Unlocking the Sky

Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane

By: Seth Shulman

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Paperback | 16 September 2003

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.32 x 11.43 x 1.27

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The first public flight in the United States. The first commercially sold airplane. The remarkable first flight from one American city to another. The first pilot license issued in this country. These were just a few of the milestones in the career of Glenn Hammond Curtiss, perhaps the greatest aviator and aeronautical inventor of all time.
While Orville and Wilbur Wright threw a veil of secrecy over their own flying machine at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903, Curtiss teamed up with engineers in America and abroad, freely exchanging information in an attempt to resolve the most difficult challenges in constructing a reliable and stable airplane. In 1908, Curtiss piloted his groundbreaking June Bug in the first public flight in America. Fiercely jealous, the Wright brothers took to the courts to keep Curtiss and his airplanes out of the sky and off the market.

Industry Reviews

"[A] compelling revision of aviation history." -- Houston Chronicle

"Shulman tells a fascinating, fast-paced story and does an admirable job of balancing the historical scales. " -- American History

"Great storytelling and a knack for rekindling all-but-forgotten historic scenes." -- Boston Globe

"An enlightening exploration of the dissonance of history and mythology." -- New York Times Book Review

"Shulman has written a captivating story ... of aviation's earliest days." -- St. Paul Star-Tribune

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