It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:
- Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.
- The Friday 56 hosted by My Head is Full of Books,
where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find
one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
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Page 56: I missed my friends from Oberlin, the thrilling discussions of world events, of traveling and gossip and the latest fashions.
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My thoughts: Katharine Wright played an integral part in the success of her brothers, Wilbur and Orville. She contributed important ideas that helped lead to the creation of their flying machine and their world-wide recognition. In addition to her practical ideas for perfecting the aircraft, she supported them behind the scenes—procuring materials and communicating on their behalf. Katharine was totally devoted to her brothers at great personal cost. She sacrificed her own desires and opportunities to make her brothers' dream of flight come true.
While the story includes an example of the age-old saying—behind every successful man there's a woman—I enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at the dynamics of the Wright family and learning more about the historic events of their time.
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From Goodreads: She helped her brothers soar… but was the flight worth the fall?
It
all started with two boys and a bicycle shop. Wilbur and Orville
Wright, both unsuited to college and disinclined to leave home, jumped
on the popular new fad of bicycle riding and opened a shop in Dayton,
Ohio. Repairing and selling soon led to tinkering and building as the
brothers offered improved models to their eager customers. Amid their
success, a new dream began to take shape. Engineers across the world
were puzzling over how to build a powered flying machine—and Wilbur and
Orville wanted in on the challenge. But their younger sister, Katharine,
knew they couldn't do it without her. The three siblings made a pact—the
three of them would solve the problem of human flight.
As her
brothers obsessed over blueprints and risked life and limb testing new
models on the sand beaches of North Carolina, Katharine became the
mastermind behind the scenes of their inventions. She sourced materials,
managed communications, and kept Wilbur and Orville focused on their
goal—even when it seemed hopeless. And in 1903, the Wright brothers made
the first controlled, sustained flight of humankind.
What
followed was the kind of fame and fortune the Wrights had never
imagined. The siblings traveled the world to demonstrate their
invention, trained other pilots, and built new machines that could fly
higher and farther. But at the height of their success, tragedy wrenched
the Wright family apart… and forced Katharine to make an impossible
choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
From
internationally bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood, Katharine, the
Wright Sister is an unforgettable novel that shines a spotlight on one
of the most important and overlooked women in history, and the
sacrifices she made so that others might fly.
Was she really a sister of the famous brothers? I never knew about her and I read a whole book about the brothers.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised too--and they also had two other brothers.
DeleteIt's nice to see that this book features a time period I haven't seen explored widely in historical fiction.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Deb. Much more attention is paid to the world wars.
DeleteI'm glad you featured this one. Didn't know that the Wright brothers had a sister - not that surprising as women were usually behind the scenes and their contributions not well known at all. Thanks for telling about it!
ReplyDeleteSo true, Kay. She was every bit their equal--if not more--and a graduate of Oberlin who taught Latin (at her father's insistence--she wanted to major in English and study literature) on the high school level, after initially being overlooked for the position because a man with a family had also applied.
DeleteSo true, Kay. She was every bit their equal--if not more--and a graduate of Oberlin who taught Latin (at her father's insistence--she wanted to major in English and study literature) on the high school level, after initially being overlooked for the position because a man with a family had also applied.
DeleteOther the basics I know very little about the Wright brothers and nothing about the sister. This sounds fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThey were an interesting family, Katherine. I didn't know anything about the members other than Wilbur and Orville--and my knowledge of Wilbur and Orville was very scant.
DeleteThat's why I like to read historical fiction. When it's well-researched it gives a fascinating look into the past.