Date: 26 July 2015
Location: Claudia
It’s David McCullough, for me no more needs to be said. The book is relatively short, especially for him, which led to a few complaints such as not enough engineering data and stopping the story too soon.
The book ends rather abruptly with a report of a flying exhibition on May 25, 1910, given for the Aeroplane Club of Dayton. On that day, for the first time, Wilbur and Orville flew together — a virtual announcement to the world that manned flight was so safe that its originators could take to the air in the same craft without fear their work would be lost. Also on that day, eighty-two year old Bishop Wright, the last immediate member of the family who had never flown, joined his son Orville for a six-minute flight reaching an altitude of 350 feet. The Bishop’s only reported comment was “Higher, Orville, higher!”
An Epilogue does supply more information on the fate of the Wright family but is lean in comparison to the richly drawn characterizations of the main text. I think the author focused on the Wright brothers’ defining achievement and fashioned his story around that.
While most everyone can identify the Wright Brothers as pioneers of aviation, this book provides the vivid details that bring them to life as individuals. I was fascinated to learn about their sister Katharine, the only college graduate in the family. The extensive research and observation of birds they did to develop their “flying machine” was a revelation. Another person of whom I had not heard was the mechanic Charlie Taylor. His development of a lightweight engine was a vital contribution to the Wright’s project. The brilliance, determination, and resiliency of these individuals in pursuing the dream of controlled flight come through as an exciting story, well told by one of our greatest popular historians.
Our meeting was an intimate one as so many of our members were out of town. In a first for remote participation, Bob called in from the Dallas airport to offer his comments on the book. The Berrys arrived in a storm that rivaled anything the Wrights faced on the Outer Banks. Thank goodness they made it, as Joe’s account of his first airplane ride while hitchhiking at Auburn was priceless.
— Claudia