The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

I have enjoyed a couple of other of historian David McCullough's books, and think he is a good story teller. This biography, which is not just about Wilbur and Orville, but also about the family that nurtured them and the time in which they lived, is fascinating when considering the components in the story that led to their ultimate success. It starts with their parents. Susan Wright was the daughter of a carriage maker. Growing up in her father’s workshop she had learned to design and build things. It was she who taught the boys to notice how things worked, how to draw out plans for things before building them, and how to use tools. She taught them about wind resistance when they were designing and building a sled together. Their father encouraged them to explore as well. Another thing that makes this book interesting is the way it illustrates how one project or invention led to another. First it was building a sled. Then they built a rudder to steer it. When the snow melted they built a wagon using wheels from discarded tricycles. Next they built and flew kites. Next, a chair for their mother. When it became Will’s job to fold copies of the newspaper their father edited and their church published, they invented a machine to fold the newspapers. Next was a toy helicopter, then a printing press. Since a printing press is useless without something to print they began a newspaper, The West Side Tatler. They sold advertising and saved all their profits. Then they needed bicycles to deliver the papers, so they built them out of discarded bicycle parts. They became more interested in building bicycles than writing and selling newspapers so they opened a bicycle shop. You can see where this is going. It’s a good lesson for us mothers on how children’s interests, when nurtured in the right kind of environment and with the guidance and encouragement of an understanding parent, can lead those children into successful careers. I love the way this book shows that this invention of an airplane, which changed the world and the future of everyone in it, was something that grew out of the skills and interests and habits learned within the context of their family. The author does not explore the question of whether of not the brothers were neurotypical, but I suspect at least Wilbur was not--and the importance of that for fostering innovation now and in the future.