Rating: 
Summary: The Wright Brothers
Review: Freedman's interesting narrative of the Wright brothers portrays them as proper gentlemen who wore suits with bowties even while repairing bicycles in their shop, mechanical geniuses despite being high school dropouts, and totally dedicated to their dream of creating an aeroplane. The photographs in this book were taken by Wilbur and Orville Wright themselves. In addition to being aviators, they had a fascination with photography and converted a backyard shed for processing film. They knew that documenting their progress would be important for future generations.In this fast-paced book, Freedman makes the long ago brothers seem real. He describes their quirky behaviors and intersperses excerpts from journals and letters written by the Wrights. Freedman demonstrates their tireless perseverance by detailing how trial runs failed again and again. The Wright brothers are truly heroes, worthy subjects for one of Freedman's books. Any student interested in mechanics, inventors, or aviation would enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting
Review: How They Invented the Airplane is probably the best Wright Brothers biography yet. It's written by my favorite author of the genre, Russell Freedman. (Lincoln: A Photobiography)
The only thing that made the book a little less enjoyable was the lack of information about the childhood of Orville and Wilbur. Also, I found myself asking questions about The Wright's parents and and siblings, who were weakly potrayed in the book Every other bit of information was intact, and the affect was this great book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: How They Invented the Airplane is probably the best Wright Brothers biography yet. It's written by my favorite author of the genre, Russell Freedman. (Lincoln: A Photobiography)
The only thing that made the book a little less enjoyable was the lack of information about the childhood of Orville and Wilbur. Also, I found myself asking questions about The Wright's parents and and siblings, who were weakly potrayed in the book Every other bit of information was intact, and the affect was this great book.
Rating:
Summary: ***Good informative read***
Review: I do not own this book but i have read it and it is very informative, has great rare photos! And i learned a lot about the Wright brothers, some things i should have proabably known before...If it weren't for them we would still be on the ground, or at least for a while longer.
Rating:
Summary: Great story of a major invention affecting the whole world.
Review: I loved reading this book and lent it to a friend and never got it back. I wish I had never lent it out. It was fun to visit Kitty Hawk, NC after reading this book and see a lot of the historical artifacts associated with the history of flight.
Rating:
Summary: Read Me
Review: I read The Wright Brothers by Russel Freedman. This book describes the lives of our countries aeronautical pioneers,
Wilbur and Orville Wright,and how they invented the first true airplane. From the time they were children, Wilbur and Orville lived together, played together, worked together ,and even thought together. From their tiny bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. to the Kitty Hawk Island sand dunes. These two men defied known ideas about flight and built their own self-propelled craft that soared them to fame. Even today, a little over a hundred years after their first self-propelled manned flight, these two men are remembered for their courage. I would recomend this book to anyone interested in either the Wright Brothers or the history of flight in general. If it were not for these two, man would not have gotten of the ground!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent title, recommended
Review: This biography on the Wright Brothers gets a big plus with the pictures it contains, many of which, thanks to the Wrights' interest in photography, were taken by the brothers themselves. The centerpiece of all the photos, of course, is the famous lift-off of the world's first manned, controlled, sustained, successful powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft on December 17, 1903. The accompanying text is clear and interspersed with generous quotes from journals and letters, written by the brothers, acquaintances, and family. Relating in excellent detail the Wrights' lives from childhood to the height of their success in 1909 (as well as giving a basic account of airplane history up to 1903), Freedman goes over the Wrights' later years in just one chapter, which is its biggest drawback. Still, considering the focus of the book, this brief overview is understandable. Bonus features include information on the Wrights' use of photography during their work, descriptions of places connected to the brothers and flight, and a list of books for further reading. The material used by Freedman is heavily based on the three most recent standards of Wright biography: Tom D. Crouch's "The bishop's boys: a life of Wilbur and Orville Wright" (1989), Fred Howard's "Wilbur and Orville: a biography of the Wright Brothers" (1987), and Peter L. Jakab's "Visions of a flying machine: the Wright Brothers and the process of invention" (1990). With its readability and accuracy, this book would be an excellent addition to public and school libraries, and despite being classified as juvenile literature, adults could also enjoy this biography of the Wright Brothers. A Newbery Honor book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent title, recommended
Review: This biography on the Wright Brothers gets a big plus with the pictures it contains, many of which, thanks to the Wrights' interest in photography, were taken by the brothers themselves. The centerpiece of all the photos, of course, is the famous lift-off of the world's first manned, controlled, sustained, successful powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft on December 17, 1903. The accompanying text is clear and interspersed with generous quotes from journals and letters, written by the brothers, acquaintances, and family. Relating in excellent detail the Wrights' lives from childhood to the height of their success in 1909 (as well as giving a basic account of airplane history up to 1903), Freedman goes over the Wrights' later years in just one chapter, which is its biggest drawback. Still, considering the focus of the book, this brief overview is understandable. Bonus features include information on the Wrights' use of photography during their work, descriptions of places connected to the brothers and flight, and a list of books for further reading. The material used by Freedman is heavily based on the three most recent standards of Wright biography: Tom D. Crouch's "The bishop's boys: a life of Wilbur and Orville Wright" (1989), Fred Howard's "Wilbur and Orville: a biography of the Wright Brothers" (1987), and Peter L. Jakab's "Visions of a flying machine: the Wright Brothers and the process of invention" (1990). With its readability and accuracy, this book would be an excellent addition to public and school libraries, and despite being classified as juvenile literature, adults could also enjoy this biography of the Wright Brothers. A Newbery Honor book.
Rating:
Summary: Simple & lucid, yet detailed -- absolutely excellent
Review: This book is written with precision and detail. Yet, since it is aimed at young readers, it is clear and easy to read. The author explains in simple, easily understood language, the seminal inventions of the Wright Brothers. It is an excellent book for any adult who wants to truly understand how the Wright Brothers invented the airplane. I would reccommend it to any person over the age of 12.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning pictures, engaging text and soild historical facts
Review: This book refreshing and complete in its approach describing the two bachlers that discoverd and accompolished the first powered flight. It was a 1992 Newbery Honor Book. This book also was the recipient of several other awards. This narrative presented the Wright Brothers as average single men with a unique persistance. It demostrates to young children the qualities needed to accompolish and overcome challenging situations. This is a book I will make good use of in my classroom learning center.
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