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    Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies
    Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies
    Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies
    Audiobook14 hours

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

    Written by Lawrence Goldstone

    Narrated by Jonathan Fried

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Wilbur and Orville Wright are two of the greatest innovators in history, and together they solved the centuries-old riddle of powered, heavier-than-air flight. Glenn Hammond Curtiss was the most talented machinist of his day; he first became the fastest man alive when he perfected the motorcycle, then turned his eyes toward the skies to become the fastest man aloft. But between the Wrights and Curtiss bloomed a poisonous rivalry and a patent war so powerful that it shaped aviation in its early years and drove one of the three men to his grave. Birdmen is at once a thrilling ride through flight's wild early years and a surprising look at the battle that defined an era of American innovation. Lawrence Goldstone is the author or co-author of fourteen books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently LEFTY: An American Odyssey. His work has been profiled in the New York Times, The Toronto Star, Salon, and Slate, among others. He lives on Long Island with his wife and daughter.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 6, 2014
    ISBN9781490603964
    Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies
    Author

    Lawrence Goldstone

    Lawrence Goldstone is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, and he has written for The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The New Republic, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He and his wife, author Nancy Goldstone, live in Sagaponack, New York.

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    Reviews for Birdmen

    4/5

    59 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Engaging account of the early days of aviation. Well written. One of the few books to say much about Lincoln Beachy, the pioneering early air show pilot. The book is mostly about the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtis, who all spent way too much time and energy on patent law instead of on aviation, especially Wilbur Wright. Much of early aviation revolved around air shows, which were potentially lucrative, since huge crowds wanted to see anything related to the airplane. Publicity drove sales of airplanes.
    • 3/5
      The only thing I knew about the Wright brothers was that they had flown at Kitty Hawk. But there is so much more to their story. You get the whole picture in Birdmen and you see how their efforts and triumphs fit into early aviation. Goldstone starts with balloons and gliders and shows how the jump was made to heavier than air powered flight. There are some technical details on how the machines worked but it is delivered in a way that will not lose anyone. It is interesting to see what happened after that famous first flight. And following the course of the development of aircraft and the way that it was affected by the legal and personal battles of everyone involved is interesting as well. You get to know the people involved both in designing the aircraft and in flying them. It is a story that is oddly divided between the excitement of daredevil flying and the almost tedious details of patents and court battles but Goldstone does a good job of keeping the pace up so it doesn’t drag and it remains an interesting story right to the end.
    • 4/5
      Birdmen by Lawrence Goldstone takes an in depth look at the people who made heavier than air flight possible. When I was a child, the answer to this question was simple: The Wright brothers, and it all started with the Kitty Hawk flight in 1903. Technological advances are rarely that simple. They are typically messy, competitive, and even litigious.Modern day airplanes are exquisite corpses built on the technological advancements that different inventors and companies have made. Birdmen focuses on the individual pieces of the puzzle of flight. Besides the Wrights, there was Curtiss, Baldwin (inventor of the parachute), Chanute, Langley and others.While there is some biographical information too the life stories take a back seat to the discussion of their research. For anyone interested in the mechanics of flight, the business of being on the leading edge of technology, and the fine art of getting and keeping government contracts. On the flip side is the heavy price of lawsuits, the never ending need to boost one's brand, the growing need for capital, and the ever expanding competition.For the Wright Bros. business, the desire to stay privately owned, with tight control over patents and publicity, and trouble adapting to an ever changing business model. Ultimately the things that put the Wrights on the top in the beginning, were the same ones that brought an unfortunate end to the company.My one complaint with the book is that it seems to drag near the end. To fill the book out beyond 400 pages, the book includes some brief biographies of early superstar flyers. While I am also interested in the likes of Harriet Quimby and John Moisant, I was reading Birdmen for the business and engineering stories.
    • 4/5
      Interesting account of the battles over the control of aeronautics before and during the early years of flight. Focusses on the Wright brothers and their relationship with Glenn Curtiss.
    • 4/5
      Great book about the early years of aviation, mostly in the U.S., and the battle between the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss over patent claims, and thus royalties, for the innovations that made powered flight possible. Even if you're not into the technical and mechanical aspects (sadly, they are beyond my ken), it's a great tale.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed. Good narrator.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. It enlightened me from the one note of the Wright brothers and Kitty Hawk we learned in school to the full story of the competition of many for the first for flight. I learned a lot and would highly recommend this for anyone interested in this subject matter. [Birdmen] has a lot going for it.
    • 5/5
      Wilbur and Orville Wright have certainly earned their place in American history as the first men to take flight, both non-powered and powered. They made their expertise, knowledge, and skills available to everyone else who quickly joined in the race to take to the skies. Their patriotism never flagged as they sought to make the USA the first and only aviators. Unfortunately, none of this is true according to "Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies" by Lawrence Goldstone. While some aspects of their history did happen (they did start in a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, for instance) they turned out to be contentious, litigious, and downright unscrupulous when it came to their fellow airmen. Most folks believe that they humbly created a way to fly and thereby the birth of aviation. A lot more went on and the Wright brothers weren't exactly forthcoming with any information or a willingness to work together. They could have used the expertise of Glenn Curtiss, probably the best mechanic and engine builder from Hammondsport, New York, or anywhere else. They had a chance to work together but the Wright's rebuffed the queries and offers of everyone with any interest in flying. After building their first plane they offered it to the US Government, with one important and mind-boggling request: no one could see any information about the plane, see it fly, or test it themselves. Of course, they were turned down so, instead of ratcheting down their expectations, they went to France. Meanwhile, other builders and pilots were burning up the skies with their own flying machines. Of course, the brothers weren't happy with this and took everyone concerned to court for patent infringements. Their competitors made simple changes and off they went. It's amazing how many years and how much money was spent protecting what turned out to be a matter of semantics. Orville and Wilbur didn't limit themselves to patent wars, they also found the time and money to sue for lost winnings - lost because a court resolution had not been received. They were doomed to lose almost every fight but they couldn't see past their won stubbornness and unwillingness to move ahead with technology and couldn't stand that others had.The book is also a "who's who" of early aviators: Lincoln Beachey, John Frisbie, Rutherford Page, Cal Rogers, and, the first female, Harriett Quimby, among dozens of others. Make no mistake, these were daredevils - racing to set altitude records without the benefit of being strapped to their planes. It's a fascinating look at early aviation, how the US and the world dealt with this new phenomenon (military applications were at the top of the list), the men and women who couldn't get enough of flying through the sky, and how two brothers started it all. Lawrence Goldstone has done his research and this really makes for an intriguing and thrilling look at where it all started.Recommended for anyone interest in the Wright's and the other pilots that started the race to the skies, historical non-fiction, and how not to handle your business interests.
    • 4/5
      As a history nerd, I was really excited to read this book about the advent of air flight. I knew very little about Glenn Curtiss and the others who were revolutionizing this new science/art at the same time as the Wright Brothers. It was structured so well, and encompassed so many small tidbits. Very well done. I wish that there had been a bit more information about the aero-science of it all; at the very least, a diagram or something showing the difference between the Wright Brothers' patent and Curtiss's ailerons. I didn't have enough knowledge to really know the difference, and I couldn't quite picture it when Goldstone described it.Other than that, a FANTASTIC read for history nerds the world over. Incredibly interesting and detailed.
    • 4/5
      Great retelling of the early days of flight. A little long, but readable. The only thing is ...I kind of hate the Wright brothers now.I mean they really come off like pompous jerks. Over and over they are stunned to find governments around the world are reluctant to buy their plane sight unseen. Just trust us they said, but no we won't fly it for you or even let you see it, but here is a photo and a testimonial.If they could shoot themselves in the foot, they did. And don't even get me started on the patent lawsuits.
    • 4/5
      Great book. I received this as a pre-publication reviewer copy and was expecting to get a book about the Wright brothers - but it was quite a bit more than that.Starting some years before the Wright brothers flights at Kitty Hawk it outlines some of the earlier attempts at heavier than air flight - ones that were unsuccessful or only partially successful - but it outlines the technologies used as this is what the Wright brothers would build upon.That the Wright brothers wanted to be the first to fly I already knew, but it was a surprise to me that their goal was also to create a world wide monopoly based upon a patent known as a Pioneer patent which would have given them very broad rights.The Wrights worked in secret and actually flew many times before they did it publicly. At this same time, Glenn Curtis, a master builder, tinkerer, and inventory, moved upon from working on motorcycles to working on airplanes. Once he flew, what happened was a lengthy patent battle between the Wrights and Curtis (and others). The court cases ate up all of the Wrights time and while Curtis continued to innovate, the Wrights - who ultimately won the court battle after many years - fell behind. While this was going on, in the midst of Wilbur's death from Typhoid Fever, many pilots' deaths from exhibition flying became the cost of innovation.Fascinating book about the early days of flight - and would be interesting to lovers of history of that. But it would also be a great case study for any interested in patent law and how this may affect innovation.
    • 4/5
      Intriguing and very readable account about early aviation, and the rivalries and personalities that defined it. As noted, a few minor flaws, but overall, a very enjoyable and informative read that'll make this information easily accessible to a wide audience.
    • 4/5
      I received Birdmen as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. Before reading this book, I knew very little about the history of flight but was intrigued by the idea of learning more about the details behind such a groundbreaking event and the people involved. I was not disappointed and found this to be a very readable and enjoyable book. Some of the details make for slow reading in certain sections, but once I got hooked by the characters it was easier not to get bogged down by this. Anyone with historical interests will particularly appreciate this and even readers without any prior knowledge will likely find this a very good read.
    • 3/5
      This book held my interest in a subject I don't know much about by making the people involved interesting and relatable. Once you got to know the Wright brothers as human beings, the author did a great job of explaining (without lecturing) the basics of aviation and how humans learned the secrets of flight.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed Lawrence Goldstone's new book Birdmen. Sometimes non fiction books can be dry and difficult to read but this book kept my attention and I finished it fairly fast."Birdmen" tells the story of early aviation including gliders balloons and the development of early airplane. I knew the basic information about the wright brothers but not about the patent wars and all the legal issues that had torn lives and reputations apart.Newspaper articles, letters articles and web sites were used to gather the story. The author took all this information and weaved it into a fascinating story of the beginning of flight and the personalities involved. The dare devil exhibit pilots were fascinating and came alive in the book.I would highly recommend this book to those who love history and enjoy a well rounded lively portrayal of the history of flight and the people who made it happen.
    • 4/5
      I got off to a rocky start with Lawrence Goldstone's new book, Birdmen. By the end of the introduction, he had already made a silly technical mistake by confusing the special and general theories of relativity. He then botched his discussions of some technical issues with Langley's attempts at flight. Note to author, if you're going to criticise the technical competence of one of your subjects, make sure that you get your criticisms correct. You'll just end up with egg on your face. However, in the end I came to enjoy this retelling of the early days of aviation. The age was filled with colorful, clever, daring men (and women) who's stories fill these pages with a vibrant, squabbling one upsmanship that drove aviation forward technically and culturally. For the first decade the only real markets for the airplane were for competition flying and veblenian thrill seeking by the "birdmen" who dared to take these fragile contraptions aloft. Their daring and disasters burned flight into the consciousness of the times, but these willowy contraptions of lacquered silk and wood, so filled with possibilities, were too feeble to be exploited for practical use. So the money men, who could smell the scent of profit, and the newspapermen, who could taste the blood in the water, put up thousands of dollars in prize money to fund the aerial competitions which drove the technology forward.And this is where the crux of our story lies. Orville and Wilbur Wright, having designed, constructed and flown the first practical, controllable heavier than air vehicle, filed for and received patents for their method for controlled flight in America and several European countries. If you've ever been involved in writing a patent application, you know how the game is played. You seek to lay claim to so much more than the actual device you have designed. The goal is to make your claims as broad as possible to prevent competitors from slipping past the area you have fenced off in your patent and competing with you on equal terms. This is just what the Wrights intended. Having identified a critical feature of the control of natural bird flight, the fine control of the shape of the wing to stabilize the lateral (or level) flight, they sought exclusive rights to all means for controlling that stability. To their minds the true innovation in their patent was not the specifics of how they twisted the wings, altering the flow of air to effect stable flight, but that fact that you could do this. Thus any means of control by altering the flow of air over the wings would be in violation of their patent.There is no doubt that Wilbur Wright was a meticulous and innovative researcher. His work and insights were laudatory. But having reached controllable manned flight first, he sought to monopolize access to the skies. He used the courts to try and enforce their patent rights and extract crippling license fees ($1000 per plane sold or about 20% of the sale price) from his competitors. Had those competitors simply acquiesced to Wilbur's demands, they would not have been in a position to compete. The Wright brothers would have controlled aviation development world wide for nearly two decades.There were many skilled researchers working world wide on heavier than air flight, (many of them for far longer than the Wrights had been), and they were not going to give in so easily to the Wright's patent infringement claims. Before Kitty Hawk, aviation research had been a competitive but collegial world. The Wrights blew that world apart with their patent war. Their legal wrangling alienated them and stifled American aviation innovation. Wilbur Wright's obsession with the legal battle monopolized his time so that he failed to produce any significant innovations while his competitors strove diligently to further aviation...and their pocket books.Birdmen is a fascinating story that is well told. It has its flaws, and there is nothing new in this retelling, but your time will be well spent getting to know the colorful history of the early days of aviation.
    • 5/5
      Most folks are pretty well aware of Orville and Wilbur Wright and the fact that they catapulted the world into flight. Ohio license plates proclaim “The Birthplace of Aviation” and North Carolina plates proudly declaim “First in Flight.” Everyone is familiar with the picture of Orville in flight with Wilbur cheering him on. But who knows that Glenn Curtiss was nipping at their heels and perhaps even flew before they did? How about Chanute and Otto Lilienthal? And a number of others who contributed greatly to both the realities of flight and the misplaced theories that hampered progress.The book “Birdmen, the Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies” reveals the massive effort by many people in Europe and the United States to solve the problem of putting men into the sky and making such an effort worthwhile. Balloons and dirigibles are visited and examined, gliders tested, power plants built and, most importantly, patents sought and issued that affected the search to make men equal to birds. Today aircraft are built whose wingspans are longer than the first flight by Orville Wright and yet the basic physics remain the same.Here is a book that gathers together the many threads leading to flight and the men who used them to weave a fabric that today envelops the world in a skein of transworld air routes making the world smaller and more accessible with an ease that can only be called remarkable.
    • 4/5
      A well written journal of the history of aeronautics, starting with the development of a successful glider which was the real key to flight. The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville were dabbling in the cycle business when they met Glenn Curtiss, who installed small gas motors onto cycles. They developed a business relationship to put a small light weight gas motor onto a glider, they began too test the aerodynamics of these gliders which was the beginning of the aviation industry.