I don’t normally write book reviews. I used to dislike writing book reports in high school. It seemed so anti-climactic to dissect a book that I had just enjoyed getting lost in. Ever since then, I have avoided writing about the books I read. However, I enjoyed this book so much I just had to tell you about it.

As with most of the books I read these days, this came to me through Louise’s used book sales for charity. She noticed it and showed it to me. The title and cover immediately intrigued me, “The FLYERS, in Search of Wilbur & Orville Wright.” I have read my share about Orville and Wilbur’s amazing contribution to aviation and of course the first flight of their Wright Flyer, and I didn’t want to read more of the same. But what was meant by “in Search of Wilbur & Orville”? So, I launched into the first chapter to find out.

Author Noah Adams got me hooked within about 10 pages. This is indeed a book about Wilbur and Orville Wright and their incredible adventures, but Noah goes ten steps further than your average biographer. Most of the book covers the 1902 to 1910 time period in which Wilbur and Orville built and flew numerous “Flyers” and traveled the globe demonstrating their magnificent machines.

What makes the book so great for me is the way Adams describes his journeys along the same paths followed by the Wright brothers in an attempt to understand them and why they did what they did. Along the way, he provides deep insights into their lives and experiences.

Here is an excerpt from the dust jacket: “..a journey that takes him across the country as he follows in the footsteps of the famous brothers in an attempt to know them more deeply, not just as inventors and pilots but as individuals as well. Adams, one of our most distinctive and talented storytellers, traveled thousands of miles and interviewed scores of experts and individuals to piece together his story.”

Adams traveled to the Outer Banks at Kitty Hawk and retraced the Wrights’ footsteps on December 17th, 1903, to Fort Myers where Orville spent two years demonstrating Flyers to the US Army, to Paris where Wilbur spent two years demonstrating Flyers and competing for prize money. He visited every place the Wrights flew their airplanes.

This book is really well written and provides a very interesting view of the first few years of powered aviation, and some very interesting insight into the Wright brothers and what they really accomplished.

This is an excellent read and certainly well worth the sale price of $4.99 at Indigo-Chapters.ca.