James Slough Zerbe

James Slough Zerbe
James Slough Zerbe was an American author and inventor known for his works in the fields of mechanics, electricity, and aviation. He wrote several technical books, including "Practical Mechanics for Boys" and "The Boy's Book of Model Aeroplanes," which aimed to inspire young readers to explore science and engineering. Zerbe was highly regarded for simplifying complex scientific ideas for a general audience. His works contributed significantly to the popularization of early 20th-century technology and innovation among youth.

Author's Books:


INTRODUCTORY Carpentry is the oldest of the arts, and it has been said that the knowledge necessary to make a good carpenter fits one for almost any trade or occupation requiring the use of tools. The hatchet, the saw, and the plane are the three primal implements of the carpenter. The value is in knowing how to use them. The institution of Manual Training Schools everywhere is but a tardy recognition... more...

INTRODUCTORY Electricity, like every science, presents two phases to the student, one belonging to a theoretical knowledge, and the other which pertains to the practical application of that knowledge. The boy is directly interested in the practical use which he can make of this wonderful phenomenon in nature. It is, in reality, the most successful avenue by which he may obtain the theory, for he learns... more...

INTRODUCTORY The American method of teaching the mechanical arts has some disadvantages, as compared with the apprentice system followed in England, and very largely on the continent. It is too often the case that here a boy or a young man begins work in a machine shop, not for the avowed purpose of learning the trade, but simply as a helper, with no other object in view than to get his weekly wages.... more...