Scan barcode
A review by adam_z
The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright by Tom D. Crouch
3.0
Last summer I visited the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk, NC. Following a presentation from one of the park rangers, I asked him which single book would he recommend on the Wrights. He said that [b:The Wright Brothers|22609391|The Wright Brothers|David McCullough|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1430942575l/22609391._SX50_.jpg|42099162] by [a:David McCullough|6281688|David McCullough|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1429921568p2/6281688.jpg] and The Bishop's Boys were the two, and he would recommend choosing from between them based on the preferences of the reader.
McCullough is is quite popular as many enjoy his narrative tone, however, the ranger said that he and many of his colleagues, having read extensively on the Wrights, took issue with McCullough's work as being somewhat of an overdramatized representation of the brothers. The opinion is that McCullough took some liberties with his telling of the story. The ranger went on to suggest that if I wanted to read a real history book then I should pick up The Bishop's Boys.
I read this sporadically over the course of 6 months. There were chapters that were quite fascinating, which I felt gave a lot of insight into not just Wilbur & Orville, but their siblings and their father as well. There were also chapters that went into a greater level detail about the physics of flight than what I understand (or care to attempt to learn about), and all without any kind of assistive diagrams. Some skimming may be necessary.
What I really appreciated about this book is that the author went out of his way to really make sure that he wrote a comprehensive biography of the brothers rather than just writing about the events leading up to and culminating with their successful trials at Kitty Hawk.
There's been some friendly competition between Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and Dayton, Ohio, with both claiming to be in some fashion "The Birthplace of Aviation". As a North Carolinian I came into the book with a somewhat biased opinion on which state has the greater claim. Having read this book though and having a more informed opinion now, I believe the scales tip in favor of Dayton. There were great things achieved in the trials at Kitty Hawk, but there's so much more development that went on in Dayton.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but would only recommend it to a real history enthusiast.
McCullough is is quite popular as many enjoy his narrative tone, however, the ranger said that he and many of his colleagues, having read extensively on the Wrights, took issue with McCullough's work as being somewhat of an overdramatized representation of the brothers. The opinion is that McCullough took some liberties with his telling of the story. The ranger went on to suggest that if I wanted to read a real history book then I should pick up The Bishop's Boys.
I read this sporadically over the course of 6 months. There were chapters that were quite fascinating, which I felt gave a lot of insight into not just Wilbur & Orville, but their siblings and their father as well. There were also chapters that went into a greater level detail about the physics of flight than what I understand (or care to attempt to learn about), and all without any kind of assistive diagrams. Some skimming may be necessary.
What I really appreciated about this book is that the author went out of his way to really make sure that he wrote a comprehensive biography of the brothers rather than just writing about the events leading up to and culminating with their successful trials at Kitty Hawk.
There's been some friendly competition between Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and Dayton, Ohio, with both claiming to be in some fashion "The Birthplace of Aviation". As a North Carolinian I came into the book with a somewhat biased opinion on which state has the greater claim. Having read this book though and having a more informed opinion now, I believe the scales tip in favor of Dayton. There were great things achieved in the trials at Kitty Hawk, but there's so much more development that went on in Dayton.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but would only recommend it to a real history enthusiast.