TO CONQUER THE AIR

James Tobin has written an outstanding account of the passions that drove Orville and Wilbur Wright from the bike shop to the air and helped them earn a place in history for first flight. Boyd Gaines reads the work in an appropriate scholarly voice yet manages to capture the excitement that drove the brothers. Gaines reads quotes from each brother with a fitting Midwestern sound. Other characters speak with accents and voices that place them where they belong. Tobin's impeccably researched work reads like a novel, and Gaines's performance takes the work one step farther, turning the piece into a story more exhilarating than most fiction. H.L.S.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 04]