I wish I could say that I have some distant relation to the famous Wright brothers but all I can say is that we share a surname. Still this was good enough for me when I was little when I could pretend these inventors of the airplane and the first successful pilots of powered human flight were of some distant relation to me. Though of course Wilbur and Orville were lifelong bachelors, so they couldn’t exactly be my great grandpa or some such, but still their mother’s married name was actually Susan Wright, so that’s pretty cool. For these and other reasons, I’ve always been curious about these famous Wrights so I’m glad to have plowed through David McCullough’s 2015 book about them.
There’s so many details in the book that I had either forgotten from my grade school days or never knew about the Wright brothers. All I recall was that the Wright brothers owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, starting in 1892, which was cool of them to begin with, and eventually began experimenting on building a flying machine along the beaches of Kitty Hawk, N.C. First they piloted gliders above the sand dunes and then eventually they equipped their plane with an engine, and made four history-changing flights in Dec. 1903 and more a couple years later, leaving behind some really neat photographs of their flying days there. Voila that’s most of what I knew.
But it’s clear from McCullough’s book that the Wrights were much more impressive than I had thought or had taken for granted. For one thing, as the book makes evident: the brothers were high school dropouts, they had no formal technical training, no financial backers, no government subsidies, and little money of their own. To emulate flight, they watched and studied the wings of birds, read books, and made things from scratch. They were industrious, brilliant, and persistent to the core; they worked on their projects from sun up to sun down, using the little profit from their bike store to buy supplies. Almost six years older Wilbur was their leader, but both brothers worked, lived, and spent all their time together. Holy smokes in comparison to the Wrights, most of us seem pretty darn lazy.
I guess I didn’t realize that after their flights in 1903 and more in 1905 that the brothers accomplishments were quite overlooked or ignored, especially by the U.S. government, which showed little to no interest in their invention. Most couldn’t believe their machine could actually fly, and in France as in other places they were accused of bluffing. They were ridiculed to a great extent for quite awhile. Then came the official trials where Wilbur went to France to demonstrate their Flyer and Orville flew another at Fort Myers in Virginia. At each place they were successful, setting flying records and wowing crowds with their planes. But during one flight Orville crashed and broke various bones, and a passenger onboard was killed. His sister Katharine, a teacher, would spend many months nursing Orville back to health.
Who knew? And who knew: they made various flights in Europe in 1909, spent so many hours in the air, and that Wilbur flew over the ocean liner the RMS Lusitania in New York harbor, circled the Statue of Liberty, and continued up the Hudson River to Grant’s tomb and back. Moreover who knew their family was so close-knit (though their mother died when they were young) and that both Katharine and their preacher father would fly as passengers on their plane on at least one occasion, and that they would all continue to live together in Ohio when they weren’t traveling. Katharine didn’t marry till she was 58! (Apparently Orville stopped talking to her after that. He must have wanted her to remain unmarried like they did as bachelors, or some such nonsense.) Wilbur tragically died so early in 1912 at age 45 from typhoid fever. Curiously the book doesn’t dwell or elaborate on how that affected Orville who outlived him for another 36 years! The book also doesn’t go into a lot about the lawsuits that the Wrights were involved in over patents, their accomplishments, and planes. It merely mentions that aspect.
All in all McCullough’s book was enlightening in its details. I never realized how much the brothers overcame in doing what they did, and how much work went into it. How patient they seemed with the public. This book paints the Wright brothers not as two guys out for fame or glory but rather as two brothers wanting acceptance for what was rightfully theirs — for something they had done. One caveat I had with the book is that although it follows their story chronically with many facts and interesting details, sometimes I wished it breathed more life into them. It often quotes the brothers’ letters but still I felt a bit distanced from the Wrights, like they were cut-outs. Sure they could be enigmatic, modest, and shy but something seemed a bit missing in McCullough’s account. I guess it goes to show we often can not fully know such iconic historical figures.
Meanwhile this past week I finished British author Sarah Waters’s 2014 novel “The Paying Guests” on audiobook after a couple of friends had told me about its wonderful narration by actress Juliet Stevenson. They weren’t kidding! Stevenson expertly breathes life into each character and Sarah Waters’s storytelling is masterful in this absorbing post-Edwardian tale. I know the novel made positive waves when it came out a couple of years ago but for whatever reason I hadn’t taken the plunge till just now. And boy, did it transport me. I was caught up in the story’s setting of a big house in 1920s London that had seen better days, in which a widower (bereft of her sons and servants) and her 26-year-old spinster daughter take in a married couple as lodgers. In time an illicit love affair begins and eventually a crime (or accident?) happens which changes everything.
It’s an intense love story and period drama (Sarah Waters’s most potent novel so far!) that seems to hit its dialogue, descriptions, and interactions just right. Many of Waters’s novels spotlight lesbian protagonists and this one is no different — for those who need a warning. It’s a book with plenty of atmosphere, high anxiety, and suspense, but my only criticism is that it goes on far too long. Towards the end, the investigation into the crime and trial goes repetitively round and round a bit too much. (The audiobook is 21.5 hours long, which I could have listened to on a drive perhaps from here to Vegas.) I only wish the novel had been shorter and tauter, but still it’s a tale whose characters and haunting predicament get into one’s bones and one that I won’t soon forget. Bravo to the author.
What about you — have you read “The Wright Brothers” or “The Paying Guests” and if so, what did you think?
Great reviews on both books! You really make the Wright Brothers book sound more interesting than I thought it would be. Although these types of books interest me, sometimes they can be a bit dry. And even though you say that you wish there were a bit more life in the book, it seems that it still was a good read.
I do have The Paying Guests in my TBR pile. I bought it when it was all the rage, started reading it and even though I was enjoying it, put it aside and did not go back to it. At the time I remember it seeming to want more of my time than I had and so I was going to wait until I had more time. I guess I should really make more time. I would like to check out the audiobook, but since I have the book I think I should read it.
Have a great week!
Thanks Suzanne. Yeah The Wright Brothers book luckily wasn’t too dry; I found the tidbits pretty interesting. I think I was happy to listen to the Paying Guests on audio — it’s quite a long yarn but the narrator did a heck of a job. She kept me in it!
A reading group friend of mine read the Wright Brothers and could not stop talking about how great it was. I have read his biography of Truman. He is a wonderful non-fiction writer but as you said, hits occasional dry patches.
The Paying Guests was just as you say for me, wonderful but the second half went on too long with the court case as well as the uncertainty between the two main characters. I read The Little Stranger some years ago and vowed never to read another book by her. I am glad I broke my vow!
Wonderful reviews of both books Susan!
Thanks Judy. Yeah I didn’t really like Sarah Waters’s novel Night Watch (my only other book I’ve read of hers) so I wasn’t really planning to read any more of her books either, but the storytelling of this one was really well done. Waters surprised me … in that I liked it. The Wright Brothers book didn’t blow me away but I was glad to have read it and to have learned more about them.
I really want to read the McCullough book. Though I know the Wright Brothers’ story from general histories, the details must be fascinating.
I loved McCullough’s John Adams but I found 1776 to be somewhat disappointing.
Thanks Brian. I wanted a bit more (life?) from McCullough’s Wright Brothers but as a general history on them it was pretty interesting or helpful. I guess it’s a bit hit or miss with McCullough’s books.
Wow, the Wrights do have an interesting backstory! I’m impressed that they accomplished so much after dropping out of school. It must have been fun sharing their name if not by blood. I enjoyed an earlier book by Sarah Waters. She is a marvelous writer.
Yeah Sarah, the backstory of the Wrights is much more than I knew. The mother died pretty early from tuberculosis and the boys carried on with their preacher father and sister. I’m glad I got to the book and also Sarah Waters’ novel. Thanks for stopping by.
I would like to read The Wright Brothers. I’m waiting for Amazon to drop the price on 1776 and John Adams. I saw the HBO miniseries John Adams which is based on both books, and I was entranced. I haven’t read any book by McCullough but I have the one about the Panama Canal waiting on my Kindle for me.
Yeah Carmen: the John and Abigail Adams story is amazing. I think that’s one of McCullough’s best books. But I wouldn’t mind also getting to his book on Truman sometime. There’s a lot to learn with his histories.
My husband read the Wright Brothers book a few months ago. I was fascinated when he told me about the complete lack of interest in flying machines. It seems so obvious now that it was going to be the beginning of a very big thing.
Yeah Joy, I agree, that aspect totally stunned me. The US govt apparently denied or refused the Wrights’ contracts or patents like four times. They totally ignored their achievements for as long as they could.
I haven’t read either but both sound great–I like McCullough a lot, and he picks such interesting people to write about. Juliet Stevenson is a fabulous audio reader. It’s interesting–it seems that several people have commented lately about novels going on too long. I think it’s really tricky knowing when the story is done and then stopping!
Thanks Jane. Yeah I don’t think I really realized how long The Paying Guests was when I started it. 564 pages in audio! That’s a record for me. But boy is Juliet Stevenson a master narrator. Sarah Waters just needed to nip in the bud a bit.
I really want to read The Wright Brothers and considered getting it from Audible but didn’t love the narrator in the sample. I’ll have to look for it in print.
Yeah Kathy I think you’ll like the print version — also because it has a couple sections of photos that are really neat and helpful too.
I really loved The Paying Guests and The Wright Brothers sounds like a good one as well.
Oh great Diane — glad you liked The Paying Guests. The narration and story captured me too. Thx for stopping by.
The Wright Brothers sounds as interesting as I guessed it would be! I really like when books include primary sources, but I do prefer they use them to speculate about the feelings of the people involved and to generally help bring those people to life.