Reviews (11)

Very entertaining read
I recently bought this book while visiting the Edison-Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, FL. It's an amazing informal history whose author is as interesting as his incredible subjects. Edison and Ford really come alive as people, and Newton gives a unique perspective on Lindbergh's oft-criticized WWII neutralitry stance. Newton's own participation in the Spirituality movement is especially fascinating. I can't wait for the PBS special!

An Excellent read
While reading this book, I was fascinated by each of these men but even more so of James Newton, the author. Reading this book I found that it was full of history, humor, and unfounded wisdom. I began taking notes for my own personal edification. This is truly a must read.

Fascinating & stimulating
This book gives insight in many discussions on business, theology and philosophy among five extraordinary people. But I find it regrettable that the belief of Edison, Ford & Lindbergh in reincarnation is rather superficially worked out. Perhaps because of the religious stance of his wife and the author.
I deem it also regrettable that no mention is made of the membership of Edison of the Theosophical Society while it is obvious he was much inspired by the books of Blavatsky.
Apart from a few inaccuracies (on p. 10: Edison is attributed to have received as a gift every new car that ran from the Ford assembly line, among which the first V8. But the V8 was introduced after the demise of this great inventor, p. 100) I find this book very readable and stimulating.

Uncommon Friends
Now in his 80s, real-estate developer Newton recalls with uncritical admiration five celebrated men with whom he enjoyed almost filial relationships. According to the author, they all shared the same philosophy of life, enouncing business principles in terms of moral precepts. Newton's bonds with Carrel and with the scientist's friend and partner in medical research, Lindbergh, were forged by their common interest in metaphysics. The narrative is studded with anecdotes about the nature of these men: Edison's assertion that his deafness was an asset; Ford's dictum that profit is essential to business vitality; Firestone's advocacy of Japanese-style ``consensus'' management; Carrel's expectation of encountering Aristotle after death; and Lindbergh's revulsion at the destruction wrought by aviation in WW II.

A Fascinating Book on the Lives of Five Great Men
This book originally caught my eye as an addition to another book I read called Edison: A Life of Invention by Paul Israel. I wanted a book that would cover a little more of Edison's personal life, and this book did just that. However, James Newton's close, dedicated friendships with all of these great men of the twentieth century is truly amazing, and I learned more than I would probably learn otherwise about some of these important historical figures.

The entire book is fascinating, and surely different parts will appeal to different readers. I was particularly enchanted with a poignant description of how Charles Lindbergh handled dying as he lay on his deathbed. I was also fascinated with how environmentally conscientious some of these men were, particularly Edison and Lindbergh, but also Ford. For example, Ford was very interested in making automobile parts out of soybeans in order to reduce the need for metal parts. It seems that all of these men had numerous ideas and ideas for inventions that were way ahead of their time - perhaps some of them still are.

Newton's writing is quite good, and I only have one very minor criticism: it seems that he preaches a little bit and dwells on the religious facet of his relationships with these people. Of course, I'm sure this was a very important part of his relationship with these men and their families, but it seems that there is a grand, overarching agenda he has in constantly illustrating their connection to God and religion.

If you are interested in any of these historical figures and their fascinating relationships with each other, this book is definitely the best book you will find on the subject. ... Read more

Reviews (124)

Lindbergh: Unfulfilled promise
A. Scott Berg has created a compelling work which fully explores the complex mind of Charles A. Lindbergh. In using the writings and personal diaries of Lindbergh wife, Anne Morrow, Berg creates a foil which enables the reader to place a very public life in context. After finishing Berg's work, it is impossible to either celebrate the achievements of Lindbergh or condemn his misguided and overt actions to place responsibility for America's participation in an impending war on what he viewed as groups who did not necessarily hold American interests at heart. Quite striking is his projection for the aftermath of WWII: a significantly weakened Europe, the rise of Soviet power, and the on going role of the US as a reluctant world police force. Unfortunatly, we still have today the legacy of the results of this war. Throughout the book, Berg successfully develops Lindbergh's increasingly self obsessive personality. It becomes even more pronounced perhaps as a reaction to the overly excessive interest America placed on an inherently unprepared and reluctant popular hero. To what extent were we in part to blame for who Lindbergh became in his adult life? Berg's ability to draw the reader into this debate is skilled even if at times he provides rather execssive amounts of detail. Yet in sum, Berg has created a timeless piece which leaves a haunting sadness at its end. This is perhaps the lesson to be learned for Lindbergh's life, one full of promise yet so unfilled at its end.

What a fascinating man was Lindbergh....
I don't generally read biographies. I don't have too many of them on my shelves, and usually they don't catch my eye when I go to the local Barnes & Noble. But for some reason, A. Scott Berg's biography of Charles Lindbergh jumped out at me when I saw it a few months ago. Maybe it was the little blurb on the cover that this book had won the Pulitzer. Maybe it was the additional blurb that this was a New York Times bestseller. I don't know what it was, but I bought the book.

Turns out it was the best thing I ever did.

Of course I knew about the main points of Lindbergh's life - the first man to fly from New York to Paris, and the awful episode of "the Lindbergh baby" kidnapping and murder. I also had some knowledge of Lindbergh's later reputation - he was seen by some as a Nazi sympathizer, or worse.

Berg gives the facts behind these points, and also behind the rest of Lindbergh's life. He does so with an incredible style and in great detail - but not so much detail as to bog down the reader and prevent him or her from finding out about the fascinating man that Charles Lindbergh was. And he was fascinating - there's no other word for it.

The only other phrase that comes to mind to describe Lindbergh is "a mass of contradictions". Berg describes all of those contradictions without detracting from his life in any way. The most important contradiction(s) in this story is Lindbergh's feelings toward his wife.

I could go on and on about this book and the way Berg wrote it. The best recommendation I can give you is that I urge you to pick it up and read it yourself.

Unsure
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the positive side, it provides a very thorough and detailed account of Lindbergh's life, and is in no way boring like some biographies. However, I am not sure whether to trust this author's objectivity. Berg drew heavily from the Lindbergh family itself for his sources, and although a viable source, he relied to heavily on it. This gives the book the tendency to be slightly and in some case grossly biased towards its view of Lindbergh's actions. Although his exploits in flying were in every way brave, his actions and words regarding American involvement in the 2nd World War and his view of Nazi Germany reflect very porrly on his judgment. He also seemed somewhat indifferent to attrocities committed by the Axis nations. Read the book, but keep an open mind to the subject.

"Lindbergh" by A. Scott Berg
I have less than twenty pages left of this superb biography, and I want to share with prosepctive readers why they should buy this book: exquisite writing, meticulous research, and a subject matter that is larger than life.

Charles Lindbergh was the first recipient of 20th century celebrity cult status; an unassuming man, shy and modest he had a dream of flying solo, non-stop to Paris,and a cash parize of $25,000.00. The prize money was not the main incentive for the run. Here was a man with a dream, fueled by the desire to explore. Blessed with movie star good looks, his landing on May 22, 1927, in Paris, began a mass media hysteria. In the aftermath, he,and later his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, were desparate to lead lives of intellectual creativity. The fact that the flight that allowed them access to pursue their interests also wreaked havoc on their family life(e.g. the kidnapping and death of their firstborn son) is a sad and bitter irony.

Berg's deft and subtle hand, his superb sense of time and place, are almost novellic; but firmly grounded in careful scholarship. He reveals Lindbergh to be a man of great abilities, imagination, and perserverance; but also a man who ruled his family with such authorative zeal, that they each suffered under the strain; a man who was jusitfably proud of his wife's literary ability, but yet who never really allowed her the freedom to truly develop her literary voice; and a political neophyte, whose ambitions to keep America out of World War II,caused him to be branded a traitor, an anti-semitic,and worse.

This book will remain one of the pillars of modern biography, ranking alongside of such classics, as Robert K. Massie's 1967 dual biography of "Nicholas and Alexandra."

Sadly - quallity writing, like Berg's, are not always seen; so do yourself a favor, buy the book, put on a pot of coffee, and enter the life of America's "Lone Eagle", Charles Augustus Lindbergh. You won't regret it.

Unabashed Hero Worship
After having read most of the other reviews, I wish not to be repetitive. However, I believe this book to be a monumental waste of money. Mr. Berg seems to be one of those compelled to adore his subject to death.

Others have pointed out -- more or less correctly, I believe -- the various flaws that abound in Mr. Berg's effort. However, I feel that his incessant gushing over Mr. Lindbergh (arguably a flawed hero himself) turned me off about one-third of the way into the book. It became like that unfortunate aftertaste that one experiences when compelled to drink a second-rate bottle of wine or liquor because there is nothing else in the house. What tore it for me was the unbridled adoration Mr. Berg expressed in his writing about Ms. Lindbergh and her poetry.

Couldn't finish the book, but then again, there were probably not enough car chases in it for me.

Save your money! ... Read more

Amazon.com

"At a trial events are often seen in a distorted perspective. A violent event has taken place, and we work backwards from it, considering primarily the evidence bearing on that event. If we work forwards in a natural sequence, from a natural starting point, this evidence may wear a very different appearance." These words from mystery writer Julian Symons are theinspiration for this evenhanded, chronological approach to the paired stories of Charles Lindbergh, whose child was kidnapped and murdered in 1932, and Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was tried, convicted, and executed for the crime. In a quietly affecting style, Ludovic Kennedy acquaints us with the characters of Lindbergh and Hauptmann in the years before their fates intertwined. Then he outlines the chain of events that led to this textbook case of how to frame an innocent person for a crime. Kennedy wisely sidesteps the vexing question of who did kill the Lindbergh baby to focus on the unforgettable story of the kind and hardworking German carpenter who became a scapegoat for a country's guilt.

Note: this book was first published in 1985 as The Airman and the Carpenter, and has a new (1996) introduction by the author. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Don't Miss This One!
This is one of the best books of its kind in the world. The author does a wonderful job of stitching it together. This goes beyond a page-turner: this book will take over your life. If you are at all interested in the tradition of mock trials fronting mock justice, this is one of the most ridiculous examples to ever hit the American big top.

Amazing . . . disturbing . . . innocent until proven guilty?
As an avid fan of true crime, this book was recommended to me by my mother who told me to read "the original true crime book" (originally published as "The Airman and the Carpenter"). She was right! This book was terribly disturbing and really rocked my faith in the American legal system. I had heard stories about the Lindbergh kidnapping and how Hauptmann was NOT the kidnapper, but hearing those tales and reading the book and seeing everything in black and white are two very different things. The facts are astounding . . . people (including the "heroic" Charles Lindbergh) told outright lies and railroaded Hauptmann. His own lawyer basically said Haputmann was guilty and deserved the electric chair . . . NJ Chief of Police Schwarzkopf admitted that he would "do anything" for Lindbergh, including lie! It is a terrible shame how the media and the public crucified this man; he never had a chance. Everyone assumed his guilt from the beginning, and after actually reading fact after fact after fact that was blatantly ignored during the trial . . . it is disturbing and shocking. So much for "innocent until proven guilty" . . . in Hauptmann's case, everyone around him searched for clues that would make him look guilty, and if that meant fabricating evidence against him, then so be it. This book shows the justice system, the media, and the American public in general at its worst. I found myself becoming more and more angry and incensed as I turned each page, as people lied under oath, fabricated evidence, made up stories, and ignored evidence that would have cleared Hauptmann. I felt terrible for him, his wife, and child. I think people inherently believe that if they are innocent, everything will work out for the best and a judge and jury could not possibly believe lies and invented half-truths. An innocent man was put to death for something he obviously did not do. In this day and age, when a jury can find O.J. Simpson "not guilty," I think Bruno Richard Hauptmann should finally be exonerated and have his name cleared.

I loved this book!
This is one of two books that served to convince me that Hauptmann was in fact innocent. I am delighted to see it is back in print, and with a new forward too!

Richard Hauptmann MUST be exonerated. What a shame it could not be done before his wife passed on. ... Read more

Book Description

In this biography, Walter Hixson examines the life of Charles Lindbergh.The book explores the experiences of Charles Lindbergh and his role as an important cultural figure in America.For anyone interested in American history or the life of Charles Lindbergh. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great book--beautiful, well-written, with rare photos.
There have been a lot of books written on that most fascinating American icon, Charles Lindbergh. This is one of the best. It's an even-handed, insightful look at the man who was at one time the best-known individual in the world. It's a great-looking book, especially all the photos--and there are some great ones, including some rare ones and also a color section that's full of great images. It's just a wonderful book, and the text is above average--I've read a lot of Lindbergh books, but this is one of the best overviews of Lindbergh's life that I've seen. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Inspiring story of a legendary flight
In this book, Charles Lindbergh tells us the story of his flight from New York to Paris, one of the great milestone flights in aviation history. It covers the venture in its entirety, from the moment the idea of trying out for the $25,000 Orteig Prize (offered to the pilot who would complete the first successful New York-Paris flight) occurred to him, on a routine night mail flight, to the final, triumphant landing at Le Bourget. The "Lucky Lindy" moniker nonwithstanding, Lindbergh comes across as the exact opposite of the popular idea of the daredevil pilot. He was a meticulous planner who knew only too well the difference between courage and recklessness. Step by step, with determination and common sense, he got together the financial backing necessary for the venture, and achieved the goal he had set for himself in the face of stiff competition from other, more experienced pilots. Lindbergh has the teacher's gift of explaining things in simple and clear language, so that even a reader who has no knowledge of aviation learns quite a bit about the technical side of flying, especially in the part about his close collaboration with Ryan Airlines in the design of his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis. Throughout the book and especially during the long hours of the flight itself, he includes reminiscings about his father's farm and his days as a barnstorming pilot, flying cadet, flight instructor, air mail pilot, stunt flier, wing-walker, and parachutist. One really is taken back to the days when aviation was still in its experimental stages. The Spirit of St. Louis is a great choice if you have an interest in the early days of aviation or just would like to read an inspiring story about how a man set about fulfilling a dream--and succeeded.

A Compelling Autobiography
The world embraced Charles A. Lindbergh as its hero in 1927 when he piloted his single-engine Ryan Monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, across dark waters, completing the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris.

THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS is an extremely well written book by an American icon. It not only chronicles Lindbergh's famous flight, but also faithfully tells the story of his early life as well. The book provides insight into the early history of American aviation and does so in an entertaining yet compelling format.

A few years ago, Scott M. Berg's biography of Lindbergh chronicled the life of the famed American figure. That book delves into the entire life of the aviator, including his darker days when he was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer. THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS offers a different, more exuberant vision into the author's more youthful soul. I would recommend reading both books for a complete portrait of the man.

Inspiring
Lindbergh's flight solo New York to Paris is still hard to repeat with a small, prop driven, aircraft. It is hard to summarize or constuct a methaphor to measure the impact of Lindbergh's historic flight in today's setting, it was such a great leap forward for mankind.

The flight inspired my father, 14 years old and living on a farm in Wisconsin in 1927, to become a graduate aerospace engineer, and later to work on the design of the P-38, X-15, and the Apollo capsule, among others, many of which he could not even tell me about. It had similar effects and results for thousands of others.

This book is well written and documents not only the flight, but the life of Lindbergh, and the logistics of pulling off this incredible event. After reading this book, I came to the opinion that the planning and logistics (including fundraising and sponsorship) may have been more difficult than the actual flight. We owe much for this leap forward to a group of individuals from St. Louis, who told Lindbergh, "you worry about the design, building, and flying of the aircraft, we will take care of the money". Reading about this portion of the effort alone, provides much food for thought about current corporate management and government projects. A case study in delegation! I found this book interesting, fascinating, well written, and inspiring. The event and the book are timeless. Reading it makes you realize the difference one person can make when perseverance is applied in a large dose.

good history of Spirit's flight
This book got a little dry at times but it is a great 1-stop shop for anyone who wants to know everything about the famous flight.

An Adventure That Soars
It's no surprise that Charles Lindbergh was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1954 for the book he had labored on - perfecting, if you will, as a perfectionist does - for fourteen years.

One would expect that a soft-spoken, intellectual type such as Lindbergh would write a rather drab, scientific account of the most dangerous and thrilling flight in history (yes, even more dangerous and thrilling than the Apollo missions.)

Instead we get a book that that carries us on wings of a pulsating first person indicative, from the beginning: his days as one of the first airmail pilots when the idea for the flight originated; to the final destination: the spectacular night landing at the Le Bourget Airport in Paris where a throng of hundreds of thousands swarmed toward the little monoplane, nearly swallowing it and its exhausted pilot.

The Spirit of St. Louis is likely the most absorbing true adventure story written by an American. It's a masterwork that rates as Lucky Lindy's second great achievement. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Well researched and wonderfully written!
An extremely well written book covering the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. I actually felt like I was right there witnessing the whole thing unfold.

This book illustrates how the media can convict the innocent
This historically accurate recount of the Lindberg baby kidnapping is OUTSTANDING! There are multiple examples of newspapers publishing bogus evidence, which in time persuaded jury members. Readers will be amazed at how an obviously innocent man was convited of a crime, then acquited after his execution. This is a TRUE CRIME book.

well documented and thought provoking book
This book deserves a wider audience and with the recent film version on HBO (CRIME OF THE CENTURY) perhaps it will get it. In this, the golden era of conspiracy theories, it is fashionable to pooh-pooh historians who question standard accounts of famous events, but Kennedy's work is so well documented and the lies told by prosecutors in the Lindbergh case so baldfaced and egregious that it is hard not to be saddened, outraged and flabbergasted at this exceedingly dark spot on the American judicial system. Almost Kafkaesque in its portrayal of a world gone mad in its desire to want so badly to believe Richard Hauptman was guilty, the actions portrayed would be funny if their consequences weren't so dire and if Kennedy didn't solidly ground them in the appropriate moral anger at those who knowingly lied in order to secure Hauptman's conviction and execution ... Read more

Reviews (2)

GREAT
This is a great biographie on one of the greatest people ever! THIS IS A MUST READ

An intimate conversation with an adventurous sage
Charles A. Lindbergh, first person to fly the Atlantic alone, is a fascinating character. This book, written at the end of his life, is a glimpse in the fertile mind of a great man. He tells the story of being one of the first modern media celebrities, an unsought burden. We also follow him through his careers as a pilot in World War II and as a medical researcher.

The real appeal of this book is not the facts of Lindbergh's life, amazing and interesting as they are. The true privilege for the reader is to hear Lindbergh ruminate on the nature of life and spirituality, the ways to remain sane and centered in modern society, and what it means to be an individual while part of a team.

Lindbergh emerges from this memoir as a deep and warm human, one whose passage through this plane touched so many in a positive way. ... Read more

Book Description

Pilot Charles A. Lindbergh was one of the first Americans to be lionized by the news media.When LIndbergh made his nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927, radio and sound movies were just beginning to be popular, enabling people to learn of events almost as soon as they happened.Overnight, the 25-year-old Lindbergh, a man of modest means and education, was catapulted into the public limelight.He became the American hero whom everyone adored and thought could do no wrong.Lindbergh's popularity lasted little more than a decade.His ties to Nazi Germany and his outspoken isolationist views prior to World War II cost him the respect of many close friend and relatives, and of the general public as well.The story of Lindbergh's rise to fame and abrupt descent into disgrace is told here with frankness and understanding.The meticulously researched text and generous selection of archival photographs present a lively and rounded portrait of a man who earned his place in aviation history despite his faults. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Lindbergh in all his glorious complexity
The general idea behind Giblin's book is that Charles Lindbergh was a hero despite his faults and flaws. Cleverly, he has chosen to present Charles's life in full, making him a understandable character, before later revealing his Nazi sympathies. Giblin is no stranger to the controversial biography. His adept children's book, "The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler", follows much the same path as this earlier creation. Lindbergh's life was nothing if not exciting. He became the first man to cross the Atlantic from New York to Paris. Then his baby was kidnapped and killed. Then he started spouting racist and anti-semitic speeches in an effort to keep America out of World War Two. Finally, he worked tirelessly to conserve the environment and protect endangered species for the rest of his life. If you examine these facts as a whole, you find it difficult to pigeonhole this fascinating human being. Giblin has presented his subject honestly. People who see Lindbergh as a hero and people who see him as a racist traitor will both enjoy this riveting biography. To his credit, Giblin never shies away from the negative aspects of his otherwise beloved subject. Though he offers several possible explanations for Lindbergh's relentless isolationism, he lets the viewers come to their own conclusions about this tarnished man.

Giblin is to be commended for his research as well. There is no fact presented in this book that is not backed up by rigorous sourcenotes. An adept timeline, index, and bibliography appear in the back of the text. Personally, I find it difficult to forgive Lindbergh his crimes. Just the same, I cannot help but find things to admire about him, all thanks to Giblin's amazing skills as a children's biographer. This book is a full-scale biography that every student of history should read.

Charles Lindberg
This book is about Charles Lindbergh, the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean with his Spirit of St. Louis. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Charles Lindbergh. ... Read more

Book Description

1927. The famous flier's own story of his life and his transatlantic flight, together with his views on the future of aviation. Flying was his trade, his means of livelihood, but the love of it burned in him with a fine passion and his fame gave him a wider scope of usefulness, he announced he would devote himself wholeheartedly to the advance of aeronautics. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

This is a true Anerican adventure.
For years I've wanted to read this book! I finely got to do it. Have the movie "Spirit of St. Louis" but the book puts you right in with the pilot. He flew this "mission" by the seat of his pants, and this was true flying. A must read!

Memoir of a superhero, '20s style
Lindbergh certainly was the superstar of his day. Following his singlehanded flight from New York to Paris in May 1927, the public rapturously hung on his every word. In this memoir, written only days after the event and subtitled "the Famous Flier's Own Story of His Life and His Transatlantic Flight, Together With His Views on the Future of Aviation," the "Lone Eagle" tells about his childhood, how he acquired his first plane, his career as a stunt flier, his training in the Army Air Corps, and his work as an Air Mail pilot (including his four emergency parachute jumps). Then, in great detail, he describes the preparations for his epic flight, the flight itself, and the wild welcome that met him in Europe. The "spiritual meaning" of his flight also gets a lot of coverage.

Maybe it's just the cynicism of the latter part of the 20th century, but all the modesty seems somehow self-serving. The timing of this book makes it important to anyone interested in Lindbergh, but his later "The Spirit of St. Louis" is a far better book.

A 1927 fresh-from-the-flight account by Lindbergh himself.
Someone once said that nobody told his own story better than Lindbergh himself.When one considers the continuous flow of books written about him, this is an opinion to be seriously considered.

Thoughts naturallyleap to his Pulitzer prize-winning The Spirit of St. Louis, which still haslavish praise heaped upon it by even Lindbergh's most recent biographers. Published in 1952, more than 15 years after Lindbergh's historictransatlantic nonstop flight from New York to Paris, its intriguing flow isheightened by what is known in the world of English grammar as thehistorical present indicative tense, a seldom-used approach by writersbecause it is said to be so difficult to sustain, particularly over thelong haul of an entire book's length.In short, the author describes whatis happening at a particular moment, but zig-zags flashback style out ofthe present while the author recalls moments in his history past.

Stayalert, Reader, for anyone writing in this manner must perform near-perfectwriting artistry to maintain interest.Of course, The Spirit of St. Louisfalls into that elegant category.

All but vanished into the shelves ofjuvenile literature in some libraries - or the collections of those whotreasure its merits (or collect Lindberghiana)- is the long-forgottenLindbergh memoir simply entitled "We."

Here comes theinevitable momentary comparison with The Spirit of St. Louis, whichLindbergh worked on for close to 13 years and sent to numerous critics andfriends for review during the long writing process.This is not acriticism of Lindbergh, for he was a perfectionist; the book he thenproduced was worth its wait in spades.

But "We" is the oneand only fresh-from-the-flight retelling of our newly crowned hero'slifetime adventures.Rushed to publication just three weeks later, makingit the converse of its younger brother, this is precisely where the book'sreal value counts.

Consider the times:it was 1927 - those topsy-turveytwenties.Much as we know that they were famous for the Charleston,fashion, fun, and freedom, despite what Mom thought, they were dark times,nonetheless, for many veterans returning from World War I found their jobshad vanished.It was not long before sound waves coming from Europe weretroubling.And - there was no hero in the White House, for Coolidgeneither aroused enthusiasm nor had any sense that he should try.However,technology was being harnessed to an untold degree.Radio, telephone andHenry Ford's Model T were opening up linkages across America inunprecedented fashion.Aviation was being heralded as a form ofcommunication where, unimaginably, it might even become possible to carrypassengers from one destination to another.

Lindbergh's feat was not onlya large miracle, but placed in his times, there comes the realization thathe also had the benefit of a press and pubic longing to break the rules,see the world, and hoist a hero into history.His natural good looks anddemeanor only added to the package; he was irresistible!

Written instraightforwaard, unvarnished prose, in"We," Lindbergh not onlytakes the reader into the fledgling wings of aviation, but recalls hisearly life, progressing from boyhood through planehood and on intoherohood.How could anyone not be caught up in this real-lifehero-in-the-making myth?Here we have simple language telling of a goldendream.Plainly told in boy next store sentences, the book is more than adress rehearsal for the prize winner which succeeded it.

Beginning withthe conventional, "I was born in... . My father was... .", ofLindbergh's still pristine memories, he wrote:"On several moreoccasions it was necessary to fly by instrument for short periods; then thefog broke into patches.These patches took on forms of every description.Numerous shorelines appeared, with trees perfectly outlined against thehorizon.In fact, the mirages were so natural that, had I not been in themid-Atlantic and known that no land existed along my route, I would havetaken them to be actual islands."

Could anyone else have writtenthis you-are-there recounting, told as only a young Lindbergh - not aseasoned, even embattled Lindbergh, could tell it?"We" is anear-instant, first person replay which history would be a little numberwithout, and without which, THIS Lindbergh could not have been known.

Andthat almost happened, except our hero wouldn't allow it.Originallyassigned to ghostwriter Carlyle MacDonald's pen by G. P. Putnam, Lindberghwas aghast to see what he considered either mistakes or misinterpretationsin MacDonald's version.No one but he would write his book - which hadbeen promised for publication in a matter of weeks.The hapless MacDonalddid make one major contribution, for it was he who named "We""We," having noted Lindbergh's overt use of the "firstperson plural" when referring to his plane and himself.One of thefew rounds Lindbergh ever lost, "We" stuck!Perhaps it would nothave mattered an iota aabout the title; it sold a riotous 190,000 copies injust two months and earned its author more than a hundred thousand dollarsin the first six months, quite an achievement for that time or anyother.

"We" still graces library shelves, albeit, you may haveto look in the young readers' section.Or maybe, now that you are aware ofit, you might try mentioning it to Aunt Isabel, because she just may have acopy sitting on her own oak library shelf! ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

A watercolor history of Lindbergh from boyhood to Paris
I had not realized it, but this year is the 75th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh flying solo across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis. So I was curious to see what was out there in terms of juvenile literature about the Lone Eagle. Chris L. Demarest does both the writing and the watercolor illustrations in "Lindbergh." The book goes from Lindbergh's birth in 1902, when "not a single plane flew in the American sky," and ends with the Spirit of St. Louis touching down in Paris. An afterword touches on Lindbergh's life after his historic flight, which included helping to develop the first heart pump successfully used to keep patients alive during transplant operations, although it does refrain from talking about the kidnapping of his first sun (which is not especially something young readers need to know about). Demarest gives a nice sense of what life what like for Lindbergh when he was a boy and covers his love of flying which led to the trans-Atlantic flight. The highlights of the flight are covered, so "Lindbergh" certainly gives young readers an introduction into one of the great American heroes of the 20th century. ... Read more

Book Description

"The day after which nothing could be the same for him was Friday, May 20, 1927. That morning, alone in a little plane powered by a single engine, Charles A. Lindbergh took off from a muddy runway on the outskirts of New York. His destination was Paris."

So begins Brendan Gill's book about the most extraordinary feat of one of our century's most extraordinary men. With his clarity of vision and his characteristic elegance, Gill gives us a meditation on one man's unprecedented accomplishment, and the world's overwhelming response. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

First rate
Stunning, detailed account of the life of Charles Lindbergh; one of a handful of pioneering aviators with the vision and passionate zeal to advance the cause of commercial aviation. A very personal, and revealing study of the man who, in his record 34 hour flight from New York to Paris, changed the world in ways he never dreamed of; for the catalyst of his flight was the start of the Air Age. Well written and lavishly illustrated with photos rarely seen from the Lindbergh Family Album. Anyone remotely interested in aviation should read this book, or view the film "Spirit of St. Louis". ... Read more

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Susan Hertog managed to obtain 10 separate interviews with her very private subject (though not access to Anne Morrow Lindbergh's unpublished papers), and her personal involvement shows in every line of this impassioned biography. Hertog's searching account of the Lindbergh marriage explores the complex union of two people who loved each other deeply yet were emotionally ill-suited. Charles "saw the rebel heart inside the timid girl" and liberated a confined daughter of privilege into a world of adventure, but "[the] price she paid for her Prince" was high, including painful loneliness during his frequent absences and, most agonizingly, the 1932 death of their baby son. Though he was killed by kidnappers, in the Lindberghs' view he was equally a victim of the relentless publicity surrounding them. As the couple withdrew to protect their other children, Anne experienced a sense of isolation, but she was also liberated to explore her inner life and to delineate it in her writing--which was always supported by Charles. Hertog, who read Gift from the Sea (1955) as a new mother without knowing anything about its author, enthusiastically assesses that bestseller and other books in which Anne asserted that "a woman must come of age by herself," reminding readers that Anne Morrow Lindbergh is not the wife of a famous aviator, but a source of inspiration in her own right. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (23)

A Fascinating autionary Biography Of Anne Morrow Lindbergh!
This book is a wonderful reminder of just how remarkable a woman the long-suffering Anne Morrow Lindbergh was in her own right, and of the difficult time she had emerging from the extremely dark shadows of husband Charles Lindbergh life of accomplishment, aggravation, and pathetic self-absorption. In this literate and quite readable biography by Susan Hertog, a portrait of this singular woman comes soaring to the heights despite of life of incredible personal hardship and sorrow. It is also a sad reminder that into each life rain must fall, regardless of how affluent, famous, or privileged.

It is a common place by this point in our history that Anne Morrow Lindbergh was a victim of colossal proportions, not only in terms of the controversial and shocking kidnapping and death of her infant son in the early 1930s, but also by her domination for decades by "Lucky Lindy", and she was trapped by convention and circumstance into an incredibly difficult life with this brilliant but strangely detached human being she was married to. From the moment they met her life was destined to trail in the shadow of his, both by virtue of tradition and her own desire to have a predominantly private life. Yet, curiously, she ironically married the man most singularly unable to give her all that she wanted and needed. Their life together is a somber and complicated modern American tragedy on the scale of "Death of a Salesman".

Yet Anne Morrow Lindbergh rose above her situation and their personal life of tragedy and disappointment. Lindbergh was a peripatetic traveler, and while she often accompanied him (indeed, he insisted in order to keep her primary focus exclusively on him rather than on their children or anything else), in their later years they came to live increasingly more separate and distinct lives, even while together. To say Lindbergh was a bizarre man and a strange soul is to be kind to a man described in pitiless terms by his widow herself and his adult child. It is easy for younger readers ignorant of how difficult and scandalous divorce or separation would have been for her, it may seem difficult to understand why she stayed with him despite his cruelty, indifference, and prejudices all those years. But for older readers more familiar with the older and more common character virtues people of Mrs. Lindbergh's generation, social background, and time subscribed to, it is a tragic set of circumstances that only she can understand in all its tragic overtones.

This is a close up portrait of a woman tragically trapped by fame, marriage, and social convention into a life of limitless advantages but cruelly wasted opportunities. That she was as successful as an author, humanitarian, social activist and early feminist later in her life is a tribute to a remarkable woman, and yet a bittersweet reminder of how much more she might have been had she never met her future husband. This is a interesting, well written, and captivating study of a woman and her times, and is one I recommend to people interested in a most fascinating yet offbeat biography. Enjoy!

Her Extraordinary Life
I just finished this book. Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an amazing and inspiring lady and this book gives the reader a detailed account of her life. My tastes in reading material usually are geared more towards contemporary fiction but I picked up this book on a recomendation from a friend. And if you are like me, you probably have a stack of books on your bedside table that you are systematically reading. Well, Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life, came to the top of that pile and dutifully I started reading. I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book (seeing as how the 'biography' has not been my first choice in reading material). The content (AML's life) is just so interesting that it is better then most of the fiction I have read as of late. Anne Morrow Lindbergh is just such a remarkable lady and the author has gone to great length to "know" her subject. You will find the depth of the research Ms. Hertog did on AML to be nothing short of phenomanal. The chapters on the Lindbergh Baby kidknapping literally took my breath away and kept me up until three o'clock in the morning. The writing was that fresh and intense, I felt as if I was experiencing it all first hand.

Susan Hertog's Incomplete Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Susan Hertog takes full advantage of ten audiences with her subject, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She manages to capture the complexities of Mrs. Lindbergh's character and the contradictions of her marriage to an American icon, Charles Lindbergh. The fact that the Lindbergh family has largely disavowed the book doesn't detract from Ms. Hertog's insights.

Unfortunately, the lengthy book, published almost 20 years after Charles Lindbergh died in 1974, virtually ends with his death...when Anne Morrow Lindbergh was 68 years old (she lived on until 2002). Almost nothing of Mrs. Lindbergh's life in widowhood is mentioned, which gives the unintended impression that in the final analysis, she was simply Charles Lindbergh's wife, not an accomplished woman deserving of her own biography.

In fact, the middle-aged Anne Morrow Lindbergh became a role model for working women, albeit she was always too self-effacing to occupy a leadership position in the gender wars.

A crashing disappointment
Having read Anne Morrow Lindbergh's diaries, her daughter Reeve's first memoir, Berg's biography of Charles, and Gift from the Sea, I was truly looking forward to this biography. Knowing that the author had interviewed Mrs. Lindbergh, I was expecting new insights into someone who, I believe, was one of the 20th century's most remarkable women. What I found instead was a rehash of all the material I had previously read linked together with lame "psychological insights" and platitudes.

Another thing that bothered me was her considerable reliance on the published diaries without taking into account that they were edited for publication, and by Charles at that, who saw them as a way to refurbish his public image, using his wife's popularity following the publication of Gift from the Sea.

In short, there is no depth to this book at all.

A LIFE GUIDEBOOK
I loved this book. We used it in book club and it became the foundation for an incredible discussion. I am adding this to my best friend's wedding shower gift and I'm getting a copy for my mother-in-law who is going through the "I'm getting older - what now?" phase. It's one of those books people should read at every new life stage: marriage, kids, empty nest... It's truly a guide book, or a "logical reinforcement" book that tells you what you already know - that people need private time to nourish their soul. This is NOT new agey - it is more a woman revealing intimate discoveries. Coming from a H.S. English teacher, this one is meaty. ... Read more

Book Description

With his historic 1927 flight across the Atlantic in The Spirit of St. Louis, Charles Lindbergh overnight became one of America’s most celebrated heroes. In this highly readable biography, best-selling author Leonard Mosley offers an fascinating account of Lindbergh’s childhood, days as a barnstormer and mail pilot, the flight to Paris and its aftermath, the Hauptmann trial, his later life, and much more. Source Notes. Index. 40 halftone illus.
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Reviews (1)

Indeed,God is my Co-Pilot....
This bio has merit,to be supplemented by many of their auto-biographical writings. Anne was painfully shy--flew across USA promoting safe Air Travel..she gained lst woman's glider pilot license,(1930) Died in Vt, at 94, Feb 7,2001. Just 1 week before valentines Day. Love,Peace..of aviation history...to big sky country,gone. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Average biography
There is not much in this book that I have not read before in other books.I found the organization to be a little confusing and repetitive.One of the timelines also gives the date of Hitler's suicide as 3 weeks after the end of WW2. ... Read more