With an inspiring text, original paintings, period photographs, and detailed diagrams, the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright is recreated, from their earliest challenges to their final triumph in 1903--building the plane that would change the world.

Definitive, crisply written study tells the full story of the brothers' lives and work — from their early childhood and initial fascination with flight, the historic first flight at Kitty Hawk, more.

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough | A 15-Minute Summary & Analysis Preview:In the outskirts of North Carolina, on a small hamlet barely inhabitable and just shy of the stone age, history would take a flying leap into the vast unknown. A daring gamble that would test the very limits of the possible and for once cement the notion that conquering impossibility was just one risk away. On 1903, on a remote spot of land, besieged by winds and winter weather, modern age of aviation was born. Kitty Hawk secured its spot in the annals of history when two adventurous brothers overcame gravity and proved that flight was no longer the sole domain of the birds. Their names were Wilbur and Orville, and they would forever be called "The Wright Brothers."David McCullough's latest book once more proves that the Pulitzer garnered writer is not only a force to be reckoned with, but quite possibly the absolute authority as far as historical fictions are concerned. His meticulous, almost painstaking study into the lives of the two pioneering auto-didactics that rewrote the laws of aerodynamics is nothing short of a thrilling romance set in an a particular age; the age of invention. A romance of men and creativity. A period in American history where the outflow of patents and breakthroughs flowed like honey onto a continuously gobsmacked nation. PLEASE NOTE: This is a Summary and Analysis of the book and NOT the original book. This companion includes the following: - Book Review- Character List- Summary of the Chapters- Discussion Questions- Analysis of Themes & Symbols This Analysis fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.

In 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, made the first manned, controlled, sustained, successful powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft. This title represents the record left by the Wright brothers on their triumph, and its consequences to themselves and to the world.

The #1 New York Times bestseller from David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize—the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly—Wilbur and Orville Wright. On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two brothers—bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio—changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe that the age of flight had begun, with the first powered machine carrying a pilot. Orville and Wilbur Wright were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity. 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 and little money 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, they risked being killed. In this “enjoyable, fast-paced tale” (The Economist), master historian David McCullough “shows as never before how two Ohio boys from a remarkable family taught the world to fly” (The Washington Post) and “captures the marvel of what the Wrights accomplished” (The Wall Street Journal). He draws on the extensive Wright family papers to profile not only the brothers but their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them. Essential reading, this is “a story of timeless importance, told with uncommon empathy and fluency…about what might be the most astonishing feat mankind has ever accomplished…The Wright Brothers soars” (The New York Times Book Review).

This fascinating firsthand account covers the Wright Brothers' early experiments, construction of planes and motors, first flights, and much more. Introduction and commentary by Fred C. Kelly. 76 photographs.

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.