David McCullough's "The Wright Brothers" Pirep

Saw it mentioned in the most recent AOPA Pilot and immediately ordered it. Over 1/2 way through and it is one of the most enjoyable books I've read.

I was surprised at how little of knew of the real story. And I knew almost nothing of their personalities and character.

Two things (among many) that really hit a chord with me:

1) Wilbur's patient, methodical and unpertable pre-flight. Total concentration, never rushed. Will not fly until he's ready to fly, no matter the external pressures. (something we all need to do).

2) Their diary entries sound a lot like our build logs:
From Orville's diary:

"Friday, October 23rd: Worked on skids during morning, and after dinner finished putting on hinges."


PS: David McCullough's "John Adams" was also a favorite. I mention it because in reading it you'd find that the dysfunction in Washington is the "same #$%, different day" after 200 years. Point being, that the US ignored the Wrights. The first truly world shattering public flight demonstration, and resulting world news, occurred in France.

Another bio that is interesting reading is Seth Shulman's Unlocking The Sky: Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane which gives Curtiss's experience during those times.

Needless to say, he and the Wrights had two totally opposite opinions about how technology should be shared with the world. For example, Curtiss invented the twist grip throttle for the motorcycle but never wanted a patent or any royalty from it, according to Shulman.

Lots of bios written about the Wrights, but biographies of Curtiss are rarer.

Also, the author puts forth the idea that rather than advance aviation, the Wright brothers were responsible for RETARDING the development of aviation during the period 1905-1915 by their stubborn defense of their "roll control" patent. They understood control by "wing warping" yet they extended that method to all types of control around the longitudinal axis. They apparently wanted exclusive royalties from ALL airplanes that were being developed and flown, even in foreign countries. It wasn't until the Federal courts stepped in to end the legal bantering, thus forcing Glenn Curtiss and Orville Wright to acquiesce as the United States was involved in World War I, that an agreement was reached which later resulted in the Curtiss-Wright Company.

It was reported by the author that Orville Wright, until he died in 1948, held Glenn Curtiss responsible for the illness and subsequent death of Wilbur in 1912.

phapp said:

Saw it mentioned in the most recent AOPA Pilot and immediately ordered it. Over 1/2 way through and it is one of the most enjoyable books I've read.

I was surprised at how little of knew of the real story. And I knew almost nothing of their personalities and character.

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After reading this bio, I read Tom Crouch's The Bishop's Boys which I found more interesting with greater detail about the aerodynamics the brothers were exploring. Those guys really were way ahead of everyone else.

Sam Buchanan said:

After reading this bio, I read Tom Crouch's The Bishop's Boys which I found more interesting with greater detail about the aerodynamics the brothers were exploring. Those guys really were way ahead of everyone else.

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I spent a couple of days with Tom Crouch in Dayton, Ohio a couple of weeks ago at a writer's conference - great guy, and he can probably tell you what Orville had for breakfast on any given day of his life.

We compared notes on the various Wright books - another really good one is "Kill Devil Hill" by Harry Combs. Much better technical detail than McCullough's book, which was written more for the average audience, not aviation buffs.

Paul

I have read most of the modern era books about the Wright Brothers. I love history, I love aviation, I love engineering and I love a great American success story. Books about the Wright Brothers bring me a lot of what I love.

I've not read McCullough's yet. He is one of my favorite authors so I will get to it. "The Bishop's Boys" was very good but "Kill Devil Hill" was my favorite so far because there were management and life lessons in it. One that I teach my young engineers is to debate (with yourself or someone else) both sides of any issue. You'll find out which side is lacking.

Wow, i think i finished this 300 page in a couple of days. I knew the basics, probably better than most. However, McCullough goes into so much more detail based on the personal letters they wrote to each other. That is a lot of correspondence for two brothers, sister, father, and acquaintances. I read it as if it was all happening live. It was a thrilling read for me. There was so much more amazing details about their work ethic, stoicism, carefulness, insight, genius, ingenuity, modesty, and courage that anyone can admire. I had no idea. I dont know why every airport in the country isnt named after them.

What is amazing to me is that even though Wilbur was THE very first successful builder and pilot, his character is exactly what most builders and pilots still aspire to today. He was undeterred and intensely focused on the task at hand, whether that was building, preflight, or flying. He flew the very first hundreds of flights, on a different continent (Europe and mainly France), in the Wright Flyer II (only the Flyer I had flown before ever), and nobody else was ever killed or hurt. Amazing diligence to build quality, airmanship and to safety. Imagine doing your first flights in front of THE most influential and powerful people on earth to a live demonstration flight - in fact the first flights ever. Crazy.

I also loved how in all those demo flights throughout Europe, he flew people for absolutely FREE. These were the kings and the richest powers to be people on earth at the time. I like to think most of us continue with that tradition of sharing a flight for free. Like young eagles. Amazing!

Bubblehead said:

I have read most of the modern era books about the Wright Brothers. I love history, I love aviation, I love engineering and I love a great American success story. Books about the Wright Brothers bring me a lot of what I love.

I've not read McCullough's yet. He is one of my favorite authors so I will get to it. "The Bishop's Boys" was very good but "Kill Devil Hill" was my favorite so far because there were management and life lessons in it. One that I teach my young engineers is to debate (with yourself or someone else) both sides of any issue. You'll find out which side is lacking.

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Based on your recommendation I snagged a copy of Kill Devil Hill and I agree, after getting half way through, it is my favorite of the three Wright books I've read thus far. All three are excellent reads, but they all present different perspectives and insights into the lives and work of these remarkable pioneers.

As a historian, the one popular (non-academic) history about the Wrights that I like best is James Tobins's TO CONQUER THE AIR: THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AND THE GREAT RACE FOR FLIGHT. Langley and Curtiss (and others) get the credit they deserve and are not pushed to the background like they are in so many other popular histories of the Wrights. Easy read too. Definitely worth picking up.

I finished "The Wright Brothers" a few weeks ago. I thought it was fascinating. Another great read I'd recommend is "The aviators", by Winston Groom.

I very much enjoyed "The Wright Brothers". I've never gotten a bad read from McCullough.

Bubblehead said:

"The Bishop's Boys" was very good but "Kill Devil Hill" was my favorite so far because there were management and life lessons in it. One that I teach my young engineers is to debate (with yourself or someone else) both sides of any issue. You'll find out which side is lacking.

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If you and Sam both like it, I need to get a copy.

Re debate, couldn't agree more....but that's a whole 'nother topic.

I have to disagree. I thought the book is his weakest effort. Have read everything he has written and I think everything else was fantastic.

My problem is that the book kept bringing back memories of a previous biography I read back in the late 60's (?). Seems like whole sentences were familiar. It was a very thick paperback, perhaps Kill Devil Hill, but that seems to have been published later.

I will do some Homework later today when I can get to my computer. Serious work is a pain on an IPad.

I seemed to have lucked into a happy sequence of reading about the Wrights.

I read "The Wright Bothers" first based on excellent reviews and it was indeed a great overview of the journey the brothers undertook and their lives after 1905. It is obviously intended for the general public instead of being a definitive academic resource.

Next step was "The Bishop's Boys" which was much more detailed and explored the innovative engineering the brothers undertook in creating their flying machine and how their unusual family and psychological chemistry impacted their work.

But "Kill Devil Hill" really gets down in the weeds about how much more advanced were the brothers in their test regimen and engineering prowess than their contemporaries. It also places their work in the context of mechanical engineering as it existed in 1900. Since this book is the oldest of the three (1979) the author was able to interview eyewitnesses of the early flights. A point I have come to appreciate is the enormous difficulty of learning to fly an airplane when not only was this new technology, but the total absence of background experience on which to draw during the learning process. Imagine teaching oneself how to fly a plane if having never seen or read about a three-axis aircraft!

I'm sure there are other excellent reads on the Wrights beside these three, but I found these to be an excellent trilogy, especially if read in the above order.