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May 06, 2014 Web Exclusive By Frank Valish

In this punctiliously annotated history, Lawrence Goldstone documents the origins of flight from the first man who deigned to strap wings to his arms to try to fly like a bird until World War I co-opted what was once a spectator-based industry for wartime needs. Of course, the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, are most known for the invention of the airplane, but Goldstone lays out a history that is infinitely more complicated and fraught with would-be imitators and contemporaries that built upon and ultimately perfected what the Wrights had first developed. Most notable of these fellow aviators is Glenn Curtiss, largely absent from the grade school history books, yet perhaps more essential to the development of the plane than the Wrights. There will be no spoilers here as to how the story plays out, but suffice it to say Wilbur and Orville do not come off well, intent for most of the years that their invention was being perfected by others to remain in secret and embroiled in lawsuits attempting to monopolize the industry they believed was their sole creation. A great many deaths are recounted, as the airplane was developed largely as a spectator device initially, and, as such, Birdmen often reads something like a Jackass for the early 1900s, daredevils attempting death-defying feats on machinery not even safe enough to boast seat-belts. Yet throughout it all, Goldstone paints an engaging narrative, bringing the history of flight to the page and illuminating many forgotten details of those dangerous days. (http://ballantine.atrandom.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10