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About the author
H. Irving Hancock was born in Massachusetts on January 16, 1868.A prolific author who liked to work at night, Hancock wrote for the New York Journal, the New York World, and Leslie's Weekly. Much of his writing was the kind of "Boy's books" initiated by the Famous Stratemeyer Syndacite, based on the assumption (which proved hugely successful) that, "boys want the thrill of feeling 'grown-up" and that they like books which give them that feeling to come in series where the same heroes appear again and again.His output included westerns, detective stories (set in New Orleans and in Asia), and historical adventures. China and Japan were the settings of such stories as The Great Tan-To; or Dick Brent's Adventures in Up-to-Date Japan.Hancock's experience as a war correspondent provided inspiration for books about the Spanish-American War. He also published books on physical fitness and an Encyclopedia of Knowledge and Manners, and served as the editor of a History of West Point. In a magazine article he warned of the dangers of smoking, at a time when such dangers were not widely known. He was also a sportswriter and an early Western expert on Jiu-Jitsu.
