"The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough - Islington Branch Book Club - Past Titles

About the Author: David McCullough

David McCullough is an American author, historian, and lecturer known for his compelling narratives of American history. He was born on July 7, 1933, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. McCullough graduated from Yale University with a degree in English literature and later pursued graduate studies at the same university.

Throughout his career, McCullough has written extensively on various aspects of American history, earning him widespread acclaim and numerous awards. He is known for his meticulous research, engaging storytelling, and ability to bring historical events and figures to life for readers.

Some of his notable works include:

"The Great Bridge" (1972) - This book chronicles the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge and the remarkable individuals involved in its creation.
"The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914" (1977) - McCullough delves into the history of the Panama Canal, exploring the political, social, and engineering challenges faced during its construction.
"John Adams" (2001) - A biography of the second President of the United States, John Adams, which won McCullough the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
"1776" (2005) - McCullough provides a detailed account of the pivotal year in American history, focusing on the events of the American Revolutionary War.
"The Wright Brothers" (2015) - This biography explores the lives and achievements of Wilbur and Orville Wright, pioneers of aviation, and their quest to achieve powered flight.

McCullough's works have been widely praised for their accessibility, thoroughness, and ability to resonate with readers of all backgrounds. He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including two Pulitzer Prizes (for "Truman" in 1993 and "John Adams" in 2002) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006.

In addition to his writing, McCullough has also worked as a narrator, lecturer, and television host. He has contributed to documentaries and series on American history, further solidifying his reputation as one of the preeminent historians of his generation.

Synopsis

On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot. Who were these men and how was it that they achieved what they did? 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. 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' story, including the little-known contributions of their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them.

Discussion Questions

What were the key factors that motivated the Wright brothers to pursue the dream of powered flight? How did their upbringing and experiences shape their ambitions?
Describe the challenges faced by the Wright brothers in their quest for flight. How did they overcome technical, financial, and societal obstacles?
Discuss the role of experimentation and innovation in the Wright brothers' approach to aviation. How did their methodical and systematic approach contribute to their success?
Explore the significance of the Wright brothers' contributions to aviation history. How did their achievements impact not only the field of aviation but also society as a whole?
Analyze the relationship between the Wright brothers and their contemporaries, such as Samuel Langley and Glenn Curtiss. How did competition and collaboration influence the development of aviation during this time?
Reflect on the ethical implications of the Wright brothers' work, particularly in terms of patents and intellectual property rights. How did their decisions regarding patents shape the trajectory of aviation innovation?
Consider the portrayal of the Wright brothers in the book. How does David McCullough depict their personalities, motivations, and interpersonal dynamics?
Evaluate the role of family and community support in the Wright brothers' journey towards achieving powered flight. How did their relationships with family members and the local community impact their success?
Discuss the impact of fame and celebrity on the Wright brothers' lives following their historic flights. How did they navigate newfound fame while continuing their work in aviation?
Reflect on the enduring legacy of the Wright brothers. How are their contributions remembered and celebrated today, and what lessons can be drawn from their story?

MLN Materials

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large print book
spoken CD

Ebook Versions

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Audiobook Versions

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Wright Brothers, Wrong Story by William Elliott Hazelgrove
Call Number: 629.13 Hazelgrove
How did two high-school dropouts figure out the secret of manned flight? Hazelgrove reveals the differences in Orville and Wilbur Wright's personalities and abilities. He examines how the Wright brothers myth was born when Wilbur Wright died early and left his brother to write their history with personal friend John Kelly. Though Orville's role was important, he generally followed his brother's lead and assisted with the mechanical details to make Wilbur's vision a reality. Hazelgrove shows that, at Kitty Hawk, Wilbur cracked the secret of aerodynamics and achieved liftoff on December 17, 1903.
Chasing Icarus by Gavin Mortimer
Call Number: 629.13 Mortimer
During the seventeen days in October 1910 that Gavin Mortimer vividly recounts in Chasing Icarus , the question of primacy in the air was on full display, after which the future of aviation was never in doubt. The great dirigible America , captained by Walter Wellman, lifted off from New Jersey and for several turbulent days attempted to be the first flying machine to cross the Atlantic. From St. Louis, ballooning teams from around the world took off in pursuit of the Gordon Bennett I nternational Balloon Cup, given to the team that traveled the farthest distance, with a denouement featuring Americans Alan Hawley and Augustus Post that would stun the country. And at the famed racetrack at Belmont Park, New Y ork, huge crowds gathered to watch airplane pilots race above the oval and attempt to set speed, altitude, and distance records. Newspapers everywhere, even in the smallest of towns, made headlines of the results, and the public treated all aviators as matinee idols.
To Conquer the Air by James Tobin; James Tobin
Call Number: 629.13 Tobin
A history of the first-flight race documents the efforts of such Wright brothers' competitors as the Smithsonian's Samuel Pierpont Langley, Glenn Curtiss, and Alexander Graham Bell.
Birdmen by Lawrence Goldstone
Call Number: 629.1309 Goldstone
From acclaimed historian Lawrence Goldstone comes a thrilling narrative of courage, determination, and competition: the story of the intense rivalry that fueled the rise of American aviation. The feud between this nation's great air pioneers, the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss, was a collision of unyielding and profoundly American personalities. On one side, a pair of tenacious siblings who together had solved the centuries-old riddle of powered, heavier-than-air flight. On the other, an audacious motorcycle racer whose innovative aircraft became synonymous in the public mind with death-defying stunts. For more than a decade, they battled each other in court, at air shows, and in the newspapers. The outcome of this contest of wills would shape the course of aviation history--and take a fearsome toll on the men involved. Birdmen sets the engrossing story of the Wrights' war with Curtiss against the thrilling backdrop of the early years of manned flight, and is rich with period detail and larger-than-life personalities: Thomas Scott Baldwin, or "Cap't Tom" as he styled himself, who invented the parachute and almost convinced the world that balloons were the future of aviation; John Moisant, the dapper daredevil who took to the skies after three failed attempts to overthrow the government of El Salvador, then quickly emerged as a celebrity flyer; and Harriet Quimby, the statuesque silent-film beauty who became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. And then there is Lincoln Beachey, perhaps the greatest aviator who ever lived, who dazzled crowds with an array of trademark twists and dives--and best embodied the romance with death that fueled so many of aviation's earliest heroes. A dramatic story of unimaginable bravery in the air and brutal competition on the ground, Birdmen is at once a thrill ride through flight's wild early years and a surprising look at the personal clash that fueled America's race to the skies.
The Great Air Race by John Lancaster
Call Number: 629.1309 Lancaster
Years before Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris electrified the nation, a group of daredevil pilots, most of them veterans of the World War I, brought aviation to the masses by competing in the sensational transcontinental air race of 1919. The contest awakened Americans to the practical possibilities of flight, yet despite its significance, it has until now been all but forgotten. In The Great Air Race, journalist and amateur pilot John Lancaster finally reclaims this landmark event and the unheralded aviators who competed to be the fastest man in America. His thrilling chronicle opens with the race's impresario, Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, who believed the nation's future was in the skies. Mitchell's contest--critics called it a stunt--was a risky undertaking, given that the DH-4s and Fokkers the contestants flew were almost comically ill-suited for long-distance travel: engines caught fire in flight; crude flight instruments were of little help in clouds and fog; and the brakeless planes were prone to nosing over on landing. Yet the aviators possessed an almost inhuman disregard for their own safety, braving blizzards and mechanical failure as they landed in remote cornfields or at the edges of cliffs. Among the most talented were Belvin "The Flying Parson" Maynard, whose dog, Trixie, shared the rear cockpit with his mechanic, and John Donaldson, a war hero who twice escaped German imprisonment. Jockeying reporters made much of their rivalries, and the crowds along the race's route exploded, with everyday Americans eager to catch their first glimpse of airplanes and the mythic "birdmen" who flew them. The race was a test of endurance that many pilots didn't finish: some dropped out from sheer exhaustion, while others, betrayed by their engines or their instincts, perished. For all its tragedy, Lancaster argues, the race galvanized the nation to embrace the technology of flight. A thrilling tale of men and their machines, The Great Air Race offers a new origin point for commercial aviation in the United States, even as it greatly expands our pantheon of aviation heroes.
The Flyers by Noah Adams
Call Number: BIOGRAPHY WRIGHT
Adams, one of our most distinctive and talented storytellers, traveled thousands of miles and interviewed scores of experts and individuals to piece together his story. He finds a local boat captain to ferry him to Kitty Hawk, along the same route that Wilbur took in 1900, and spends several days talking with descendants of the families who first welcomed the Wright brothers a century ago and helped them conduct their gliding experiments. To experience first-hand the thrill of being in the air, Adams himself goes hang-gliding in the Outer Banks. To understand the aerodynamics of lift and drag and how the famous 1903 plane was constructed, he visits Ken Hyde, a Virginia pilot and vintage aircraft builder who is creating the world's most accurate reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer. Adams goes to the prop shop and handles the tools and materials that the Wrights used to build their gliders and planes, and later he visits the wind tunnel at Langley Air Force Base where Hyde's reproduction was tested for the first time. He also travels to France to visit the old racetrack at Le Mans where Wilbur startled the European aviation community with his demonstration flights in 1908, and he spends a few days at Wisconsin's Oshkosh Fly-in, where builders of experimental aircraft and owners of vintage planes gather every year to dazzle the crowds. Adams himself takes to the air in a restored Ford Tri-Motor, America's first airliner, which took its maiden flight seventy years ago. In Adams's book we encounter the Wright brothers in a way that no writer has introduced them before. Through the lens of his own experiences as well as original reporting, letters, diaries, and other primary source material, he helps us understand the talent and intensity of the brothers and their family, including the fascinating, deeply complex, and at times tragic bond between Orville and Katharine, his younger sister. The Flyers is a wonderfully rich narrative that brings an unprecedented spirit of immediacy to one of history's most dramatic stories.