Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Wright Brothers"

We as humans like to simplify the complicated, which keeps the mind muscles calmer, if not correct.

History is often simplified because occurrences that matter are often extremely complicated and rarely the clean, concise version we would prefer.

When most of us think of the Wright Brothers and the initial flight of mankind at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, it's about a few feet flown in the air and the rest is history. The rest is history, and therein lays the beauty of David McCullough's book.

That first flight was so far removed from the rigors of making air travel common, one sighs at the elongated process Wilber and Orville Wright endured to make their dream of flying a reality for all.

The involvement of the French government and people; the reluctance of the U.S. government to support the Wrights; those who sought to say the Wrights were not first; those who laughed at the thought of flight; those who were part of the first flight support crew all make for some read.

As always, McCullough can spin the tale in the most human way. Perseverance has its rewards, but also its costs as evidenced by this book.

"Don't know how I kept going. You just do. You have to, so you do."
― Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity

Here's a recommendation from Kate Powell, member of the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Board of Directors and Trustees.

"For readers who enjoy well-written thrillers, Tana French's novels never disappoint. Her latest, 'The Secret Place' is set in an all-girls boarding school outside Dublin, where a boy from a neighboring school has been found murdered. Like all the books set around French's characters from the Dublin Murder Squad, it is a perfectly paced, well-plotted read. And don't be snobbish about the 'thriller' genre. I devoured it."

Kate, this has got beach sand written all over it. Thanks.

Here is the list from the NEW YORK TIMES of June's best selling sports books.

1. THE BOYS IN THE BOAT by Daniel James Brown
2. UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand
3. SLAYING THE TIGER by Shane RYAN
4. MY FIGHT / YOUR FIGHT by Ronda Rousey with Maria Burns Ortiz
5. THE SECRET OF GOLF by Joe Posnanski
6. THE A SWING by David Leadbetter with Ron Kaspriske
7. MEN IN GREEN by Michael Bamberger
8. BEN HOGAN'S FIVE LESSONS by Ben Hogan with Herbert Warren Wind; drawings by Anthony Ravielli
9. MOLINA by Bengie Molina with Joan Ryan
10.EVERY DAY I FIGHT by Stuart Scott with Larry Platt
11. HOW CHAMPIONS THINK by Bob Rotella with Bob Cullen

READ ON!!

Gary Thorne is the play-by-play voice of the Orioles on MASN, and the 2015 season is his ninth with the club and 30th covering Major League Baseball. His blog will appear regularly throughout the season. The Orioles and Sarasota County have partnered on the Big League Reader Program, which rewarded kids who read three books in February with tickets to a Grapefruit League game at Ed Smith Stadium in March.

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne. © Copyright 2015 Gary F. Thorne. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Gary F. Thorne and MASNsports.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.