Unlocking the Sky: Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane

This compelling nonfiction work explores the fierce rivalry between aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Wright brothers in the early 20th-century race to invent and dominate powered flight. Written by science journalist Seth Shulman, the book draws on historical sources to illuminate Curtiss’s pivotal role in shaping aviation history—often overlooked due to the Wrights’ aggressive pursuit of patents and legal control.

At its core, Unlocking the Sky delves into the broader debate between open innovation and monopolistic ownership in technological progress. The narrative reveals how Curtiss, a fearless innovator and risk-taker, helped launch modern aviation through his engineering genius, while contending with relentless legal battles initiated by the Wrights.

The book is both a biography and a legal-technical chronicle, reflecting the creative and commercial forces that defined America’s earliest aviation breakthroughs.

By Seth Shulman
Hardcover with dust jacket | ISBN 0-06-019633-5