Pulled this off the shelf at Grandma's. Fine plot involving taxidermy and short-wave radios, whatever. What stands out in this particular book (perhaps all Hardy Boys books?) is how often they call Chet (the boys' best chum) "fat." Or "stout." As in, "By the time the two brothers had reached their fat friend's side..." or "The fat boy sat on the sidelines..." or "we've certainly left our fat friend in the lurch for a long time..." (all actual quotes). The best one? A ransom note from the bad guys: "HARDYS YOUR FAT FRIEND WILL NOT RETURN UNTIL YOU LAY OFF YOUR DETECTIVE WORK." Ha! Also multiple references to him being lazy or bumbling. Then this irrelevant-to-the-story paragraph: Chet brightened up and hastened back inside the shop. There he purchased, progressively, a handful of chocolate bars, a bottle of lemon soda, half a pound of fig crackers, three oranges, two ice cream cones and a small bottle of pickles. He ate all of these in the course of an hour.I can only assume that Franklin W. Dixon, circa 1945, wanted young boys to find fat Chet repulsive and want to be good, in-shape citizens like Frank & Joe.
Picked this one up for two reasons: it is about radio in the golden age and it was a first edition for a $1.50. I must admit, I've always had a fondness for this series and those snooping boys. Better yet, Dixon's stories are simple and fast moving fun. I'm not sure they are still relevant, but they provided me with a nostalgic journey back to a time 25 years after they were published when I first encountered them as a very young reader. They were relevant then, but the world didn't move as fast back then. That same lapse of time usually fails to connect with young readers of today. Things move fast. It was a good rainy day read sitting in front of my radio listening to Morse code exchanges and static crashes and thinking fondly of a bygone era.
