The Wright Brothers by David McCulloughMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I opted for the audiobook in 2016 because what more could I want? It's David McCullough reading a David McCullough book! Bonus: It tells the story of two great Ohioans whose name is familiar to many. I happened to be driving to Dayton during part of this and it made it all that much better seeing all the Wright references.
One thing I came away with about this book had nothing to do with airplanes. It was the technological jump made by the safety bicycle (vs the cumbersome penny-farthing). For the first time, people could travel great distances without the need of much money or expertise. It was a huge technological jump that often gets overlooked.
What's fascinating about the invention of powered sustainable air flight is the fact that so many people who had heard of all the dismal failures thought this was simply unobtainable and the Wright Brothers were big fat liars. In fact, a beekeepers magazine was the only periodical to run a story about the Huffman Praire flights near Dayton in 1904.
It is also so amazing that Orville lived until 1948 through bicycles to simple powered flight and finally seeing jet engines and the breaking of the sound barrier. Wilbur died in 1912 of typhoid.
McCullough's voice is sounding his age a bit but as usual, another great work from a great historian.
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