The Wright Brothers—A Must-Read For Avgeeks!
The Wright Brothers—A Must-Read For Avgeeks!
December 17th, 1903, a Date Which Would Live in History . . . Eventually.
No doubt you have seen the book proudly displayed in the front of bookstores worldwide. No doubt you’ve been tempted to pick it up. After all, you figure, there’s a reason it’s sat atop the Best Seller lists for months.
Well, don’t wait a minute longer—pick it up!
As a fellow aviation author, “The Wright Brothers” (Amazon, Hardcover $18.99, Paperback $17.00, eBook/Kindle $12.99), I knew, was going to be a treat.
I daresay that it surpassed even my high expectations.
Turn of the 20th Century comes to life, and so do Wilbur, Orville, their family and the other characters in this surprisingly well-detailed and compelling story.
Rarely have I found myself lost in a nonfiction book, but this story unfolds as if the reader is living with the brothers in Dayton, milling “flying machine” parts above their bicycle shop and braving the paint-peeling winds and blood-sucking mosquito hordes of Kitty Hawk.
The historic photo that changed the world . . . eventually.
The reader learns so much in a short and entertaining span, such as the tribulations of simply traveling through 1900 America, and the fact that the brothers were not credited for their famed December 17th, 1903 powered flight until several years later—after enduring not only skepticism but ridicule.
Orville (L), the very first man to take off under powered flight, and older brother Wilbur.
But, in the end, we cheer to find out, our heroes are fully exonerated, and even the haughty French aviators of the time capitulate when they realize that the Brothers have not only conquered powered flight, but mastered control of it—and were leap-years ahead of their own inventions.
The book drags ever so slightly toward the end, after the Wrights finally resolve all their conflicts, from safe and consistent flight to patent battles to internal family squabblings, but ends on a wonderfully uplifting note—with the very last line drawing a deeply heartfelt tear!
Highly recommended for anyone, and especially for the historical or aviation enthusiast.
The Wright Brothers—A Must-Read For Avgeeks!
From the Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller from David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize—the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly—Wilbur and Orville Wright.
On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two brothers—bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio—changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe that the age of flight had begun, with the first powered machine carrying a pilot.
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Orville and Wilbur Wright were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity. When they worked together, no problem seemed to be insurmountable. Wilbur was unquestionably a genius. Orville had such mechanical ingenuity as few had ever seen. That they had no more than a public high school education and little money never stopped them in their mission to take to the air. Nothing did, not even the self-evident reality that every time they took off, they risked being killed.
Master historian David McCullough draws on the extensive Wright family papers to profile not only the brothers but their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them. Essential reading.
The Wright Brothers—A Must-Read For Avgeeks!
About the Author
David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback; His other widely praised books are 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. He has been honored with the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
What the Pros Say
Enjoyable, fast-paced tale!The Economist
Shows as never before how two Ohio boys from a remarkable family taught the world to fly!The Washington Post
Captures the marvel of what the Wrights accomplished!The Wall Street Journal
A story of timeless importance, told with uncommon empathy and fluency…about what might be the most astonishing feat mankind has ever accomplished…The Wright Brothers soars!The New York Times Book Review
The Wright Brothers—A Must-Read For Avgeeks!
Amazon Official Review
An Amazon Best Book of May 2015: Most people recognize the famous black-and-white photo of the Wright brothers on a winter day in 1903, in a remote spot called Kitty Hawk, when they secured their place in history as the first to fly a motor-powered airplane. That brilliant moment is the cornerstone of the new masterful book by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, who brings his deft touch with language and his eye for humanizing details to the unusually close relationship between a pair of brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who changed aviation history.
Bicycle shop owners by day, Wilbur and Orville taught themselves flight theory through correspondence with the Smithsonian and other experts. But the brothers soon realized that theory was no match for practical testing, and they repeatedly risked life and limb in pursuit of their goal—including when Orville fractured a leg and four ribs in a 75-foot plunge to the ground. McCullough’s narration of ventures such as this—their famous first flight at Kitty Hawk; the flight in Le Mans, France that propelled the brothers to international fame; the protracted patent battles back at home; and the early death of elder brother Wilbur—will immerse readers in the lives of the Wright family.
Like other great biographies before it, The Wright Brothers tells the story about the individuals behind the great moments in history, while never sacrificing beauty in language and reverence in tone. – Manfred Collado
Be sure to pick it up! Available on Amazon and just about any book store out there!
And, shucks, while you’re there, be sure to pick up one of my books! They’re all only $3.99 or less on Amazon kindle/ebook ($4.49 for The Last Bush Pilots)!
