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From acclaimed historian Lawrence Goldstone comes a thrilling narrative of courage, determination, and competition: the story of the intense rivalry that fueled the rise of American aviation. The feud between this nation's great air pioneers, the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss, was a collision of unyielding and profoundly American personalities. On one side, a pair of tenacious siblings who together had solved the centuries-old riddle of powered, heavier-than-air flight. On the other, an audacious motorcycle racer whose innovative aircraft became synonymous in the public mind with death-defying stunts. For more than a decade, they battled each other in court, at air shows, and in the newspapers. The outcome of this contest of wills would shape the course of aviation history - and take a fearsome toll on the men involved.



About the Author

Lawrence Goldstone

Lawrence Goldstone is the author of more than a dozen books of both fiction and non-fiction. Six of those books were co-authored with his wife, Nancy, but they now write separately to save what is left of their dishes.Goldstone's articles, reviews, and opinion pieces have appeared in, among other publications, the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Hartford Courant, and Berkshire Eagle. He has also written for a number of magazines that have gone bust, although he denies any cause and effect. His first novel, Rights, won a New American Writing Award but he now cringes at its awkward prose. (Anatomy of Deception, The Astronomer, and Murtro's Niche are much better.) Despite a seemingly incurable tendency to say what's on his mind (thus mortifying Nancy) , Goldstone has been widely interviewed on both radio and television, with appearances on, among others, Diane Rehm (NPR) , "Fresh Air" (NPR) , "To the Best of Our Knowledge" (NPR) , "The Faith Middleton Show" (NPR) , "Tavis Smiley" (PBS) , and Leonard Lopate (WNYC) . His work has also been profiled in The New York Times, The Toronto Star, numerous regional newspapers, Salon, and Slate. Goldstone holds a PhD in American Constitutional Studies from the New School. His friends thus call him DrG, although he can barely touch the rim. (Sigh. Can't make a layup anymore either.) He and his beloved bride founded and ran an innovative series of parent-child book groups, which they documented in Deconstructing Penguins. He has also been a teacher, lecturer, senior member of a Wall Street trading firm, taxi driver, actor, quiz show contestant, and policy analyst at the Hudson Institute. He is an unerring stock picker. Everything he buys instantly goes down.For those with insatiable curiosity, you can learn more at www.lawrencegoldstone.com



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