The Wright Brothers

David McCullough has written a lot of great historical works including The Path Between The Seas (about the Panama Canal), 1776, John Adams, and others. Now he has written a biography of The Wright Brothers. Before reading this, I knew little of the brothers other than their first powered flight in Kitty Hawk and that they were bicycle mechanics in Dayton, Ohio. This story tells of their remarkable engineering feats that allowed that moment of flight to happen, as well as their critical efforts after that first flight to advance the technical aspects of aviation. McCullough captured the cooperation and competition with others who were pursuing flight, especially in France. Neither brother ever married, and they always lived together with their sister and father in Dayton. Both Wilbur and Orville, named for preachers who were admired by their father, were honest and hardworking men of solid Midwest stock. You’ll be impressed with their characters, the risks they were willing to take as well as those they would not, and they way they went about their business. This was a quick and easy read – and it gets my strong recommendation.