The man who invented Erector sets might seem like an unlikely subject for a biography, but Watson (London Bridge: 2000 Years of a River Crossing) turns the story of A.C. Gilbert's life and most popular invention into a lively, entertaining read. Erector helped boys create their own miniature worlds; it taught them to use their ingenuity to play at being men. Adults who'd been "Gilbert boys" in their youth used Erector to create such things as the first heart-bypass machine with sets they'd hung onto from their childhoods. Gilbert himself was a "wide-awake" all American boy in the 1880s and '90s who showed his friends how to have a good time. As head of the Mysto manufacturing company and as publisher of Erector Tips
(a magazine that not only contained new models to build and contests to win but also tips on life and growing up), he continued to spread his knowledge to boys all over. Gilbert saw opportunities where no one else did, banding U.S. toy manufacturers together and turning WWI into an opportunity to make American-made toys foremost in American homes. A true Renaissance man, he was an accomplished magician, a "4-minute man" promoting patriotism at movie houses and a pole vault champion. In 1918, he saved Christmas from the Council of National Defense, which had decided that parents should be forced to buy Liberty Bonds rather than toys for their children. Watson's spirited style adds a sense of nostalgic whimsy to Gilbert's intense life and makes this quirky book, just like Gilbert's toys, educational and good clean fun. (Nov.)
