The Amazing Hiram Maxim: An Intimate Biography

HIram Maxim was one of the most significant figures of the Victorian/Edwardian period. Hailing from the backwoods of Maine, Maxim's triumphs included inventing the first truly automatic machine gun, outpacing Edison in the race for a practicable light bulb, and designing, building, and flying one of the earliest steam-powered aeroplanes. Eventually, knighted by Queen Victoria for his services to the British Army, Hiram Maxim was a supreme example of the self-made man. This book seeks to redress history's neglect of Maxim in a rounded pictures of him as an inventive genius, philanderer, bigamist, and autocrat with a kindly streak.

Arthur Hawkey was a Fleet Street journalist for more than 30 years, including 12 years as a parliamentary lobby reporter. He comes from a Cornish seafaring family and has written four other highly praised historical books.