13A-The Wright Brothers

1. Honestly, through reading the book, one thing that really surprised me was how Wilbur died. I had no idea that Orville went on to live for so long after his brother, or also that Octave Chanute was such an influence upon them. He should really be remembered more for his accomplishment.
I really admired how dedicated to their craft both brothers seemed to be. They would spend days, weeks, months working on something. Propellers were especially difficult for them, but they both came through and designed something to be proud of that would evolve into something truly revolutionary and used throughout the world. They were determined, set themselves on a mission, and accomplished the seemingly impossible.
One thing that I didn’t really admire was how the brothers seemed to be somewhat arrogant. Both brothers, especially Wilbur, seemed quick to put down the accomplishments of others.
Yes, the Wright brothers encountered adversity and failure. There was a lot of bad press about them, especially in Europe. The book states that “For a long time, for too long a time, the Wright brothers have been accused in Europe of bluff…” (Coming from the French). However, their detractors would go on to provide the brothers with much acclaim.

2. They were both hard workers and made sure that everything came through, relying not on luck but on completion and dedication. Nothing came necessarily easy to them, and they earned the admiration and respect of billions. They were very competent in presentation, but not so much in social skills. They were both able to concentrate extraordinarily well, which the author attributes to their father.

3. I didn’t really not understand anything in the book, but I do wonder why the Wright Brothers are so well known for their work, but rarely for their personal life. I feel like this book bridged the gap and discussed everything about them in great detail, which was truly wonderful.

4. How were you able to stay so dedicated, even in the face of adversary and failure? I often find myself unable to stick to something for more than a week at a time, and I am just amazed at how you were able to devote so much time and energy to one cause.
How were you able to deal with the risk? Flying would be very dangerous, how did you deal with going about it and making sure that you wouldn’t die?

5. Hard work was very important to the Wright Brothers, but they didn’t treat it like a chore.  Working kept them happy, and they worked together, aware that each brother had his own skills to bring to the project at hand. They worked for the “great aim in life”, putting their whole heart and soul into an idea and working to make sure that it comes through successfully.v