Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Journey
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Talking to the World
Review: 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....
Rating:
Summary: A few words from the author
Review: You might be thinking: "Ham radio?!? Huh? You mean like CBs or short wave?"
Or perhaps, "I know all there is to to know about amateur radio, I've been on the air for years. "
Perfect, then this book is for you. We set out to do several things in "Hello World":
• to capture the experience of Jerry Powell, a long time ham radio operator who spoke to thousands of people all over the world for the better part of the century • to explain what on earth ham radio is and why millions of people are people are still so interested in it. We started out the project knowing nothing and became so intrigued that we now have our own amateur licenses and are part of the community. • to dig below the surface and suggest what Jerry and his friends may have been talking about, detective work based on conversations with those hams who are still alive, and on what we discovered about the places and periods in which the conversations took place • to create a book that would be relevant to a long-time ham like Jerry and also of interest to someone who knows nothing about the hobby or may only remember the interest of a grandfather or a cousin and wants to know more about what they were doing •and, finally, to showcase the beautiful and varied designs of QSL cards, the special postcards that hams exchange to verify their contacts. Jerry's collection arrived over seventy years from Africa, Antarctica, India, Indiana, and beyond and features many styles and media, a global form of folk art. We're very proud of this book and the fact that the NY Times, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and many, many hams all like it too. We hope you will too, whether you're a newcomer or a member of the OTC. 73,
Danny and Paul
KC2KGT & KC2KHN
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