KITE BOOKS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

All the books in this article can be found on Amazon.com or at your favorite local bookstore.

In the past few years, there have been some fine books that you should consider adding to your kite library. Two are from the world of fine art: one features the life and work of Tyrus Wong; the other, the contemporary work of Jacob Hashimoto. If you are at all interested in paper and bamboo kites, On Paper will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about paper. For those of you interested in the history of flight, Falling Upwards is a wonderful, romantic look at the history of ballooning and balloonists, while Birdmen explores the rocky relationship between the Wright Brothers and their early competitors, especially Glenn Curtiss. Finally, there are two books that tangentially relate to the history and use of kites: Frozen in Time describes in accurate detail the use of a Gibson Girl kite system in an arctic survival situation in WWII; Thunderstruck is a real-life murder mystery in which Marconi, his kites, and wireless telegraphy play out in an unbelievable true story.

Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong

Michael Labrie

Published by The Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco

Certainly, just the chapter “Flying Kites” is enough inspiration for most kitemakers and fliers. The diversity of kites, their beauty and functionality – inspirational! But the remainder of the book brings Tyrus’ life work into focus, from Bambi to art after Disney, to toys and kites. Tyrus Wong’s life is an amazing

American success story. Author Michal Labrie says the book offers “an opportunity to encounter this humble charming artist, who, to this day, is unaware of the scope of his talent.”

Superabundant Atmospheres, Jacob Hashimoto

Luca Massimo Barbero

Published by Marsillo Editori, Venice

The amazing sculptural work of Jacob Hashimoto, much of it featuring hundreds of kite-like elements, is humbling to say the least. To admire his vision is understandable, but to imagine the hours, days, and weeks of doing the simple, repetitive actions common to all kitemakers is to realize his work’s grandeur.

On Paper, The Everything of Its Two- Thousand-Year History

Nicholas A. Basbanes

Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York

You won’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth. When I opened this book the first time, it was to page 33 and the schematic drawing of the Japanese paper balloon bomb of World War II.

“Seven manufacturing centers were set up around Tokyo to assemble what was code-named the FU-Go Weapon…with handmade paper selected for the skin of the thirty-two-foot-diameter balloons, six hundred individual sheets required for each one, all glued together in a lamination that made no allowance for gas leakage. The strength of the paper was dependent chiefly upon the fiber which had to be uniform, yet it was necessary to have it be very light. …

Kozo was the obvious choice. For close to two years, hundreds of papermakers were enlisted to the task, and with 13,500 workshops operating in Japan when the war broke out, there were plenty to choose from.”

I didn’t need anything else to convince me that this would be an awesome read, and I’m carrying it today!

Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II

Michael Zuckoff

Published by Harper Perennial, New York

Zuckoff writes a wonderful story of contemporary treasure hunters and the World War II events that motivated their modern adventure to find lost airplanes and bring lost airmen home. This is an exciting read by any standards, but for kite aficionados it provides an accurate description of the use of a Gibson Girl transmitter and kite in an arctic survival situation.“One problem was that a Gibson Girl spoke but didn’t listen; the radio was a transmitter but not a receiver. Still, a lost man with a Gibson girl between his legs had a fighting chance at survival.”

Read this book. But for an interesting evening, find “Island in the Sky” starring John Wayne, it’s a post-WWII movie that follows an aircrew lost in the arctic and features moments using the Gibson Girl.

Thunderstruck

Erik Larson

Published by Broadway Books, New York

This is a book that’s almost eight years old, and I might have mentioned it in an earlier edition of Discourse, but it’s worth mentioning again. Larson is a wonderful author and in his earlier Isaac’s Storm, he touched on many of the personalities in the U.S. Weather Service who were instrumental in the usage of kites for weather research.

In Thunderstruck, he goes into great detail about Gugliermo Marconi and his development of the wireless. But he also tells the true story of a murderer and the detective who tracked him down – using Marconi’s invention as his most invaluable tool. One of the best reads of the last decade, for sure!

Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air

Richard Holmes

Published by Pantheon Books, New York

I was reluctant to pick this book up, and was a happy recipient of it at Christmastime when Ali sent me the hard copy. Virtually nothing to do with kites, but a must read for fans of the birth of flight. Holmes captures the romance and spirit of adventure of early balloonists and clearly tells the story of many of the early pioneers. It was in Holmes’ book that I learned that my English son-in-law’s hometown of Wolverhampton played a serious role in the history of scientific ballooning and was home to ballooning’s highest ascent, over 29,000 feet and possibly as high as 37,000 feet. The mark was set in 1862. Just like environmental factors playing a huge role in kite development, so was Wolverhampton the right environment for these early balloon experiments. It was central in England, so flight to any coast was maximized, and the Stafford Road Gas Works was a willing partner in supplying coal gas for balloon inflation.

Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies

Lawrence Goldstone

Published by Ballantine Books, New York

I need to reread Seth Shulman’s Unlocking the Sky, an informative biography of Glenn Curtiss, to see if Augustus Herring finds as notable a place there as he does in this chronicle of the bitter fight between the

Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtiss. Herring’s role in the battle is bigger than I had thought, and I had completely forgotten that it was he who went into business with Curtiss and had far too much influence in Curtiss’ business. He comes across as a too- well-respected charlatan and deadbeat. Birdmen takes a close look at many of the early pilots who flew for both companies, as well as many of their European rivals – all in front of the backdrop of the Wright-Curtiss legal battles. Anyone interested in early manned flight will enjoy this ride-along with the pioneers. ◆