Birds Books

But "Herr Lilienthal" did not only provide an explanation of birdflight, he was also a powerful motivator. His brother, Gustaf, writes about Otto's unconditional dedication to his dream - spending all his finances and energy into experiments and his flying machines. If you are an engineer in search of a vision - read this book !

Otto Lilienthal was a German engineer whose passion was flight. He died on August 9, 1896, after a gliding accident the day before. Just before his death, he said, "Sacrifices must be made."

This is his book. It was read by virtually all of the original aviation pioneers. The American aviation pioneers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, who [Orville] made their first successful powered flight on December 17, 1903, considered him their hero. Lilienthal studied birds closely, and from them he learned how they change the dihedral and curvature of their wings in flight, in order to conform to the conditions of the ocean of air in which they swam. The Wrights learned from him, and warped the wings of their craft in flight to bank and turn.

We are justified in calling Lilienthal the Father of Gliding Experiments--perhaps even the Father of Aviation. Next time you lift off in a jetliner, it would not be amiss if you thought of this man who literally gave his life for his dream of flight.

Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation was first published in 1891, and this, the 2001 edition, is an unabridged copy of the original, complete with Lilienthal's own diagrams and formulae, and with a Preface written in 1911 by A.W. Isenthal, who translated the original into English after Otto's death. Like the Wright brothers, Otto was assisted in his work by his brother Gustave, who died in 1933. Some of this book was written by Gustave.

This is truly a remarkable volume. It represents Lilienthal's life work and is a compilation of the results of the numerous experiments made by the brothers. Although some of Lilienthal's calculations have been improved upon since this book was written, his work was the first light to pierce the darkness of ignorance on what has since become the science of aerodynamics. Today's hang gliding enthusiasts owe him a great debt of gratitude.

The art of photography was developed in France circa 1839, and thus this book contains several photographs of Lilienthal gliding in his light, unpowered aircraft.

If you are an aviation enthusiast, of whatever age or experience, this is a book you will want to add to your library.

Joseph Pierre

The main reason I enjoy this guide is that, if the species is included in the book, I can usually find it within thirty seconds. Often times the bird is still in sight and I can easily compare its markings to those found in the guide.

I highly recommend this book as a quick reference guide.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin was really the love story between Antonio Corelli and Pelagia with some of the novel devoted to other villagers and political figures of the time. Although from the opening of Bird without Wings it would appear to be the love story of Philothei and Ibrahim, their story is just one strand of many that make up the story of their village, Eskibahce. The village is the main character of the novel and the story tells of the villagers who live harmoniously despite differences in religion and ethnic origins until the events of WWI and the ensuing war for Turkish independence disrupt their Utopian lives. Probably no one living in Eskibahce felt that they were living in a perfect world until the enforced emigrations took place.

One area that de Bernieres has really improved over Captain Corelli's Mandolin is in the integration of the outside historical detail with the main story of Eskibahce. Although I found no difficulty beginning Captain Corelli, I have heard from other readers that they grew confused with the multiple narratives and were unable to reconcile the interior monologue of the Greek Prime Minister with the other early narratives. In Birds without Wings, the story of Mustafa Kemel, the leader of the independent Turkish movement, is told from his birth and is related intermittantly throughout the novel. Although these chapters were of the least interest to me and they were often the point where I would stop reading, they were essential to convey the larger historical context of the novel. Without this information, the reader would have been as perplexed as the villagers were about the governmental decisions that affected their lives so drastically.

De Bernieres' best trait is his ability to present both sides of the story fairly and equitibly. In the end both the Greek and the Turkish sides are equally to blame as are the Allies who interfere for their own motives. The ones who come out most blameless are the Italians and the friendship between Lieutenant Granitola and Rustem Bey, the Muslim aga of Eskibahce, was reminiscent of the situation in Captain Corelli's Mandolin where the Italians were jovial and gentle occupiers.

I have visited both Greece and Turkey, yet I learned more about the history and geography of both countries from this novel than I did from my travels. Another novel that I enjoyed earlier this year is Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It began with the exhile of the Greeks from Smyrna, the same event that occurs near the end of Birds without Wings. However, it was only by reading de Bernieres' novel that I discovered the location of Smyrna, which I had supposed to be somewhere in northern Greece when I read Eugenides' book since the characters always spoke of themselves as Greek.

Prior to reading Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I had read de Bernieres' South American magic realism trilogy. I just think he is getting better as he writes more. In Birds without Wings, Drosoula, Pelagia's intended mother-in-law and friend from Captain Corelli's Mandolin, is depicted as a young child and woman and remembers her past in Turkey from her old age in Cephalonia. She is the only one of the Greek exiles whose fate we learn of. I hope that de Bernieres plans a subsequent novel that might help us to learn what happened to some of the others, like Mehmetcik, the boy who imitated a robin and grew up to be a bandit or Leyla, Rustem Bey's mistress who pretended to be from Eastern Turkey who was really Ionna from Ithaca.

Actually I am looking forward to the next Louis de Bernieres novel, no matter what its topic may be.