Synopses & Reviews
"For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man," wrote Wilbur Wright just over 100 years ago. "My disease has increased in severity and I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money if not my life." On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur's "disease" finally bore out in one of the most famous inventions in historyalong with his brother Orville, he had created the first controlled, sustained flight in a power-driven airplane. Relying on the facilities of a bicycle repair shop in Dayton, Ohio, they had constructed, alone, the world's first flying machine.
From Wilbur's shy but inspired letters requesting research materials from the Smithsonian Institute to the legal wrangles over the actual credibility over "who flew first," these letters follow the most fascinating aspects of the brothers' intellectual, emotional, and physical challenges in making the airplane. Whether confronting adverse weather conditions, trying to convince the United States government that they'd actually flown, fighting patent infringements, or responding to public acclaim, America's most famous brothers reveal their resourcefulness, good humor, and pluck.
Review
"In this collection of their letters the Wright brothers come alive, warm, sometimes amusing, and always penetrating and analytical." New York Times
Synopsis
With little formal education and even fewer business skills, Wilbur and Orville Wright solved the scientific mystery that defeated the greatest minds of their day. This collection of six hundred letters between the two brothers traces the genesis of their flying machine, from their initial frustration to their bursts of discovery and the thrill of ultimate success. Witness the resourcefulness, good humor, and sheer pluck of America's most famous brothers.
Synopsis
On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948) Wright made the first controlled, sustained flights in a power-driven airplane. Relying on the facilities of a bicycle repair shop in Dayton, Ohio, they had constructed, alone, the world's first flying machines. Miracle at Kitty Hawk, an expert selection of 600 out of 10,000 existing letters, allows the reader to follow the excitement of discovery that kept the Wright brothers working on their incredible invention. With little formal education and the slight business background of selling and repairing bicycles, they overcame the problems that defeated the great scientific minds of the day, dealt with large corporations and governments on their own terms, and were recognized by their contemporaries as geniuses. Whether confronting adverse weather conditions, ensuring secrecy, trying to convince the U.S. government that they had actually flown, fighting patent infringements, or responding to public acclaim, these letters reveal the resourcefulness, good humor, and pluck of America's most famous brothers.
Synopsis
"The Wright brothers come alive, warm, sometimes amusing, and always penetrating and analytical."-New York Times.
About the Author
The late Fred C. Kelly was the authorized biographer of the Wright Brothers and author of over a dozen books.