Tom Swift's a Newer Pocket Book of Swift Inventions: a Third Helping of Seven Short Invention Stories (Tom Swift Invention Shorts) (Volume 3) First edition Thomas Hudson

Tom Swift novels feature his major inventions, some books even delving into great details about them. But, his lesser inventions? They get the old, "He grabbed one of his fribbles and raced after the bad guys!" Fribble? This series of four collections attempts to put the story behind the 'Fribbles' in Tom Swift books. Of course, it usually is a vital device for him, but space and word count requirements usually meant such details had to be left out. Now you have the third set of seven of Tom's inventions available, everything from the origin of his L'il Idiot computers to the creation of a sort of Frankenstein typewriter to headlights that can see through dust storms, and more. To add to the fun, one of the main stories is a tale about Tom's father and the invention he used to save the Swifts from financial ruin when young Tom was just a toddler. This collection features a bonus, very short story at the end of the book.