Simon & Schuster The Wright Brothers

Rich narrative of life of the two legends. Has very detailed description of journey to first controlled flight. Has real collection of handwritten letters, dairy entries etc. Very inspiring and a must read by every Aviation Enthusiast.

Brings back the joy of flying!

La historia de los hermanos Wright es interesantísima, y el autor la cuenta de forma inmejorable. Su descripción de la personalidad de los hermanos, especialmente Wilbur, de las condiciones en las que trabajaban produce en el lector tal simpatía hacia ellos que se convierten en amigos, y uno se alegra con sus éxitos con la misma sencillez que tenían ellos.

Great book

David McCullough is just a great writer. He can turn any mundane topic into something fascinating. And he did it again with "The Wright Brothers." I don't really have an interest in aviation and I'm not sure why I even picked up the book, except that I figured if McCullough wrote it, it must be good. And it is. McCullough tells the story of two all-American boys who, through an incredible amount of work, effort, and ambition, invented the first real airplane. And they did this with just an amateur knowledge of science and technology. The story is truly inspiring. Two things surprised me, though. One was the anti-semitism that their sister expressed when hearing of Hart Berg, the reprentative of Flint and Company, who would eventually reprensent them, and two, was their fates in the end. Somehow both these elements seemed out of character. The Wright Brothers, themselves, were peculiar, however. It seems neither ever had as much as a girlfriend, at least from the story McCullough tells, and one has to wonder why that was. They lived at home their entire lives, along with their sister, who likewise seems to have avoided the opposite sex for most of her life. McCullough doesn't dwell on this, but it does seem a bit strange. But I suppose genius is often found in madness. But it's a truly fascinating, incredibly American tale, and well worth a read.