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The Wright Brothers
The Wright Brothers
Author: David McCullough
Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright. — 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 cont...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781410478757
ISBN-10: 1410478750
Publication Date: 5/20/2015
Edition: Lrg
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 3

3.5 stars, based on 3 ratings
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 2
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Patouie avatar reviewed The Wright Brothers on + 131 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
McCullough tells a story like no other. The people come alive, the details are fascinating. I feel I knew nothing at all about the Wright Brothers before reading this -- or at least nothing but the bare bones. Now they are part of my own life and view of history.
reviewed The Wright Brothers on + 529 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Orville and Wilbur Wright: avid bicyclers who had a dream of building the first airplane to become airborne. This is a great story of how two dedicated brothers pursued the planning, designing and success of the first airplane to fly. After much trial and error, experimenting, failure, success was finally achieved. The brothers had fulfilled their dream.. An exceptional read of a great story told with the aid of research, resources, and diaries of the Wright brothers and their father.
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PabloRafael avatar reviewed The Wright Brothers on + 19 more book reviews
The writing is excellent. I expect no less from David McCullough. The first part of the book is very interesting. The latter part of the book is less so. The lives of the Wright brothers are just not that interesting once they have developed the airplane. The endless demonstrations, marketing and ceremonies later in the book makes for rather dull reading.
hardtack avatar reviewed The Wright Brothers on + 2540 more book reviews
Like many Americans, I thought I knew a lot about the Wright Brothers. Boy, was I wrong.

I always thought the only place they flew their plane was at Kitty Hawk, a site I once visited as a kid. Turns out I was very, very wrong. Kitty Hawk was nothing compared to the other places, distances and heights they flew. As one French soldier who felt himself to be a knowledgable aviator stated about the Wright Brothers, as he watched Wilber's first flight in France, "[compared to them,] We are as children."

When Wilber, and later Orville, flew in Europe, tens of thousands gathered to watch each time. When Wilbur flew down the Hudson River along New York in 1909, it was estimated a million people watched him.

As with most McCullough's works, you'll enjoy reading what he wrote. It makes it come alive in a way so few others can.

The book also contains numerous photographs describing much of what you read in the text. This includes some really awesome photographs on the end covers.
perryfran avatar reviewed The Wright Brothers on + 1167 more book reviews
Excellent biography of the brothers who brought manned flight to the world. I know McCullough is renowned for his historical works of nonfiction and that he received the Pulitzer prize for his biographies of both Truman and John Adams. I have a few of his other works on my shelf that I really should get to. Anyway this biography of the Wright Brothers really brought them to life. Of course, every school child in America knows that they invented the airplane but the details of how they did it were pretty much unknown to me. The brothers spent years studying the flight of birds and then went on to perfect their own gliders which they did at the wind-swept sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where they concluded that it was there where the winds were most favorable and the sand provided a soft place to land. The bothers were mechanical geniuses who were able to perfect flying with a lot of hard work, experimentation, and trial and error. Eventually, they did fly using a motorized craft on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk. This event was only witnessed by a few and a photo was taken of the flight by a man who had never taken a photo before.

The brothers went on to perfect their aeroplane but had a hard time getting the U.S. government to buy into it. This led them to Europe where France and Germany became interested. I was unaware that the brothers spent so much time there demonstrating flight to vast crowds and much interest. Finally, the U.S. came around after several successful flights near Washington.

The book also provided a lot of details about the Wright family. I didn't realize that there were also two older Wright brothers who were out of the house at the time of Wilbur and Orville's experiments in flying. They also had a sister, Katharine, who supported them in their quest throughout and even traveled to Europe with them.

I highly enjoyed this biography which really gives insight into the lives of the famous brothers. Hopefully, I'll get to some of McCullough's other works sometime soon.
BeckyWalker avatar reviewed The Wright Brothers on + 120 more book reviews
This audiobook was a delightful read. It is well researched and thorough. I feel as though I personally knew the Wright family after having listened to this and would recommend the book to anyone with a fascination for flight, or who loves a good biography. We owe such a debt of gratitude to the Wright Brothers for their unwavering determination and tireless energy to figure out how to get man in the air.

Book Wiki

People/Characters
Orville Wright (Primary Character)
Wilbur Wright (Primary Character)
Katherine Wright (Major Character)
Bishop Milton Wright (Major Character)
Octave Chanute (Average Character)

Genres: