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Tom Swift in Space
An exploration of space as seen from the eyes of a young adventurer and inventor: James Keeline will present the evolution of the Tom Swift series from no space exploration at all to whole volumes devoted to it.
| What |
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|---|---|
| When |
Jul 11, 2010 from 02:30 PM to 04:30 PM |
| Where | Serra Mesa Library, 9005 Aero Dr., SD, CA |
| Contact Name | Karen Radcliff |
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Of the five Tom Swift volumes about young inventors comprising 105 volumes begun a century ago this year, the first series didn't have its Tom Swift go to space at all. However, his son, Tom Swift Jr., soon remedied this in his fairly conventional rocket, the Star Spear. Later volumes had more exotic forms of space travel and the theme becomes prevalent in the series. The third series, set in the far future, is almost completely set in space. Each of the final two series have at least some volumes in at least Earth's orbit.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Tom Swift series, first published in July 1910, a convention is being held in San Diego on July 16-18. This will include tours of museums and the UCSD library on Friday and presentations at the Sheraton Mission Valley on Saturday and Sunday. Two live performances in the radio drama format will be made on Friday 4 pm at UCSD (Tom Swift and the Visitor From Planet X, 1961) and Saturday 7:30 pm at the Sheraton (Tom Swift and His Airship, 1910). Some events require advanced registration.
For some details, see the convention web site and this recently-posted video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgrC9E6h930 We also have a Cafe Press store with TS and TS Jr. merchandise of interest to space enthusiasts.
James Keeline began reading the first Tom Swift series when he was eight. As he was building his collection he worked as manager of the largest antiquarian store specializing in children's books in San Diego, the Prince and the Pauper, from 1988-2000. Now he is a full-time open-source web developer with emphasis on PHP and Drupal. However, he is still active in researching and collecting Stratemeyer Syndicate series books. He is writing a biography of its founder, Edward Stratemeyer, along with a Series Book Encyclopedia. He is also host of the 100th Anniversary Tom Swift Convention with his wife Kim.
