History repeats. Today's headlines of NSA cyberwar, missing jetliners, GM ignition scandals and environmental disaster echo back to WWII codebreaking, Murphy's Law, Colonel Deeds' Barn Gang and the epic bad luck of Thomas Midgley, Jr.

For over 100 years remarkable, intertwined individuals have reshaped the way we live our lives, from the keys in our pockets to the water we drink and the air we breathe.

Dayton was the Silicon Valley of its time, and these "grand eccentrics" in the small Midwestern city of Dayton, Ohio changed our whole world. Wherever we live we're all Dayton's Children.

The book's twenty profiles include...

- The folksy "Boss Ket," second only to Thomas Edison in inventions

- The legless black man who bootstrapped himself to the sky

- The woman who beat out Amelia Earhart

- The nutty cash register tycoon who rescued half a city

- Plus an insider view of the swanky club that corralled them under one roof

Their legacy includes an array of innovation styles worth reviving. No two worked the same way, not even Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Mark Bernstein, noted author of Grand Eccentrics, contributes chapters on Charles Kettering, Arthur Morgan and John H. Patterson. LCD inventor John Janning and 1913 flood survivor Charlie Adams help tell their own tales. Kate Hagenbuch Martel conducted two interviews while Lauren Heaton of the Yellow Springs News profiled Hardy Trolander.

Mark Martel wrote the balance of Dayton's Children and illustrated each chapter, drawing upon his career in advertising. A first-time author, Martel is also a third-generation history buff.

Praise for Dayton's Children

The book humanizes the larger-than-life men and women from Dayton who helped create the world of today. I really love the fact that you don't have to have an engineer's degree to understand and enjoy Dayton's Children. It should be required reading for every high school student in Dayton... and beyond!

-Curt Dalton, Dayton historian and author

To say Dayton's Children "changed the world" may be the understatement of the 20th and 21st centuries. My great-granduncles, Orville and Wilbur Wright, are two sterling examples of Dayton sons who pioneered a new technology, aerospace, that would one day deliver mankind from our earth to the moon.

-Amanda Wright Lane, great-grandniece of the Wright brothers

Martel tells of the Wright brothers' accomplishments during the inventive heyday of Dayton, Ohio. A century ago, the new Engineers Club of Dayton created a nurturing atmosphere for men and women of vision. Is Dayton willing to reinvent itself?

-Dan Patterson, aviation history photographer

Dayton's Children reminds its readers that plenty of historically important people who weren't named Wright had strong links to the Gem City.

-Edward Roach, Historian at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

Dayton's Children is available at Dayton History's Carillon Park, Amazon.com and other retailers.

Based on the website DaytonInnovationLegacy.org, with 50% new material and all-original illustrations

"A few minutes spent searching other much better funded websites dealing with Ohio state and local history will underscore just how good DaytonInnovationLegacy.org really is."

-Tom Crouch, Senior Curator, National Air and Space Museum

About the Author: Mark Martel writes about technology and history, and also pens fiction. He wrote most of Dayton's Children: The unlikely gang who brought us aviation, 'The Cash' and the keys to the road. The non-fiction book, Martel's first, profiles twenty innovators who changed our world. Mark Bernstein and other authors contributed several chapters.

Another book on Dayton history is in development, as well as several graphic novels (both fiction and non-fiction).

Mark Martel has also illustrated dozens of book covers, created hundreds of interior illustrations, and drawn many comics, including a biography of former Secretary of State James A. Baker and a historical comic for National Geographic TV.

With wife Kate Martel, Mark co-created DaytonInnovationLegacy.org to celebrate people who are changing our lives. His original articles for the website led to Dayton's Children. The unplanned process proved the perfect way to sneak up on the challenge of writing a whole book.

For 25 years Mark Martel worked as a writer, art director, and illustrator for ad agencies in Dayton, Ohio, when not freelancing. In 2007 he shifted to working online, and has since served clients in over 24 states and a dozen countries. He now lives in Hawaii and attempts to ignore the tropical paradise long enough for writing, illustration and fine art projects.