Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers
hardtack avatar reviewed on + 2700 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.