The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (2015. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-147672874)
Masterpieces: The Path Between the Seas. John Adams. 1776. The Wright Brothers? Not so much. I’ve read the first three titles, all great works of non-fiction by Mr. McCullough, and was held spellbound through each of them. Perhaps it is the epic nature of the subject matter of those tales. Or, in the case of the building of the Panama Canal, the exotic locale. But more than that, I think, McCullough’s other works involved characters of great interest: Men (and in the case of John Adams’s wife (Abigail) a woman) whose stories, when set against their timeframes, made those non-fiction works read like great literature rather than fact-driven histories. Unfortunately, either Orville and Wilbur Wright were two of the brightest yet dullest human beings on the planet or the author missed some juicy narratives and salacious gossip that would have made this book more compelling. Given David McCullough’s credentials as a researcher and writer, I’m fairly certain that his study of the Wrights, including The Bishop (their father) and Katherine (their sister) is spot on. That leaves us with a detailed and sometimes interesting rendition of the invention of the airplane and not much else. It’s not McCullough’s fault the Wright Brothers were so damn boring. They just were.
My copy of the book was given to me by a guy who, though having lived and made history, was once labeled by news pundits to be, well, somewhat dull and uninteresting. Knowing the former U.S. Senator, Vice-President, and Ambassador to Japan personally, having been the brunt of his wry, sometimes sardonic wit, I have to disagree: Walter “Fritz” Mondale is an interesting character, a point made clear in his memoir, The Good Fight. (The Good Fight: A Life in Liberal Politics by Walter F. Mondale with David Hage (2010; Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4391-5866-1)). Fritz handed McCullough’s book to me at a cabin in Ontario and said “Give it a read and let me know what you think.” He also hinted that the book wasn’t all that exciting a read. I disagree to a point. I found the book well researched and written but, as I’ve said, somewhat thin when it came to exposing the inner lives of the book’s principal subjects. In fairness, the author did make me care about The Bishop (Milton Wright) and Katherine. Those two personages, rather than the brothers themselves, make for intriguing inquiry. Again, the lack of character examination and revelation concerning the brothers is likely due to the fact that, beyond being determined inventors, fine mechanics, skilled flyers, and gifted innovators the Wright Brothers were not especially compelling human beings.
My major criticism of the book concerns the ending. Readers are guided by the narrative to 1910, on the cusp of the Great War, which any historian or student of history knows was the first war involving combat aircraft. It would have been a far better ending to the Wrights’ story if the author had given us the history of how the fragile Wright Flyer, which barely cleared the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk in 1903, became a stable and reliable machine capable of great destruction in the space of only a decade. There are hints of this history in the book but they are only that: wisps of rumor and regret. Also, after spending 250 pages exploring the solitary and unexciting (save for their inventiveness) lives of the Wright Brothers, their respective ends are given fairly short shrift. The brothers grew up the sons of a Bishop in the United Brethren Church and a bit more examination of their faith, especially towards the end of their lives, would have added necessary humanity; flesh to their bones, as it were.
Fritz Mondale is an astute man. This book is well written but lacks the drama and characterizations of its subjects that would make it a “must” read. I learned much about the invention of the Wright Flyer but not so much about the men behind the machine.
3 and 1/2 stars of 5.
Peace.
Mark
