Conquering the Sky: The Secret Flights of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk

Despite their great achievements following their first powered flights in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright still enjoyed virtual anonymity until 1908. In seven crucial days in May of that year, however, the eyes of the world were suddenly cast upon them as they sought lucrative government contracts for their flying technology and then had to prove the capabilities of their machines. In these pivotal moments, the brothers were catapulted into unwanted worldwide fame as the international press discovered and followed their covert flight tests, and reported their every move using rudimentary telegraphs and early forms of photography. From the brothers' rise to fame on the historic Outer Banks, to the quickly expanding role of the world press and the flights' repercussions in war and military technology, Tise weaves a fascinating tale of a key turning point in the history of flight.

Table of Contents:
Prologue: To Old Point Comfort Return to the Soaring Place Of Swaggerers and Scribes Mixed Messages from Manteo The Seventh Day in May Aftermath: The Elusive Wrights The Brothers Wright on Separate Shores The World Aloft

About the Author :
DR. LARRY E. TISE is an author and historian. Due to his unique research on the lives of the Wright brothers, he was appointed Wilbur and Orville Wright Distinguished Professor at East Carolina University, USA in 2000, a post he continues to hold. He is the author of more than 50 articles and books and the founder of World Aloft, an extensive website dedicated to the Wright Brothers. He lives in Philadelphia.

Review :
'Larry Tise takes us back to six weeks in the spring of 1908 when Wilbur and Orville Wright returned to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was a critically important period, when the brothers would fly for the first time in over two and one half years, carry the world's first aircraft passenger aloft, test a new set of controls and prepare to demonstrate their machine to a waiting world. Wilbur and Orville, the local residents of the Outer Banks, and the newsmen who seek to break one of the great new stories of the century come to life in these pages.'- Dr. Tom D. Crouch, Senior Curator (Aeronautics), Smithsonian Institution and author of The Bishop's Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright 'Larry E. Tise has been able to punctually disclose a very important and so far completely unknown period in the life's work of the Wright Brothers. The well-detailed and entertaining book, the result of very intensive spadework and empathy, had me on the edge of my seat.'- Gerard J. van Heusden, Historian, The Netherlands