Hello World: A Life in Ham Radio Book

One day, author Danny Gregory stumbled upon a jackpot at a flea market. It was a box of "SQL cards." Each one tracks individual incidents of correspondence between ham radio operators. They are postcards with pictures, drawings, and print that reveal bits of ordinary people's lives in places you didn't even know existed. At first glance, these cards were meaningless to Gregory, so he began researching, and the results are phenomenal.

Using these found bits of artistic ephemera, Gregory tells well researched, true stories of good Samaritans, political drama, invasions, isolated tribes in distant lands, and murder! "Hello World" is the story of a fascinating subculture: a multi-generational, international community of intelligent and helpful super-nerds.

It's a book for everyone--your dad, the engineer and your sister, the artist and your boyfriend, the history buff. It's a book to remind yourself that (believe it or not) the internet is not the end-all be-all. Not many books allow you to reach this deep in the intellectual grab bag. It's an unlikely mix of mail art, technological geekery, world history, screenprinting and photography, all of which is wrapped up in the biography of Jerry Powell, an ordinary man who had an extraordinary obsession with amateur radio that spanned 70 years.

Jerry would read the New York Times every day and then fire up his ham radio to contact folks living in the places across the world where the daily news was unfolding. Although ham radio is primarily a hobby, it's serious business. Ham radio operators have to pass rigorous FCC tests to get the privilege of going on air.

The FCC expects these amateur operators to function as an emergency backup communications system during weather or national emergencies. During the chaos and catastrophe of 9/11, cell phone service was shut down and ham operators worked around the clock to communicate information to police, fire, and federal relief groups.

You're probably wondering why anyone in the 21st century would still be interested in ham radio when we have the all-powerful internets. Alas! Ham radio is used to reach really remote towns and villages, like Thorsmork, a Nordic natural reserve in Southern Finland that's tucked away between giant glaciers and glacial rivers that make it impossible to reach (except by experienced guides on horseback) Ham radio is the only way to contact people there! In our Facebook-obsessed lives, we forget that the majority of the people on this planet don't have and have never used a computer.

Historically speaking, ham operators have been equally at the disposal and the mercy of the government. During World War II, the FCC tried to stop the spread of misinformation over the airwaves by outlawing all contact between American ham radio operators with international amateurs. Then they forced all American hams to sign a loyalty oath, verifying that they were U.S. citizens. This sounds a little bit crazy, but even today, California requires its elected officials and public employees to sign loyalty oaths in which they must "support and defend the United States and the state constitutions against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Um, yeah. The story of Jerry Powell's hobby unearthed all this, and more.

Spanning the entire book is a time line that runs along the footer of each page, which helps put context to the history of the communications and helps you appreciate how long and rich Jerry's life was. In the back flap of the book, there is a fold-out world map that charts the origin of each SQL card in Jerry's collection, a remarkable visual aide.

I picked this book up at the library because its author Danny Gregory is a favorite artist of mine. "Hello World" is brilliant, although, it's nothing like any of Danny Gregory's other books. His books "Everyday Matters" and "An Illustrated Life," and "The Creative License" all feature his beautiful drawings and watercolor illustrations, a talent he developed on his own in his forties. His books are about inspiring each of us to connect to the creative drive within ourselves. You can read and see his work on his blog: