The title is somewhat misleading: this book covers Santos-Dumont's early experiments with powered balloons and airplanes, but skips from 1906 to 1932, the years where he supposedly went mad with guilt and grief for the use of his inventions in World War I. That said, the rest of the book is really interesting. I'd never heard of Santos-Dumont, not even his sort-of rivalry with the Wright Brothers. He was an eccentric character, as one might expect of an inventor in such a dangerous arena. I wish more had been known about his personal life and feelings, but the descriptions of his work in aviation were fascinating. Definitely recommended if you're interested in the early years of man's quest for flight. ( )

An interesting read, if not a page-turner: Hoffman's style is pretty dry. I knew of Santos-Dumont from a childhood obsession with anything to do with planes and flight, but not very much. I think anyone would struggle to sum up this extremely eccentric and obsessively private individual who also displayed a propensity for showboating. Hoffman does probably as as good a job as anyone could, and I also learnt some things about the Wright Brothers I never knew before. ( )

I agree that the fascinating, tragic life of the Brazilian aeronaut Santos-Dumont should make for a great story, but this wasn't it. I couldn't finish the book. I got tired of reading about each balloon and its technical specifications. I like history and technology, but not this detailed. I wanted to learn more about what made Santos-Dumont tick. ( )

http://dhamel.typepad.com/book_blog/2003/07/wings_of_madnes.html
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By the time I got around to reading this book, I'll admit that I was wondering if it was a redundant exercise in the wake of seeing the PBS documentary based on Hoffman's work. Such is not the case. While the TV program plays up the technological successes in Santo-Dumont's career the book is more of a life, and deals quite forthrightly with the issues relating to the man's life-style, sexuality, and the question of just when Santos-Dumont's "madness" began to assert itself. Hoffman also goes further in the book in terms of placing the achievements of Santos-Dumont in the context of the technological fervor of the time, and the activities of his fellow aviation pioneers. ( )