Customer Reviews

Hello World: A Life in Ham Radio

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With the rise of "personal" electronics--think Internet, tiny cell phones & other wireless connection tools--the world of ham radio seems to have been passed by, forgotten, or otherwise relegated to the basement, or worse. But this hobby holds on, fascinating & attracting those wanting more, some means of talking, chatting, meeting & interacting with the world at-large. Who want something besides giant corporations (ultimately concerned only with P&L)& sometime silly can-you-hear-me-now keyboard manipulations. Something beyond the anonymous nature of what we call commercial radio.

Hams, by & large, remain a curious lot--curious about how & why radio works. And curious because how is it possible to sit in your room & talk with someone else halfway around the world, without wires or other connections? Curious about the nature of communication itself, about who might be on "the other end" of that circuit. And curious about who & what they might be & do. The process occurs thousands of times, day & night, spanning everything, from continents to cultures to countries to crazy dreams & ideas. There's a romance to it, listening to signals that are all around us, unseen or felt, until we hook up a radio & detect them. Ham radio lets you put your own message out there, into that vast ethereal space, seeking something only you know about, something only you want.

"Hello World" introduces readers to some of that romance, to some of what kept Jerry Powell (whose collection of QSL cards form the basis of the work) doing it for 70 years. To some of what fascinated him, & continues to fascinate millions of others around the world. It's a graphical treat, & a rare look into radio from the amateur's point of view. Hopefully, some youngster, somewhere, will see it, & want to learn more--about radio, the world, & communicating with it via radio.

And Jerry Powell's legacy will live on...and on....

First of all, if you're a radio amateur already:

RUN, don't WALK, to your nearest bookseller, and BUY THIS BOOK! (In fact, I got mine from AMAZON!)

If you're not, it's OK to walk to your bookseller and BUY THIS BOOK!

In truth, I have only begun to read the book -- an effort that will take me "forever" because of the richness of the fabric these guys have woven. It's fun, it's educational, and truly beautiful; in short, it's a work of art! I agree with the reader/reviewer who suggested a "true" coffee table edition in hardback! I'd certainly get in line to buy one....

It's loaded with wonderful touches: the timeline at the bottom of each page that puts the reader in touch with world events while following, chronologically, Jerry's life; the colorful glossary of ham radio jargon/terminology; the wonderful fold-out centerfold map that shows the location of each person whose postcard (QSL) is depicted; and the complete listing of all 369 cards on the back inside cover pages. You can tell a graphic designer played a key role in this project!

With a built-in audience of at least 2.5 million radio amateur aficionados world-wide (how 'bout a Japanese translation for the 1 million + hams in JA-land?!) this book ought to be a hit. Hey, I can think of at least 675,000 coffee tables in America where "Hello World" should be displayed and loved.

Dan and Paul: thanks for creating this...and for joining us in "the greatest hobby on earth that almost no one knows about!" Best 73,

GJ
P.S. We've added Jerry and the authors to our Famous Hams web site. All three of these guys are welcome additions!

I was utterly unaware of the ham radio community before reading "Hello World". After devouring the book upon it's arrival, I am now totally enamored with both the hams and "Hello World". The book teems with lush images and interesting factoids that let me in on an intriguing and lovable culture.

"Hello World" is a delightful and innovative way to capture the essence of radio communication as practised by the amateur radio operator. The authors bring a graphically creative approach to a topic that can be hard at times to describe to the uninitiated. The biographical sketch of a ham radio operator over a 70 year period of history is accomplished by a truly remarkable portrayal of the post-card size, colorful "QSL" cards he collected - one for each of the personal two-way radio communications he made with people all over the world. This is a great addition to the 100 year history of written works on amateur radio. The only improvement I can imagine would be to publish a coffee-table version in hardback!
Bob

I bought a copy of this book yesterday and read through it last night. It's a beautiful book of high quality and a lot of work obviously went into its graphic design.

The book is primarily a visual album of a ham's QSL card collection that one of the authors found in a binder at a swap-meet and bought apparently because it looked interesting, even though at the time he had no idea what a QSL card was. The authors have tracked down information about the hams who were on the other end of the contacts represented by the cards and include these notes along with the card images.

As far as other content goes, it's mostly just a few pages of fluff about ham radio, some of it done in the style of a first-grade reading primer ("this is a ham radio" etc.).

I think a serious biography of the radio life of just about any long-time ham could be an interesting topic for a book, especially when played out against the background of actual QSL cards involved, but this book fails to provide that level of depth and in the end becomes just a collage of images and typography. Very "art" but very little ham radio of interest either to an experienced ham or the curious layperson.

I also see that the authors have seen fit to review their own book and assign themselves five stars, which I don't think is a fair use of the review mechanism.

But it's not a very expensive book, and the high production values and the QSL images make it at least an interesting browse.

Gavin Scott
AE6AM

I know nothing about ham radio and loved this book. It is beautifully constructed, has amazing graphics and a great story that Gregory has reconstructed about one man's passion. It's a book about communication, and humanity, and art and how small the world really is. Gorgeous.

This is an outstanding book which is beautifully illustrated primarily with QSL cards from a ham's 70 year love affair with his hobby that also serves to explain what amateur radio is to the newcomer. I have QSL cards on my wall from the fifties and received my first call in 1955 so to me this book is a real find. Any ham or person curious about ham radio will find this book a true gem. 73s, Jim, K4CFA

As a Ham radio operator, I liked the story and the information on this man's life in Ham radio. I bought this copy for my daughter who is a graphic designer and likes it for the art value.

This book is a compilation of one ham radio operator's QSL cards. If you don't know what a "QSL card" is, stop now; you won't be interested in this book. Three hundred or so cards are reproduced in color, many accompanied by a few paragraphs of commentary on the significance of the place and events occurring there around the time of the contact. Interspersed among the pages of cards of a few pages of very general information about ham radio. If you're a QSL junkie you'll like this book. If you're looking for general information about ham radio, or the history of ham radio, look elsewhere.

First, I simply can't agree with those who rate this book as the "best ever", etc. It is not. If you're looking for content or some historical perspective of ham radio, forget it. This book is basically a graphical display of QSL cards collected by the author, with sporadic and somewhat disjointed anecdotal stories to go along. It's actually a satisfactory but not great work, with little informational content. Visually it's very good, but the appeal will only be to those interested in seeing a LOT of QSL cards from around the globe, and some light text and a few pictures to go with. Not bad, and on balance I do recommend it, but it's a C+ work.