2003 is of course the centenary of the Wright Brothers' maiden powered flight, and a number of books have appeared to celebrate this. This one is taken from the papers in the Royal Aeronautical Society's Library (Brian Riddle being the Librarian). It is a wonderful commentary from the time of the first flight and the subsequent patent disputes, followed by continuous arguments with the Smithsonian and, seemingly a multitude of other people who tried to pirate their ideas. In today's climate, it amazes me that people had the time to write such long and interesting letters a hundred years ago. Thank goodness they have been preserved for posterity - will our descendants be so lucky with our CDs and floppy disks? This is a valuable historical document that I enjoyed reading, especially the contributions from Katherine Wright, the very stern-faced sister.