Overview
As young men, Orville and Wilbur Wright had a dream. They believed that one day people would fly, and they were determined to be the first. Despite setbacks that would have discouraged many inventors, the Wright brothers' dream came true. From a windy sand dune near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they made a short 36-meter flight — and flew into aviation history. This biography in the Snapshots: Images of People and Places in History series uses photographs, newspaper clippings, maps, quotes and drawings to explore the Wright brothers' struggles. Also included are timelines of their lives and the history of flight, and a listing of pertinent Web sites.
Synopsis
This book in the Snapshots: Images of People and Places in History series introduces the brilliant and determined brothers who believed that one day people would fly.
Wendy Morris - Children's Literature
We tend to think of Wilbur and Orville Wright as frozen in time in 1903, December 17, the date of their first successful flight. In actuality, their experiments began much earlier, and Orville lived until 1948, watching the mechanical and social evolution of the airplane go far beyond what the brothers, or anyone, had ever dreamed. Elizabeth MacLeod, naturally, concentrates on the years the Wrights spent directly involved in their quest for flight, although she does acknowledge earlier circumstances that shaped and occupied their interests. MacLeod also puts flight into historical context for the day, explaining (or trying to; some concepts are difficult to grasp) the major events and physical principles the Wrights were able to use as the basis for their own work. The book is well illustrated with photographs and diagrams (and what can only be described as tangential, yet interesting, memorabilia). There is minimal documentation-no bibliography, no suggested reading (just a list of web sites to visit), and quotations throughout are undated. This is flight and the Wright brothers at the most basic and most accessible level.
Editorials
Children's Literature
We tend to think of Wilbur and Orville Wright as frozen in time in 1903, December 17, the date of their first successful flight. In actuality, their experiments began much earlier, and Orville lived until 1948, watching the mechanical and social evolution of the airplane go far beyond what the brothers, or anyone, had ever dreamed. Elizabeth MacLeod, naturally, concentrates on the years the Wrights spent directly involved in their quest for flight, although she does acknowledge earlier circumstances that shaped and occupied their interests. MacLeod also puts flight into historical context for the day, explaining (or trying to; some concepts are difficult to grasp) the major events and physical principles the Wrights were able to use as the basis for their own work. The book is well illustrated with photographs and diagrams (and what can only be described as tangential, yet interesting, memorabilia). There is minimal documentation-no bibliography, no suggested reading (just a list of web sites to visit), and quotations throughout are undated. This is flight and the Wright brothers at the most basic and most accessible level.—Wendy Morris