Career
He was war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune and Columbia Broadcasting System during World World War World War II In 1943 he was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services and utilized as an undercover agent in Italy in 1944. In 1962 he published his diary, titled A Spy in Rome (New York: Simon & Schuster). His best-known books are The Secret Life of Plants (1973), Secrets of the Great Pyramid (1972.
Paperback reprint, 1997), and Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids (1976).
He was the father of author Ptolemy Tompkins. His Secrets of the Great Pyramid, Mysteries of the Mexican Pyramids and The Magic of Obelisks have become classics in the history and possible purpose of these extremely ancient structures.