Dawn Over Kitty Hawk: The Novel of the Wright Brothers

by Walter J. Boyne

The names Wilbur and Orville Wright stand out in history as the inventors of the airplane, but lost in history are those who in the closing years of the nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth shared the same passion: to develop the first powered aircraft. Some spent entire lives and fortunes chasing the dream, including men like the embittered Augustus Herring, who'd flown a heavier than air machine for several seconds in 1898; the pompous Samuel Pierpont Langley, of the Smithsonian Institution, who was backed by the US War Department, and even the legendary American inventor Alexander Graham Bell. These men, along with European competitors such as Louis Blériot, chased what many believed to be the impossible dream of manned, powered flight. But the Wright Brothers were the first to succeed, thanks to a combination of courage, genius, and downright stubbornness! Many followed in their footsteps, including such arch-competitors as Glenn Curtiss.

The Wright Brothers' father was a huge factor who dominated their lives, trying to control their every thought and action. A bishop of the United Brethren Church, Milton Wright wanted his sons to succeed in their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, not risk their lives. Bishop Wright saw no reason for his sons to risk everything on an isolated, windy beach in faraway North Carolina a beach called Kitty Hawk. He tried to quash their dream, but Orville and Wilbur rebelled, ultimately proving the impossible by flying on December 17, 1903. They brought the dawn of aviation, the industry that dominated the twentieth century and set the stage for the space race.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Aviation, Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2003

Reviews

[Deanna Lack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been to the Wright Memorial at Kitty Hawk, and highly recommend that visit if you're not far from the outer banks. But, naturally, the info you get there is all about the visits to NC and the historic date of the actual first flight.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book goes beyond that. You get a lot of details about the other people who were competing with the Wright brothers to be first in the air, and the book doesn't end on December 17, 1903... what was life like after the first flight? As you might expect, reality set in.

I enjoyed the fact that the author, an Air Force pilot, does not get bogged down in technical details, although you get a pretty good picture of how the Flyer developed before and after the first flight.

I came away from Kitty Hawk amazed that in 70 years we went from just learning how to control an aircraft's pitch, roll and yaw... to using the same principles on the space shuttle.

If you have any interest in aviation at all, I'd recommend this one.

[Lynn Pribus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. While it's a novel, it also gives lots of information on the early days of flying and it's NOT all about the Wright Brothers. It brings in Glenn Curtiss and his bicycle shop up in Hammondsport, NY, and Samuel Langley, then secretary of the Smithsonian, whose attempts to fly his "Aerodrome" met with repeated failures and crashes into the Potomac.

I was surprised just how many others were involved with their own efforts to get into the air with powered flight -- on both sides of the Atlantic. The Wrights spent much time on the Outer Banks with gliders before they even tried powered flight.

It DOES spend a lot of time with Wilbur and Orville, their overbearing father, and their windy seasons on the Outer Banks as they first flew gliders and finally succeeded with powered flight.

A number of airfields and AFBs were named for some of those aviation pioneers. Wright Field in Dayton, of course, but also Chanute, Langley, and Selfridge and probably some others.

Nicely done book. Very much enhanced with my occasional forays into Google Images.

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting look at just how difficult it was to build a flying machine when there was nothing to start with. It also offers a look into the Wright's family and how the brothers loved each other and their family. There is the interesting interplay with others who a trying to build heavier than air flyers. I enjoyed this book very much.

[Chris Tschirhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by the book and the details about the other people who were competing with the Wright brothers to be first in the air, I also like that the book goes beyond the first flight and what they had to do to defend their invention afterward. If true and the book is based on letters and records there are some interesting revelations about their family life. In a manner the brothers developed their own scientific process and engineering processes to achieve flight. I enjoyed the interplay of how the brothers debated and worked together never abandoning their goal.

Your are taken through a good progression of the how the Flyer developed before and after the first flight.

If you have any interest in aviation at all, I'd recommend this one.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had been on my shelf for years and I finally got around to reading it. You do not have to be an aviation buff to enjoy this. The story is captivating.....as a story about the first flight(s) should be! A truly remarkable advancement for humankind. The author makes the dialogue amongst the Wright Brothers, their family and associates believable. This is not a book I recommend for 'night time reading' as I usually fall asleep reading; but a book you are alert for as to follow the historical timeline.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical of the recreated dialogue at first, which shows up early in the book, but it turns out the author does not lean too heavily on what must be mostly imagined dialogue, and instead tells the story in smooth third party narration which is based on letters and records and is reliable. He also brings to light facts that I had not seen in other books, for example, the plot of Bloum against Wilber, and Orville’s idea to fix the balance problem on their Flyer by extending the elevator further forward, which he links to a Hoffman Prarie crash. Overall a very enjoyable and informative read.

[Todd Burleson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read pretty much everything written about the Wright Brothers, but this book was different. For the first time I feel like I 'know' the brothers in a way I never had. Like any good book of historical fiction, you know how it ends, but it didn't stop me from cheering them on. I read this book in three days and if I could have stayed awake non stop would have done so in 24 hours. If you are a fan of the Wright Brothers this is for you!

[Jane Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting historical novel that tries to fill in the gaps that are provide by history with fiction. Because I have spent many summers on Hatteras Island, which is near Kitty Hawk, I enjoyed reading about the 'way things were' in a place I am familiar with today. The story is nicely told, but not too terribly exciting, unless you are into the history of flight or the Kitty Hawk area.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know. seemed interesting. then when I got into it I really lost interest as the story had a lot of added fluff to make it a proper "novel". I just rather have something more factual I guess. they are definitely a set of brothers which deserve to have much written about them, but I wouldn't do it this way.....

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good novel of the Wright Brothers and how they managed to achieve heavier than air powered flight.
I have also read a couple of histories about them earlier. The Bishop's Boys by Tom Crouch, is a good one.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much better than I thought it was going to be going into it ...

[Angi Jewell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a lot, but kind of felt like I trudged through most of it.

[Federico Kereki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good story of the first years of aviation, including not only the Wright brothers, but their competitors as well. A nice read, that reminded me of Martin Caidin's excellent books.

[Ellen Marchessault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of mechanical details, but an enjoyable read, especially since I visited Kitty Hawk last fall! Now on to the new McCullough biography...