The Flying Man: Otto Lilienthal, the World's First Pilot

by Mike Downs Narrated by Mark Sanderlin

Overview

In 1862, balloons were the only way to reach the sky. But 14-year-old Otto Lilienthal didn't want to fly in balloons. He wanted to soar like a bird.
Scientists, teachers, and news reporters everywhere said flying was impossible.
Otto and his brother Gustav desperately wanted to prove them wrong, so they made their own wings and tried to take flight. The brothers quickly crashed, but this was just the beginning for Otto, who would spend the next 30 years of his life sketching, re-sketching, and building gliders.
As Otto's designs improved, his flights got longer. His control got better. He learned the tricks and twists of the wind. Amazed crowds began to gather to witness the feats of this incredible flying man.
Otto Lilienthal's years of determination paid off as he became the first person in history to make repeated successful flights, earning him the title of the world's first real pilot. The Flying Man is the story of this remarkable aviation pioneer and a testament to ambition, resilience, and creativity.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Bank Street Best Book of the Year

"A soaring tribute to a pioneering German aviator who had a dream and the perseverance to achieve it... The author chronicles years of determined research, observation, trial and error, and crashes as Otto and younger brother Gustav work hard at attaining their goal despite skepticism from those around them." —Kirkus Reviews

★ "Readers will marvel at Lilienthal’s perseverance of his dream over the span of his life and the research he did into the flight of birds as it related to his designs.... [and] will enjoy learning about a not very well-known designer and inventor of flying machines, making this book a missing link in collections about aviation and flight." —School Library Journal, starred review

School Library Journal

10/01/2022

PreS-Gr 4—A picture book biography about German-born Otto Lilienthal and his brother Gustav, who built equipment that was meant to be human-powered and allowed people to soar, not float, through the air. Lovely realistic art shows the boys' inspiration in storks and other birds, and also conveys the joy of flying. When Otto was 14, he and Gustav began experimenting with different kinds of wings and apparatus. Gustav was badly injured in one attempt and never tried again, but Otto persisted and eventually succeeded in making short flights. Unfortunately, he was badly injured in a crash and did not survive his injuries. However, his work ended up inspiring many other fliers, including the Wright brothers. Readers will marvel at Lilienthal's perseverance of his dream over the span of his life and the research he did into the flight of birds as it related to his designs. VERDICT Readers will enjoy learning about a not very well-known designer and inventor of flying machines, making this book a missing link in collections about aviation and flight.—Debbie Tanner

Kirkus Reviews

2022-09-14
A soaring tribute to a pioneering German aviator who had a dream and the perseverance to achieve it.

Perseverance is certainly the overriding theme here, as Downs begins his profile with Otto Lilienthal at 14, fruitlessly flapping a rickety-looking set of manufactured wings. The author chronicles years of determined research, observation, trial and error, and crashes as Otto and younger brother Gustav work hard at attaining their goal despite skepticism from those around them. The book ends in August 1896 with the inventor at 48 sailing in a much more elaborate (if still rickety) glider high over an awestruck crowd of onlookers with, in Hohn’s breezy but precisely detailed illustrations, a blissful expression on his face. The author relegates the dampening news that Lilienthal died in a crash the following week to an afterword but, along with providing notes on the numerous diagrams of his subject’s evolving glider designs, credits both his example and influence on his better-known contemporaries, the Wright brothers. Flyers and groundlings alike in the pictures are White. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Makes an able case that both titular monikers are justified. (author’s note) (Picture-book biography. 7-9)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159677983
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	05/16/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years