Skip to main content

Book of the Month - The Wright Brothers

On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot.

Who were these men and how was it that they achieved what they did?

David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the surprising, profoundly American story of Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success, they were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity, much of which they attributed to their upbringing. The house they lived in had no electricity or indoor plumbing, but there were books aplenty, supplied mainly by their preacher father, and they never stopped reading.

When they worked together, no problem seemed to be insurmountable. Wilbur was unquestionably a genius. Orville had such mechanical ingenuity as few had ever seen. That they had no more than a public high school education, little money and no contacts in high places, never stopped them in their mission to take to the air. Nothing did, not even the self-evident reality that every time they took off in one of their contrivances, they risked being killed.
-Excerpt courtesy of goodreads.com.


You can see all our new books on the New Books page.

Comments

Archive

Show more

Popular posts from this blog

Texas Wildflowers

This time of year wildflowers are everywhere. Of course Texas is most famous for its bluebonnets, but there are lots of varieties of wildflowers out there. Most people know that Ladybird Johnson was responsible for the Texas Wildflower Program, but not everyone knows that it continues to this day. TxDOT continues to sow wildflower seeds everywhere, beautifying the highways of Texas. Mowing is only done during this time when necessary for public safety. Great for the environment and great for the scenery! Get more information on the program , or check out the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center . To find them and see for yourself, get sighting info from Wild About Texas  Wildflower: Sightings . See some great Texas wildflower pix at Flickr .

Get Your Green On for Earth Day!

April 22nd is Earth day. Get the best books, eBooks, articles, media and open access sources on going green.  Go to the guide . Features Find out what you can do at home and work--including several carbon footprint calculators & how to offset. Get books & eBooks on climate change and things you can do about it. Stream a video from Films on Demand on fracking, Shattered Ground .

New LibGuide: Careers & Employment

COM Library has a brand new guide, Careers & Employment!  Go to the guide . Here are some of the resources available from COM Library: -Learning Express Job & Career Accelerator has interactive wizards that guide students through each step of the career building process, from exploring occupations and finding jobs to preparing resumes, completing job applications, and improving job search skills. Available on or off campus. -Fantastic streaming videos from Films on Demand that coach student on everything from interviews to the top careers in two years. These are available on or off campus. -Lots of books and eBooks on careers, resumes, interviewing, job skills and more. eBooks available on or off campus. -Links to good quality relevant web sites. In addition to our great COM Library resources, there are links to lots of COM resources such as work study and career services.