Even though you'll have to leave cyberspace to access this material, your brief dip into reality will prove worthwhile.
Books that provide a broad background on the invention of the airplane, intended for the general reader.
Crouch, T.D. (1989a). The Bishop's Boys A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Crouch, T.D. (1989b). A Dream of Wings Americans and the Airplane 1875- 1905. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Gibbs-Smith, C.H. (1974). The Rebirth of European Aviation 1902-1908. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Roseberry, C. R. (1972). Glenn Curtiss, Pioneer of Flight. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Books and articles that provide more detailed information about technical aspects of aviation and invention.
Bradshaw, G.L. (1992). The airplane and the logic of invention. In R.N. Giere (Ed.), Cognitive Models of Science. Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota Press.
Combs, H., & Caidin, M. (1979). Kill Devil Hill. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company
Howard, F. (1987). Wilbur and Orville A Biography of the Wright Brothers. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Gibbs-Smith, C. (1966). The Invention of the Aeroplane, 1799-1909. London: Faber & Faber.
Jakab, P.L. (1990). Visions of a Flying Machine. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
McFarland, M.W. (1953). The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright: Including the Chanute-Wright Letters and Other Papers of Octave Chanute. New York: McGraw- Hill.
Wolko, H. S. (1987). The Wright Flyer An Engineering Perspective. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
This is by no means a complete listing, but provides some highlights for those who want to learn more about the invention of the airplane
Bradshaw, G.L. (1992). The airplane and the logic of invention. In R.N. Giere (Ed.), Cognitive Models of Science. Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota Press.
Combs, H., & Caidin, M. (1979). Kill Devil Hill. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company
Curtiss, G.H. (1912). The Curtiss Aviation Book. Stokes.
Crouch, T.D. (1982). Blériot XI The Story of a Classic Aircraft. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Crouch, T.D. (1989a). The Bishop's Boys A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Crouch, T.D. (1989b). A Dream of Wings Americans and the Airplane 1875- 1905. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Dollfus, C. & Bouche, H. (1980). Histoire de L'Aeronautique. Reprint of 1942 edition published by L'Illustration. New York: Arno Press.
Howard, F. (1987). Wilbur and Orville A Biography of the Wright Brothers. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Gibbs-Smith, C. (1966). The Invention of the Aeroplane, 1799-1909. London: Faber & Faber.
Gibbs-Smith, C.H. (1968). Clement Ader His Flight-Claims and his Place in History. London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Gibbs-Smith, C.H. (1974). The Rebirth of European Aviation 1902-1908. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Hallion, R. P. (Ed.) (1978). The Wright Brothers: Heirs of Prometheus Washington, DC: The Smithsonian Institution.
Jakab, P.L. (1990). Visions of a Flying Machine. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Jarrett, P. (1987). Another Icarus: Percy Pilcher and the Quest for Flight. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Kelly, F. C. (Ed.). How we invented the airplane An illustrated history. New York: Dover Publications Inc.
Kelly, F. C. (1951). Miracle at Kitty Hawk The letters of Wilbur and Orville Wright. New York: Farrar, Straus and Young.
Kelly, F. C. (1943). The Wright brothers: A biography authorized by Orville Wright. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co.
Magoun, F.A., & Hodgins, E. (1931). A History of Aircraft. New York: McGraw-Hill.
McFarland, M.W. (1953). The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright: Including the Chanute-Wright Letters and Other Papers of Octave Chanute. New York: McGraw- Hill.
Roseberry, C. R. (1972). Glenn Curtiss, Pioneer of Flight. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Schwipps, W. (1979). Lilienthal. Berlin: Arami-Verlag GmbH.
Weber, R.J. (1992). Forks, Phonographs, and Hot Air Balloons A Field Guide to Inventive Thinking. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wolko, H. S. (1987). The Wright Flyer An Engineering Perspective. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.