Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet

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“Assignment in Space with Rip Foster” redirects here. For the song by Hayden, see Everything I Long For.

Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet is a children's novel written by Harold L. Goodwin under the pseudonym Blake Savage. The novel was originally published by Racine in hardcover in 1952 and reprinted in the United Kingdom later in the same year as Rip Foster Rides the Grey Planet (note the spelling of "gray/grey"). There were two subsequent American reprints under different titles: another hardcover edition as Assignment in Space with Rip Foster in 1958 and a paperback edition, as Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet, in 1969. Under all titles combined, there were only approximately 100,000 copies of the novel printed^{[citation needed]}. The first edition was illustrated by E. Deane Cate and the 1958 one by Denny McMains. Goodwin is better known for other children's books he wrote, including the Rick Brant Science Adventure Series for Boys.

1 Plot summary
2 Political allegory
3 List of editions
4 References
5 External link

[edit] Plot summary

[edit] Political allegory

The villains in Rip Foster are known as "The Connies." This is a short version of "The Consolidation of People's Governments" that the Planeteers of "The Federation of Free Governments" use. With the letters N and M being next to each other in the alphabet, it is easy to see that "the Connies" is allegory for "the Commies", a derogatory name for Communists. The book reflects the times - it was written during the Cold War and the Korean War. The story emphasizes action and adventure, but hints at a geo-political situation not unlike that of the early 1950s.

[edit] List of editions

Blake Savage. Rip Foster Rides the Gray Planet, Racine, Wisconsin, Whitman Publishing Company, 1952, 250p.
Blake Savage. Rip Foster Rides the Grey Planet, London, UK, Publicity Products Limited, 1952.
Blake Savage. Assignment in Space with Rip Foster, Racine, Wisconsin, Whitman Publishing Company, 1958.
Blake Savage. Rip Foster in Ride the Gray Planet, New York, Golden Press, 1969, 253p.