"For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man. My disease has increased in severity and I feel that it will soon cost me an increased amount of money if not my life."
So wrote a quiet young Ohioan in 1900, one in an ancient line of men who had wanted to fly - wanted it passionately, fecklessly, hopelessly. But at the turn of the twentieth century, Wilbur Wright and a scattered handful of other adventurers conceived a conviction that the dream lay at last within reach, and in a headlong race across ten years and two continents, they competed to conquer the air. James Tobin, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography, has at last given this inspiring story its definitive telling.
For years Wright and his younger brother, Orville, experimented in utter obscurity. Meanwhile, the world watched as the imperious Samuel Langley, armed with a rich contract from the U. S. War Department and all the resources of the Smithsonian Institution, sought to create the first manned flying machine. While Langley became obsessed with flight as a problem of power, the Wrights grappled with it as a problem of balance. Thus their machines took two very different paths - one toward oblivion, the other toward the heavens.
To Conquer the Air is a hero's tale of overcoming obstacles within and without. It is the story of mankind's most wondrous technological achievement; and it is an account of the mystery of creativity and character. Years later, Orville Wright would remark to Charles Lindbergh: "No one quite understands the spirit and conditions of those times." In the centennial year of human flight. To Conquer the Air is itself a heroic achievement.
Author : Kristen Breitweiser
Peformed By : Kristen Breitweiser
Published By : Hachette Audio
Runtime : 6 hours
Type : Women Autobiography Historical Politics
$29.98 $20.99
"Sweets, I'm okay. I'm okay. Don't worry... It's not my building. " Kristen didn't know what he was saying. He told her to turn on the television... More info...
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Author : Dr. Paul M. Heidger and Richard Eimas
Peformed By : Edwin Newman
Published By : Blackstone Audio Inc
Runtime : 3 hours
Type : Ancient Historical
$12.95
Though medical science began with the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, dissection, and the study of the human body was prohibited for religious reasons until the Renaissance. In 1623, William H... More info...
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Author : Cokie Roberts
Peformed By : Cokie Roberts
Published By : Harper Collins US
Runtime : 6 hours
Type : American Social & Economic Biographical Historical Women
$29.95 $16.95
Cokie Roberts brings to life the women who raised our nation. More info...
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Author : Plato
Peformed By : Full Cast Production
Published By : Select Music & Distribution
Runtime : 4 hours 40 minutes
Type : Philosophy Ancient Biographical Historical
$18.75
The trial and death of Socrates remains a powerful document not least because it gives a first-hand account of the end of one of the greatest figures in history. More info...
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Author : D J Britton
Peformed By : Various
Published By : BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Runtime : 1 hour 30 minutes
Type : Autobiography Arts & Drama Historical Biographical British
$13.49
A quizzical look at the life and legend of celebrated poet Dylan Thomas, through the critical eyes of the infamous Chelsea Hotel... More info...
Written By : Pete McCarthy
Narrated By : Pete McCarthy
Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks
Length : 2 hours
Type : Autobiography Biographical Travel
Price : $16.75
The audio of the million-selling book - Pete McCarthy's hilarious journey in search of his Irish roots.
McCarthy's tale of his hilarious trip around Ireland has gained thousands of fans all over the world.
Pete was born in Warrington to an Irish mother and an English father and spent happy summer holidays in Cork. Years later, reflecting on the many places he has visited as a travel broadcaster, Pete admits that he feels more at home in Ireland than anywhere. To find out whether this is due to rose-coloured spectacles or to a deeper tie with the country of his ancestors, Pete sets off on a trip around Ireland and discovers that it has changed in surprising ways.
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