A rich friend of mine invited me to an event for rich bastards at a 10,000 square foot house here in the Boston suburbs (complete with bowling alley in the basement). The sponsors were Northern Trust and Netjets. The speaker was David McCullough, author of one of my favorite books, The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
McCullough put the Wright Brothers book in context. He conceived it as part of a trilogy about the bridge
McCullough says that he purposely picks topics about which he knows little because learning the history and the technical concepts is an important motivator for him. Reflecting on this trilogy he said that he has become fascinated by the role that adversity plays in developing character and accomplishment: “A lot of history is a lesson in how to cope with failure.” McCullough decried the default emphasis on success stories and pointed out that the Wright Brothers failed countless times before finally succeeding. “You need some adversity to succeed just as birds need a headwind to soar.”
McCullough attributed the success of the Wright Brothers to their home environment, particularly their father encouraging them to read and inquire, effectively giving them an at-home liberal arts education. He also pointed out that Dayton, Ohio at the time had more patents per capita than any other city in the U.S. McCullough said that it was important to study “values learned around the kitchen table” and how that influenced achievement. He said that if could pick just one of the four Wrights to interview (Orville, Wilbur, sister Katharine, or father Milton) it would be the father.
It was an interesting talk, though I wonder how applicable McCullough’s thoughts are to present-day American society. McCullough has been married for 61 years and is touch with all five of his children and 19 grandchildren. “America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012” (census.gov) shows an increasing percentage of American children grow up in single-parent households (see Real World Divorce for how, in a typical state, it is twice as lucrative to have three children with three different co-parents than to have three children with one co-parent). A Wright Brothers childhood, growing up in a household with two biological parents in a neighborhood where all of the other households with children also contained two biological parents (excepting in cases where a parent had died (less upsetting to a child than a divorce)), is no longer available at any price anywhere in the U.S.
The Wright Brothers book is good, but one of his source books, “The Bishop’s Boys” by Tom D. Crouch is much more definitive of both the family and the development of controlled flight. The Wrights were remarkable engineers and almost entirely self taught. A pity they let the patent fights distract them from continuing along this path.
I read the Wright brothers book, based on your recommendation. Wow! What a wonderful book. I also read his Panama Canal book, which was also amazing. Both are highly recommended, particularly for engineers.
As I mentioned in the comments to your earlier review, I felt the book was marred by a poor understanding of the technology of the times – not knowing that natural gas pipelines didn’t exist yet or what a “make or break” engine was, etc. This in turn I attribute to the fact that McCullough probably relied on an army of research assistants – a busy guy like him can make more money giving speeches and he in essence serves as the “brand name” for books that are written mostly by others.
The canal book may be his best. France lost a generation of its technical elite trying to build a sea level canal.