Book excerpt: On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur (1867–1912) and Orville (1871–1948) Wright made the first controlled, sustained flights in a power-driven airplane. Relying on the facilities of a bicycle repair shop in Dayton, Ohio, they had constructed, alone, the world's first flying machines. Miracle at Kitty Hawk , an expert selection of 600 out of 10,000 existing letters, allows the reader to follow the excitement of discovery that kept the Wright brothers working on their incredible invention. With little formal education and the slight business background of selling and repairing bicycles, they overcame the problems that defeated the great scientific minds of the day, dealt with large corporations and governments on their own terms, and were recognized by their contemporaries as geniuses. Whether confronting adverse weather conditions, ensuring secrecy, trying to convince the U.S. government that they had actually flown, fighting patent infringements, or responding to public acclaim, these letters reveal the resourcefulness, good humor, and pluck of America's most famous brothers.