Bomba the Jungle Boy'' series. Series The following series used the Roy Rockwood ps ... ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Swift
Tom Swift is the main character of six series of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention, and technology. First published in 1910, the series totals more than 100 volumes. The character was created by Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packaging firm. Tom's adventures have been written by various ghostwriters, beginning with Howard Garis. Most of the books are credited to the collective pseudonym "Victor Appleton". The 33 volumes of the second series use the pseudonym Victor Appleton II for the author. For this series, and some of the later series, the main character is "Tom Swift Jr." New titles have been published as recently as 2007. Most of the various series emphasized Tom's inventions. The books generally describe the effects of science and technology as wholly beneficial, and the role of the inventor in society as admirable and heroic. Translated into many languages, the books have s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Young Adult Novel
Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate with the age and experience of the protagonist. The genres available in YA are expansive and include most of those found in adult fiction. Common themes related to YA include friendship, first love, relationships, and identity. Stories that focus on the specific challenges of youth are sometimes referred to as problem novels or coming-of-age novels. Young adult fiction was developed to soften the transition between children's novels and adult literature. History Beginning The history of young adult literature is tied to the history of how childhood and young adulthood has been perceived. One early writer to recognize young adults as a distinct age group was Sarah Trimmer, who, in 1802, described "young adulthood" as lasting from ages 14 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adventure Novel
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction'', Critic Don D'Ammassa defines the genre as follows: D'Ammassa argues that adventure stories make the element of danger the focus; hence he argues that Charles Dickens's novel ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is an adventure novel because the protagonists are in constant danger of being imprisoned or killed, whereas Dickens's ''Great Expectations'' is not because "Pip's encounter with the convict is an adventure, but that scene is only a device to advance the main plot, which is not truly an adventure." Adventure has been a common theme since the earliest days of written fiction. Indeed, the standard plot of Medieval romances was a series of adventures. Following a plot framework as old as Heliodorus, and so durable as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. Today, through the Penguin Group, they publish approximately 170 titles a year, including licensed children's books for such properties as Miss Spider, Strawberry Shortcake, Super WHY!, Charlie and Lola, Nova the Robot, Weebles, Bratz, Sonic X, The Wiggles, and Atomic Betty. Grosset & Dunlap also publishes ''Dick and Jane'' children's books and, through Platt & Munk, ''The Little Engine That Could.'' History The company was founded in 1898 by Alexander Grosset and George T. Dunlap. It was originally primarily a hardcover reprint house. In 1907, Grosset & Dunlap acquired Chatterton & Peck, who had a large children's list including the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Grosset & Dunlap is historically known for its photoplay editions and juvenile series books such as the Hardy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Swift And His Wizard Camera
''Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera, or, Thrilling Adventures While Taking Moving Pictures'', is Volume 14 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap. Plot summary Tom Swift is still working on his long-term project, a noiseless airship, when he is approached by James Period, the owner of a motion picture company. Mr. Period wants to hire Tom to travel around the world and take motion pictures of strange and exotic places. These films will be shown in theaters, hoping that the exciting content will draw crowds. At first Tom declines, but eventually his adventurous streak wins out, and Tom sets out with friends for some old-time reality motion pictures. Inventions and innovation Mentioned in a previous volume, Tom continues to work on his noiseless airship. When Tom finally takes up Mr. Period's proposal, a new motion picture camera must be designed and built. This is a wonderful camera that can run on battery power or from a dynamo, being fully automat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Swift And His Giant Cannon
''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. Plot summary The story opens with a discussion between Barton Swift and an old friend, Alec Peterson. Alec is trying to convince Mr. Swift to finance an expedition to locate a hidden opal mine, but Mr. Swift is reluctant. In the middle of the conversation, Tom is flying one of his airships, but gets tangled up in power lines. Mr. Peterson cuts the wires, saving Tom's life. Tom is so grateful to Mr. Peterson that Tom is willing to finance the expedition himself. In the meanwhile, the story segues to Tom's next invention, a cannon bigger than any that has been built to date. Tom hopes to sell his invention to the United States government, for use in protecting the Panama Canal, which was still under active construction at the time of the story. Inventions & Innovation The cannon Tom invents is the largest gun to date. Measuring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smuggling
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various motivations to smuggle. These include the participation in illegal trade, such as in the drug trade, illegal weapons trade, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, exotic wildlife trade, art theft, heists, chop shops, illegal immigration or illegal emigration, tax evasion, import/export restrictions, providing contraband to prison inmates, or the theft of the items being smuggled. Smuggling is a common theme in literature, from Bizet's opera ''Carmen'' to the James Bond spy books (and later films) '' Diamonds Are Forever'' and '' Goldfinger''. Etymology The verb ''smuggle'', from Low German ''smuggeln'' or Dutch ''smokkelen'' (="to transport (goods) illegally"), apparently a frequentative formation of a word meaning "to sneak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duty (economics)
In economics, a duty is a target-specific form of tax levied by a state or other political entity. It is often associated with customs, in which context they are also known as tariffs or dues. The term is often used to describe a tax on certain items purchased abroad. A duty is levied on specific commodities, financial transactions, estates, etc. rather than being a direct imposition on individuals or corporations such income or property taxes. Examples include customs duty, excise duty, stamp duty, estate duty, and gift duty. Customs duty A customs duty or due is the indirect tax levied on the import or export of goods in international trade. In economics a duty is also a kind of consumption tax. A duty levied on goods being imported is referred to as an 'import duty', and one levied on exports an 'export duty'. Estate duty An estate duty (in the U.S. inheritance tax) is a tax levied on the estate of a deceased person in many jurisdictions or on the inheritance of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of books or individual stories in the public domain. All files can be accessed for free under an open format layout, available on almost any computer. , Project Gutenberg had reached 50,000 items in its collection of free eBooks. The releases are available in Text file, plain text as well as other formats, such as HTML, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket, MOBI, and Plucker wherever possible. Most releases are in the English language, but many non-English works are also available. There are multiple affiliated projects that provide additional content, including region- and language-specific works. Project Gutenberg is closely affiliated with Distributed Proofreaders, an Inte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1912 American Novels
Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 191 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Parthia * King Vologases IV of Parthia dies after a 44-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Vologases V. China * A coalition of Chinese warlords from the east of Hangu Pass launches a punitive campaign against the warlord Dong Zhuo, who seized control of the central government in 189, and held the figurehead Emperor Xian hostage. After suffering some defeats against the coalition forces, Dong Zhuo forcefully relocates the imperial capital from Luoyang to Chang'an. Before leaving, Dong Zhuo orders his troops to loot the tombs of the H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Young Adult Novels
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
