Customer Reviews

The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright, Including the Chanute-Wright Letters and Other Papers of Octave Chanute (2 Volume Set)

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This book is exactly what the title says it is - a compilation of the Wright Brothers' Papers and Octave Chanute's correspondence and papers. Works like this often make for dry reading. However, Marvin W. McFarland, the Editor, does an excellent job of filling in the gaps so that the reader does not feel as though he/she is on the outside looking in. The whole process of the Wrights innovative research, limited resources, and struggle against Curtis, who was financed by Alexander G. Bell, to be the first in the air, is absolutely fascinating. Also, to have insult added to injury, the Wrights luke-warm reception of their invention by the U.S. government is something that will astound the reader. Anyone who is interested in the birth of flight should have this work on their bookshelf.

Conventional wisdom brands these two geniuses as simple "bicycle mechanics." This incredible 2-volume set takes you inside their genius, in their own words, written day-by-day. What they accomplished is no less than a miracle, and this book will humble even the most self-assured intellects. Their research "invented" wing theory and shapes, aircraft control systems, and propeller theory. Then they had to design and constuct their own engine, as available ones were too heavy. And wonderfully for us, they left an astounding amount of documentation, including photographic (including the famous photo of the first controlled flight ever), and massive documents and correspondence, which is reproduced in this 1000+ page set. There's nothing "dry" about this story of man's most significant invention.

The book took forever to arrive. When I checked the PO Tracker, I found the vendor took book to Post Office THREE days after he emailed that it had been sent. When it arrived, I found he was selling only ONE volume of a two volume set, evern thought this was not stated in his ad. I paid twice what I should have. DDO NOT USE THIS VENDOR!!