A brief biography of Orville and Wilbur Wright, who invented the first Airplane.
Annotated Bibliography. By Gary Bradshaw and Steve Wright.

Frank Lloyd Wright, America's foremost architect. Info on Fallingwater, including large pictures. Books about Frank Lloyd Wright.

[Steven Wright]
The sound of one hand clapping? Comedian Steven Wright is like that all the time.

[cover of book _The Golden Age_]
Winning top accolades for both science fiction and fantasy writing, Publishers Weekly calls John C. Wright "this fledgling century's most important new SF talent," and David Brin raves: "a stunning new talent."
See The Golden Age, named one of 2002's top 5 "best" science fiction / fantasy books by Amazon.com's editorial staff, or Orphans of Chaos, which made Wright a Nebula award finalist.

Actress Robin Wright Penn was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as Jenny in Forrest Gump (DVD, Soundtrack).

Country singer Chely Wright, winner of an ACM award and a BMI award, released her sixth album in 2005; her song "Single White Female" went to #1 on the US Country charts.

Will Wright designed the hugely successful computer games SimCity (Mac) and The Sims.

Russel Wright was a revolutionary designer who changed the American home. He designed best-selling wooden furniture, spun aluminum dining accessories, innovative plastic dishes, textiles, and was the most successful designer of American ceramic dinnerware in history. With his wife Mary Wright he authored the Guide to Easier Living, which rejected the dogma of "etiquette despots" like Emily Post, and was hugely influential, even to the present day.

A 2007 book by Orville Wright Jr. has collected stories about a children's home where he grew up from 50 of its residents spread over six decades.

And of course, Richard Wright, author of Native Son (a novel) and Black Boy (his autobiography), was one of America's greatest black writers.



Wright Genealogy


To do research on Wright genealogy (or on any other name), the most extensive free resources on the net that I know of are at familysearch.org .

Click here to get the Wright brothers' ancestral line.

Submit a question to the Wright Family Genealogy Forum.



The "right stuff" collection

Washington DC / Baltimore area section

Here are a few recommendations to help you find the right stuff in the Washington DC / Baltimore area:

Find the right school from our list of public and private schools in Prince George's County, Maryland, with links to their web sites.

I was so pleased with a inexpensive, good, honest mechanic I've used for more than 10 years, I wrote a review. Click on the link to check him out. He'll even come to you (anywhere in the Washington, DC metro area or the Baltimore-Washington corridor) for a small extra charge. He's been the right guy for me!

If you're buying or selling a house in the Washington, DC / Baltimore area, you need to make sure you're getting the right price. You need an experienced, reliable appraiser. Talk to Jack Sheffrin at Old Line Appraisals to get a fair and unbiased opinion of value.

Continue browsing the more general "right stuff" collection of the Wright Library.


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Book Recommendations


Following are some recommended books in several categories. Click on a title below for more reviews and/or to buy a copy of that book.


Jump to section:



PSYCHOLOGY, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT



Emotional Intelligence : Why It Can Matter More Than IQ for Character, Health and Lifelong Achievement by Daniel P. Goleman.
Excerpt from review in Personal Growth Editor: There was a time when IQ was considered the leading determinant of success. In this fascinating book, based on brain and behavioral research, Daniel Goleman argues that our IQ-idolizing view of intelligence is far too narrow. Instead, Goleman makes the case for "emotional intelligence" being the strongest indicator of human success....
Excerpts from review in Booklist: If your class valedictorian did not become the soaring success everyone predicted, perhaps his IQ exceeded his EQ. Psychologist Daniel Goleman's....well-researched work....is an engrossing, captivating work that should be read by anyone who wants to improve self, family, or world.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus : A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships by John Gray.
Synopsis, Amazon.com: Popular marriage counselor and seminar leader John Gray provides a unique, practical, and proven way for men and women to communicate and relate better by acknowledging the differences between them.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People : Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey.
Synopsis by Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence: The bestselling guide to personal fulfillment and professional success--more than seven million paperback copies in print. Guided by Covey's remarkable step-by-step program, readers will find more meaning and satisfaction in relationships, be better able to achieve personal and professional goals--and can look forward to lasting happiness and success. "A wonderful book that could change your life."

Some Do Care : Contemporary Lives of Moral Commitment by Anne Colby & William Damon.
Anne Colby (who helped Lawrence Kohlberg refine his moral development theory) and William Damon (Brown University expert on moral development) interview and discuss people selected by a panel of experts as moral exemplars in our society. Professors Colby and Damon describe the experience of interviewing these "examples of compelling moral commitment" as "directly touching [their] own lives" and as having unexpectedly and repeatedly given them an "exhilarating feeling of inspiration."

The Road Less Traveled : A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck.
Synopsis, Amazon.com: Experience the journey to strength, confidence, happiness, fulfillment, and self-understanding.
Review by a reader (posted on Amazon.com): The best book I have ever read. This book explores love by describing the work it takes to get there. Peck does not pull any punches, he does not give suggestions, instead he tells the reader exactly how the mind works.

The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley.
Excerpts from reviews: Fascinating. I found this book much more in depth than Stanley's previous book. The profile he builds of the every day millionaire (not Fortune 500 types, but the guy in line behind you at the movie theatre or the car wash) is really interesting, and encouraging. It let me know I was on the right track with many lifestyle decisions. The chapters on school grades, spouse choice, choice of vocation, where millionaires live, etc., paint a clear picture of a happy, practical and comfortable, but not lavish, lifestyle that can bring the reality of being a millionaire within the grasp of people of many different walks of life. Some of the statistical information is really surprising. These aren't the people you see on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, they are your neighbors and friends who have shaped their lives with a goal of financial security, and suceeded. This book tells you how these millionaires got there, and as a result readers can pick up tips to apply to their own life. I'll recommend this to friends.


HEALTH AND HEALING


Eight Weeks to Optimum Health : A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power by Andrew Weil.
Dr. Weil, a Harvard-trained botanist and MD who combines traditional and alternative medicine, includes attention to the mind-body relationship.
Book Description by Amazon.com: In Eight Weeks to Optimum Health, Dr. Andrew Weil translates the brilliant insights and discoveries he outlined in his acclaimed bestseller, Spontaneous Healing, into a practical plan of action: a week-by-week, step-by-step program for enhancing and protecting present and lifelong health....

Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom : Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing by Christiane Northrup.
Review by Amazon.com: Quite possibly every female over the age of 12 will find this huge book enlightening, pain saving, and perhaps even lifesaving. Think of it as a much more empowering and holistic Our Bodies, Ourselves. Northrup is a gynecologist who acknowledges the power of natural therapies and herbs, but also maintains that allopathic treatments, including surgery, are sometimes best. In Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, she covers the treatment of many physical concerns--among them PMS, menstrual cramps, breast cancer, fibroids, endometriosis, infertility, depression, childbirth, abortion, cystitis, and menopause--explaining how many of these physical problems have roots in emotional upsets. For example, a woman who is unhappy with her marriage may be infertile because deep down, she knows that her husband is not the right man to have children with; a teenager who has cramps may be having problems accepting society's expectations of her as a woman....


PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION


The Marriage of Sense and Soul : Integrating Science and Religion by Ken Wilber.
Noted philosopher discusses framework basic to philosophy of science and what he considers central to religious experience. The relations among material world, body, mind, and spirit are central.
Book Description by Amazon.com: There is arguably no more critical and pressing topic than the relation of science and religion in the modern world. Science has given us the methods for discovering truth, while religion remains the single greatest force for generating meaning. Yet the two are seen as mutually exclusive, with wrenching consequences for humanity. In The Marriage of Sense and Soul, one of today's most important philosophers brilliantly articulates how we might begin to think about science and religion in ways that allow for their reconciliation....

Art Of Happiness The Art of Happiness : A Handbook for Living by H. H. the Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler.
Review by Booklist: The Dalai Lama's most salient traits are his great beaming smile and hearty laugh, spontaneous expressions of happiness that inspired Cutler, a psychiatrist, to initiate what evolved into a long and productive series of conversations about what aspects of Buddhist thought could help non-Buddhists achieve a sense of fulfillment. Their discussions ranged far and wide, revealing many differences between Eastern and Western thought.... Over and over again, Cutler poses complicated psychological inquiries only to have the Dalai Lama offer responses that reach far beyond the parameters of the self. There really is such a thing as an art of happiness, and this is one of the best how-to books a reader will ever find. --Donna Seaman


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


The Age of Spiritual Machines : When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence by Ray Kurzweil.
Synopsis: A modern-day Edison offers a serious and surprising look at the future that reads like great science fiction.
Excerpt from New York Times Book Review: His book ranges widely over such juicy topics as entropy, chaos, the big bang, quantum theory, DNA computers... neural nets, genetic algorithms, nanoengineering, the Turing test, brain scanning... chess-playing programs, the Internet--the whole world of information technology past, present, and future. This is a book for...anyone who wonders where human technology is going next. --Collin McGinn

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, Greg Suriano (Editor).
Important Classic at a Great Price! Hardcover!
Excerpt from review by Amazon.com: It's hard to talk about The Origin of Species without making statements that seem overwrought and fulsome. But it's true: this is indeed one of the most important and influential books ever written, and it is one of the very few groundbreaking works of science that is truly readable. To a certain extent it suffers from the Hamlet problem--it's full of cliches! Or what are now cliches, but which Darwin was the first to pen. Natural selection, variation, the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest: it's all in here. --Mary Ellen Curtin

Mathematics : From the Birth of Numbers by Jan Gullberg & Peter Hilton.
Selected for inclusion as one of the "Great Books" (300 authors throughout world history) by the Access Foundation.
Reached #1 on the Amazon.com Hot 100!
Excerpt from review in Scientific American: The book is an enthusiastic and utterly amazing popularization that promises to be in print for decades.... It is an important reference and a book that is plain fun to dip into. If a family is to have only one mathematics book on the reference shelf, then this is the one. -Donald J. Albers.
Excerpt from review in Booklist: A long book on mathematics? No need to brace yourself for tedium. Whether counting on an abacus or solving triple integrals, Gullberg explains his subject with an infectious zeal--and an unpredictable sense of humor. The basic formulas are all here, making this an ideal reference for readers who cannot quite remember what they once learned about trigonometric functions or vector algebra. But beware! Those looking for quick help with a problem may find themselves diverted for many hours by the wealth of historical anecdotes, literary quotations, artwork, light verse, and even cartoons sprinkled liberally through the pages.... -Bryce Christensen.