Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies

This excellent book illustrates the concept called bioengineering. In this case the Wright brothers studied extensively bird flight and then applied what they learned to build flying machines. As German engineer Otto Lilienthal wrote in his book titled Bird-flight as the Basis of Aviation, indeed this was true. The Wright brothers were creationists and thus looked as birds are designed to fly. Wilbur and Orville wrote that they concluded the fact was birds can fly, proves that humans could copy theor design and would likewise be able to fly. From studying God’s creation in the form of bird-flight, they were helped to develop their own creation of a better aircraft. The Wright brothers example is only one of thousands attempts at flight. The brothers' fundamental breakthrough was their invention of a three-axis system of control, which enabled the pilot to effectively steer the aircraft and to maintain its equilibrium in the face of wind and changing air currents.In short, the “slender Bible-believing Bishop’s Kids had presented the world with wings." and changed the world forever.

To know about the Wrights is an American birthright. To learn about Curtiss is an education about a genius innovator. Disclaimer: I'm a former Naval Aviator and my grandfather was Naval Aviator #68 who learned to fly the Curtiss F-Boat in 1916. Goldstone is a detailed writer who has obviously researched the minutia of the Wright-Curtiss conflict. On the one hand, Wilber Wright was a brilliant inventor and Orville a magnificent craftsman. Sadly, they lost sight of the magnificence of their invention and, Wilber in particular, decided to focus on litigation (the profit motive) instead of further development of his Flyer. Curtiss, on the other hand, was principally interested in making flying machines (he made lots of money, too) that moved aviation forward. He became caught up in Wright's patent infringement law suits much to his own chagrin. History shows that Curtiss's high ground (here's my prejudice showing) guided American's lagging aviation development in pursuit of the Europeans and eventually to pre-eminence in aviation. A great read if you're looking for details about the intimacies of the Wright-Curtiss litigation; less great if you're looking for a good read about the development of early aviation itself, i.e. aeroplanes, flying and what makes them fly.

Very interesting to be able to view the Wright Brothers in ll of their legal efforts to protect their patents on aviation and allowing the competition to progress while they stayed stuck to their original designs.They gave aviation what it needed to move forward and simply watched it pass them by.

I was familiar with Glenn Curtiss through Trimble's "Hero of the Air: Glenn Curtiss and the Birth of Naval Aviation". However, the rivalry with the Wright brothers was not extensively covered in that book. On the other hand, Trimble does not go into depth as to the influence and role of Bell and others on Curtiss. Combining both books gives a reasonably complete picture of the development of early American aviation and what held it back. Beyond the appeal to aviation historians and buffs, "Birdmen" carries the weight of tragedy in the classical sense and I think that even those not especially interested in the history of flight will find the clash of personalities a fascinating story.

I had a very general idea about the birth of aviation, but this book really tells the story of the pioneers and daredevils who took flight from short hops over sand to crossing the Atlantic in just a few years. The sad story of the Wrights obsession with trying to form a monopoly is something I was not familiar with and adds a tragic note to their genius. It's good information, but the the story starts to drag once it leaves the air and goes into the courtroom. Still, a very good book!

This told the story of the Wright Brothers as has never been revealed before! It put me right in the middle of the times and experiences of those the made the greatest contributions to man's effort to rule the skies! How many people, both men and women died, in the early development is uncanny!Also, the story sets the stage in addressing early issues with patent law(s) that have not had much improvement since.B&C Oviatt

This is a pretty fascinating look at the very earliest days of aviation. I came out of this looking a the Wright brothers, who I always considered sort of heroes of mine, in a much different light. Far more interested in protecting their patents than advancing the technology of flight, they wasted years zealously trying to impede the progress of anyone else who tried to fly. While Glenn Curtiss and others were sharing ideas and technologies, the Wrights considered themselves the discoverers and sole custodians of aviation.This is a well written and informative book that I would recommend to anyone interested in this subject. Be prepared, however, to find yourself rooting against Orville and Wilbur, something that I never considered I would find myself doing.

" Birdman " is a very interesting view of the discovery of heavier than air flight and the subsequent rush to commercialization and militarization that took place in the early part of the twentieth century. While most everyone recognizes the Wright brothers for their first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC the " rest of the story " which followed is fascinating. The insight into the players, particularly the Wright brothers, is a slice of history unknown to most. If you like to comprehensively understand segments of significant history this is a good read.

This book's title is somewhat more exciting than the actual book; this is a dense read, and is therefore not a book for someone who just wants a quick overview of the early years of powered flight. That said, the density is made up of closely-packed facts, and a considerable bibliography at the end. It's a book for the reader who really wants a blow-by-blow account of the development of powered flight, from Lilienthal and his gliders onwards - although as the title says, most of the book is about the Wrights and their patent litigation against nearly everyone else in aviation. This makes it a very American-centric book; the Wrights' (or Wilbur's) move from design and innovation to spending most of his time on litigation (mostly against Curtiss) is the main theme of the book, but at the expense of including information on interesting technical developments happening elsewhere in the world. By 1914, the forefront of aircraft innovation had moved away from America to Europe, but there is little mention of what European engineers were doing (other than, according to Wilbur Wright, infringing patents).This is also primarily a history book, not a technical one. The narrative is of who and what, not how. I admit, I would have liked more technical detail on the various actors' inventions, but then it would have been a different book.The writing isn't, perhaps, the most inspired (and patent litigation is only exciting to some people) - it took me a while to read this, although that was partly because it hasn't been published as an eBook - but the author has certainly done his research. The reader comes away from this book with a much better picture of the years of American aviation between 1903 and 1919, who the major players were, and what was going on behind the scenes.As it is, one is left with a very clear picture of a man (Wilbur) who made an incredibly significant first discovery... but then was too closed-minded to continue to develop it or incorporate discoveries made by others, resulting in the pioneers being left behind in the industry they had started, less than 10 years later.One also starts to wonder, what would have happened if the Wrights hadn't been so focused on patent litigation at the expense of further innovation? What would have happened if they hadn't simply tried to refine their own first design, rather than incorporating the innovations (e.g. ailerons) of others? What would have happened if either of the Wrights (or indeed Curtiss) had been better businessmen?If you are interested in the early years of flight, therefore, this is a book very well worth the reading.

I bought this for my Father, a fanatical glider pilot and all things airborne for many years, he literally devoured it...loved it...would recommend to anyone with flying in their blood..

Ever since Daedalus and Icarus, man (and woman) has yearned to fly. First came balloons (documented by Richard Holmes in "Falling Upwards"), then heavier-than-air machines. This book traces the evolution of those machines, from Kitty Hawk to WW1.When Wilbur and Orville Wright made their historic flight in 1903, little notice was taken of it. One newspaper editor, commenting on the fifty-seven-second flight, stated, "If it had been fifty-seven minutes, then it might have been a news item." However, from the start, Wilbur Wright was determined to sustain a monopoly over the aeroplane, obtaining patents over not just present, but future modifications, forcing other manufacturers to pay him a royalty and pilots to pay him a licensing fee.Glenn Hammond Curtiss was a designer of engines, beginning with motorcycles, but soon he turned his attention to airplanes, building and flying them with little or no regard to Wright`s patents. Wilbur, rather than devote full time to his invention, spent it in litigation with manufacturers and fliers on both sides of the Atlantic, but his principal antagonist was Curtiss. After Wilbur`s death from typhoid in 1912, Orville didn`t have the zeal to carry on with the lawsuits. He sold the Wright Company in 1915, and ironically, in 1929 the Wright Aeronautical Company merged with the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to form Curtiss-Wright, which is very much alive today.Meanwhile, the evolution of the airplane and the pilots that flew them continued at a rapid pace, becoming a major source of entertainment. Contests were held for fastest, highest and longest duration flights, with prize money in the thousands of dollars. Air shows attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators, who paid to see daredevil pilots perform amazing stunts in machines that appeared to be held together with little more than bailing wire. (Originally pilots were not strapped in. At one event the plane suddenly pitched forward, ejecting the female pilot and her passenger. Both died after falling fifteen hundred feet. The plane carried on.) By 1912, 146 aviators had been killed.The book becomes technical in places where it describes details of the patent infringement cases, causing some reviewers to label it boring. But it is really a well written, documented history of a period in which it seemed that everyone was caught up in the excitement and entertainment of flight.

An accurate and well written overview of the early years of aviation. In particular, the major contributions of Glenn Curtiss and the Aerial Experiment Association (A. G. Bell, D. G. McCurdy, Casey Baldwin, Lt. T. E. Selfridge and Glenn Curtiss) are well detailed.The patent struggles and the Wrights unrealistic expectations that they would control all future aircraft building through patent payments is well detailed. Throughout it all, the drama and daring of the early aviators comes through to the reader. The book is written in an engaging style.

Very interesting and detailed story of the aviation at its early days. Also the patent disputes on the invention of Wright brothers is an example on how patents alone are useless if not supported by a correct vision of the business.