The book concentrates on the personal life of this great inventor but also gives an overview of his technical achievements in the automotive and radio fields. I read the book in high school over 20 years ago and used it for the basis of numerous book reports and research papers. Although the current staff of the American Radio Relay League are mostly self-serving, money hungry businessmen, it is worthwhile to understand the noble principles set forth by the founder.

Written at an easy level, young radio amateurs will enjoy this book very much.

Much of the material presented in the first part of this book is paraphrased from "A Genius in the Family," by Hiram Percy Maxim.

The ancient city of Machu Picchu is to Peru what the pyramids are to Egypt. Each year hundreds of thousands of tourists visit this archaeological site.

Though juvenile literature, this short book holds interest even for adults. After Philip Steele discusses the archaeological discovery of Machu Picchu by Hiram Bingham in 1911, he goes on to talk about the life the Incas must have led, using Machu Picchu as the example to illustrate what the Inca civilization was like. He starts off with the strict social classes that the Inca society had: the rulers, government, priests, religion, warriors and the farmer, the commoner and everyday life.

The Inca civilization (1200 - 1532 ) had phenomenal architects, builders and engineers. Even today, their stone work is unsurpassed in history. Steele, also covers, ever so briefly, the unique and advanced skills that the Incas had as craftsman, especially in pottery and jewelry. However, he elevates the society more than is justified. He makes statements like "the Incas were skilled doctors and surgeons" when actually they were homoeopathists that used natural plants as remedies. Regarding surgery, they sought to relieve pain in the head by tapping holes in the skull. Even though he points out that the Incas did not use money, only a barter system; he fails to point out that the Incas also did not write, read or use the wheel. And though he mentions their religious beliefs (pantheistic), he did not point out that while worshiping their Sun God, they did regularly sacrifice humans as part of the ceremony.

In "The Incas and Machu Picchu" Philip Steele has given children and adolescents an excellent primer to both the Inca civilization and this remarkable site. His writing is both entertaining and educational. The many color and b&w photographs are excellent, and with each picture, an informative caption makes this book and excellent tool.

This is one of the most interesting books I've read if not for the history, then the storytelling. There's a lot of really interesting stuff in here. Some of the book seems to be dead on (the masons coming from the templars), and some may be a little too far fetched (ancient king making rituals and the true identity of Hiram Abif), BUT who knows and with time, more light will certainly be shed on the issues.
In my opinion, the authors make two important mistakes:
1) In the way they present the material they attempt to make fact out of conjecture. Some of their deductions are quite good, but they often fail to present them as deductions (as opposed to recorded history).
2) They provide almost *no* references. Some people will definitely want to do more research into the subjects addressed.
This is some fun stuff, but treat all read with a grain of salt.
Anyway, the book provides a very good introduction into early christianity and helps to point out why there is such a huge discordance (at least for me), between the old testament and the new testament, and maybe how it happened.
If you read it, enjoy, and I'm certainly curious to see if they can excavate Rossylyn.

I read The Hiram Key a few months ago and I cannot in any number of words say how interesting it was. I was raised in a very strict church that believed only in a literal translation of the Bible. The content of The Hiram Key shocked me. Instead of being turned off, I read hungrily. Believing the authors to have honorable intentions, I finished the book and then researched every avenue I could via the footnotes,etc. It all proved out.I was amazed at how long some of this knowledge has been out there and how long it took to come to the eyes of the general public. I am 48 years old and feel released for the first time in memory. I finished The Second Messiah last week and last night started Uriel's Machine. Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas are refreshing, intellegent, courageous and so much more. I will read anything they write and wish I could share with them the dept of effect they have had on my family and many of our friends. Of course, I read the other reviews that would make them out to be of the devil or some such nonsense as that and surely there are many who would agree. It is threatening to read substantive material that flys in the face of all the beliefs that make up our eternal retirement plan. Truth doesn't set everyone free. Everyone can't handle the responsiblity. Hurray for these men and thank you so very much.

I read this book (the paperback version--yes, it's out) right after reading Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner, and the two make a very interesting set. They contradict each other in places (particularly concerning James the Just, younger brother of Jesus) but overall they complement each other. The authors of this work, having joined the Masons, set out to find out what the rituals they went through really mean and where they came from. The key question they attempt to answer is, who was Hiram Abif, a key figure in Masonic ritual, supposedly in charge of building Solomon's temple who supposedly died rather than reveal the secrets of a master mason to three of his workers who tried to get them by intimidation. They came up with some interesting theories which I would dearly love to see expanded upon, but some of their supposed solutions hang on very tenous evidence and dubious interpretations. I'm sure they're right to trace the origins of Freemasonry to the Knights Templar, who had to go underground after being declared heretics on the infamous Friday the 13th of October 1307. (See Born in Blood by John J. Robinson.) They also seem to be on solid ground in tracing some rituals and traditions back to the early Christians of Jerusalem and the Essenes by way of scrolls probably discovered by the Templars while excavating the ruins of Herod's temple. Their attempt to trace them even further back to the murder of Pharoah Seqenenre (whom they see as the prototype for Hiram Abif) is much shakier (tho they may be onto something). Even shakier is their attempt to blame the murder on Levi and Rueben, two sons of the Jewish patriarch Jacob/Israel (and thus the eponymous founders of one of the tribes of Israel and of the Levite priests of Israel). The chronology is all wrong, and their only basis for this claim is their interpretation of a single ambigous verse in Genesis. The later chapters of the book, which are very interesting, are devoted to a detailed examination of the Chapel of Rosslyn in Scotland, which seems to be a Templar/Masonic reproduction of Herod's temple, and they predict that at least some of the scrolls the Templars found in Jerusalem are buried in vaults beneath the floor of this building. They say there is some support for the idea of excavating the site, and I certainly hope that they're right, for what they find could be even more important than the Dead Sea Scrolls!

Bingham's book was written back in the 1940s. This details his adventures in finding the city of Machi Picchu. The city was never really lost, the Indians knew about it all along. Bingham just brought it to the world's attention. Some of Bingham's theories about the Incas have later been proven false. So if you want the definitive explanation of why Machu Picchu exists, this is not the book. Generally this is a good adventure book and details the last years of the Inca Empire before Francisco Pizarro destroyed it. This is located in the first part of the book, which is interesting. The second half of the book details his theories, some of which have been proven false. For those of you planning on visiting Peru and Machu Picchu, read this book.

This book tells the gripping story of the discovery of Machu Piccu. Although Bingham is an academic archaeologist he appears to be belong to the Indiana Jones school. As a travel book it is a gem - Bingham travels through uncharted teritory in the outback of Peru at teh beginning of the century. He risks his life climbing the steep hillsides to Machu Piccu after getting a tip from a local farmer. But the book is also full of detail on the finds he made at the site. It is an insight into the ways of the Inca, and the archaeologist. Although it can be a bit dry in places - the lists of finds at Machu Piccu - Bingham makes up for this with his absorbing adventure story in the earlier chapters. END

I did not find this book helpful at all. Only for lazy students who do not want to study!!!

Great help for those of us who aren't scientists by nature. If you're struggling with your textbook I recommend this as a good supplement - especially right before exam time! Not detailed enough to skip class though, but worth the time and money.