This book came in with a few others from a donor who has given us many items (books and ephemera) on “road travel,” much of it published prior to the creation of the interstate highway system after World War II. This is an exception, and I almost missed the fact that it was written by Julian May, a prolific writer of science fiction.
Minimal searching led me to discover that Julian May (born in 1931, and still writing) wrote more than 250 books for children and young adults from 1956-1981, including at least nine (9) of them in this “Popular Mechanics Career Book” series. The title on Automobiles shown here was published in 1961. Others she wrote were on Atomic Energy (1957), Chemistry (1957), Electronics (1957), Geology (1958), Rockets (1958), Jet Aircraft (1959), Marine Science (1959), and Astronautics (1961).
This book is a mix of fiction and fact in doses I have not seen before. According to the back of the book, the series “is aimed at introducing boys and girls to science careers. These books are the product of careful research, but they are much more than a compilation of scientific information. Through each book runs an exciting story which features Randy Morrow, his younger brother Sam and their friends. As the fiction line unfolds, the boys and girls discover the wonderful world of science and learn of the career possibilities in various fields of science.”
It is heavily illustrated with technical drawings. Here’s an interesting bit of “meta” writing in the story (clearly the author is speaking through her character), which takes place at a drag race:
Sam looked at his father curiously. “You seem to know an awful lot about hot rodding all of a sudden, Dad. Don’t tell me you’re going to write a book about that!”
Mr. Morrow took out his pipe and started to pack it with tobacco. He winked at Sam. “I’m a professional writer, Sam. And I take my inspiration where I find it. Hot rodding is one of the most popular hobbies for young men–and it leads a lot of them into careers in the automotive industry. I don’t think I’ll write a book on hot rods–but I have been thinking seriously about about some magazine articles on automotive careers.
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We just picked up this first edition of Max Shulman’s Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (New York: Doubleday, 1957). Shulman (1919-1988) was an American humorist best known for his creation of Dobie Gillis in his 1951 novel, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, which spawned a television series in 1953 called “The Affairs of Dobie Gillis.” Shulman was described by Al Morgan as “the master of undergraduate humor, the outrageous pun, and the verbal caricature.”
From the jacket: “Rally Round the Flag, Boys takes place in a Connecticut commuting village, where discontented country husbands live with their discontented country wives; where old Yankee settlers wish the commuters would vanish in a puff of smoke but mulct them mercilessly until they do; where teen-aged disciples of the late James Dean prove you don’t have to be underprivileged to be delinquent; where frenzy lies fitfully beneath a rustic patina. Into this seething cauldron a new and highly volatile ingredient is tossed: the U. S. Army installs a Nike guided missile base, with results that are explosively funny.”
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We just picked up this first edition of Max Shulman’s Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (New York: Doubleday, 1957). Shulman (1919-1988) was an American humorist best known for his creation of Dobie Gillis in his 1951 novel, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, which spawned a television series in 1953 called “The Affairs of Dobie Gillis.” Shulman was described by Al Morgan as “the master of undergraduate humor, the outrageous pun, and the verbal caricature.”