The Wright Brothers

Follows the lives of the Wright brothers and describes how they developed the first airplane. (more)

Follows the lives of the Wright brothers and describes how they developed the first airplane. (less)

Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success, they were men of exception... (more)

Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success, they were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity, much of which they attributed to their upbringing. The house they lived in had no electricity or indoor plumbing, but there were books aplenty, supplied mainly by their preacher father, and they never stopped reading. 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, little money and no contacts in high places, 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 in one of their contrivances, they risked being killed. In this thrilling book, master historian David McCullough draws on the immense riches of the Wright Papers, including private diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and more than a thousand letters from private family correspondence to tell the human side of the Wright Brothers{u2019} stor. (less)

The story of "the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly, Wilbur and Orville Wright"--Provided by publisher... (more)

The story of "the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly, Wilbur and Orville Wright"--Provided by publisher. (less)

Describes the lives of the two American brothers who designed, built, and flew the first heavier-than-air aircraft to fl... (more)

Describes the lives of the two American brothers who designed, built, and flew the first heavier-than-air aircraft to fly successfully, detailing the many mishaps and misadventures that preceded it. (less)

"As he did so brilliantly in THE GREAT BRIDGE and THE PATH BETWEEN THE SEAS, David McCullough once again tells a dramati... (more)

"As he did so brilliantly in THE GREAT BRIDGE and THE PATH BETWEEN THE SEAS, David McCullough once again tells a dramatic story of people and technology, this time about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly, Wilbur and Orville Wright"--Provided by publisher. (less)

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On December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright's Wright Flyer became the first powered, h... (more)

On December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright's Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. The Age of Flight had begun. How did they do it? And why? David McCullough tells the extraordinary and truly American story of the two brothers who changed the world. (less)