French-born and self-trained civil engineer Octave Chanute designed America's two largest stockyards, created structures such as the Kansas City Bridge over the previously "unbridgeable" Missouri River, and was a passionate aviation pioneer whose collaborative approach to aeronautical engineering problems helped the Wright brothers take flight. Drawing on a rich trove of archival material and exclusive family sources, Locomotive to Aeromotive is the first detailed examination of Chanute's life and his immeasurable contributions to the fields of engineering and transportation, from the ground transportation revolution of the mid-nineteenth century to the early days of aviation._x000B_Aviation researcher and historian Simine Short brings to light in colorful detail many previously overlooked facets of Chanute's life. Through the reflections of those in various fields who knew him, Short characterizes Chanute as a man who believed in fostering people who were willing to learn.