This lavish volume is published to coincide with 'The Wright Brothers Legacy' an exhibition organised by the Dayton Art Institute. The main book consists of 250 illustrations, most of which I had not seen before, accompanied by a succinct text. This makes me wish I had seen the exhibition. There are some lovely touches like the first aerial photograph made in America, which the Dayton Daily News declined to publish because there were no people in the picture. Another fascinating story is of Frank J. Southard who was so unco-ordinated that the Wrights refused to let him take the plane he had purchased in 1912. They locked it a hangar. The intrepid owner picked the lock, got his machine out and 'dashed to his death at Simms flying grounds. He was the first to lose his life there.' 

This is the caption to a great picture of the wreckage. As so often before I noticed that famous flyers tend to be wiry short men. Sister Katherine, who tried never to miss a photo call, seems taller than Wilbur and Orville, even without her voluminous hat. While neither of the two books lays claim to be a complete biography, they both appealed to me.