Biff Brewster    

Biff Brewster Mystery Adventure Series


Biff Brewster, sixteen, is a tall, strongly built blond youth who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with his parents and the eleven-year-old twins, Ted and Monica.  Because his mother and father believe that travel is as important to education as formal schooling, Biff is encouraged to travel to various countries during the vacation months.  His experiences in these lands, and the young people he meets there, form the basis of a new series for adventure-loving readers.  In every journey there is a strong element of mystery, usually a direct result of conditions peculiar to the region in which he is traveling.  Thus, in addition to adventure, these books impart carefully researched information about foreign countries.
                                                                                               —Biff Brewster ad

The Biff Brewster series was created as a travelogue series by Grosset and Dunlap and was published from 1960 through 1965.  #1, 4, 7, 9, and 13 were written by Walter B. Gibson.  #5 and 8 were written by Edward Pastore.  #6, 10, 11, and 12 were written by Peter Harkins.  The writers for #2 and 3 are unknown.

Biff Brewster lives in Indianapolis with his parents and siblings.  Mr. Brewster works for a mining company and frequently travels to various countries in his work.  Biff often travels with him and typically becomes friends with a young man near his own age in each country.  The young people have harrowing adventures together.

Titles in the Biff Brewster Series:

  1. Brazilian Gold Mine Mystery, 1960
  2. Mystery of the Chinese Ring, 1960
  3. Hawaiian Sea Hunt Mystery, 1960
  4. Mystery of the Mexican Treasure, 1961
  5. African Ivory Mystery, 1961
  6. Alaska Ghost Glacier Mystery, 1961
  7. Mystery of the Ambush in India, 1962
  8. Mystery of the Caribbean Pearls, 1962
  9. Egyptian Scarab Mystery, 1963
10. Mystery of the Tibetan Caravan, 1963
11. British Spy Ring Mystery, 1964
12. Mystery of the Arabian Stallion, 1964
13. Mystery of the Alpine Pass, 1965

All of the books are travelogues, but the books are generally of higher quality and are more interesting than the typical Grosset and Dunlap travelogue.  Like with other Grosset and Dunlap series, the books near the end of the series are weaker than the earlier books.  In the later books, the travelogue aspect becomes more tiresome and less interesting, just like with the typical Grosset and Dunlap travelogue.

Some of the books are in the public domain, so electronic editions can be purchased inexpensively.  #1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 can be purchased from Amazon as Kindle editions.

The first three books are quite easy to find in the original Grosset and Dunlap editions.  The rest of the series can be difficult to find and often expensive.  All of #4-13 are scarce, but #8 is especially scarce.

Summaries

Cover Art Gallery

My Biff Brewster Blog Posts

An Overview of the Biff Brewster Series is a good source of information about the Biff Brewster series.

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