Lindbergh

Rating:
Summary: Lindberg Still A Stranger!
Review: Understanding Lindberg is something you won't really find in this over ingenious uninsightful effort. Understanding Lindberg is perhaps too much to ask of any biographer. For example, the author believes Lindberg went on long trips after the birth of his second and third child because Lindberg didn't want to get too attached to the new kids. The biographer even implies that Lindberg had lost his fatherly feelings in this. However, the biographer's speculation here may really be the biographer's problem with children, not Lindberg's. Perhaps even a deep-seated dislike of his subject and perhaps of children, too. What kind of biographer would write such trash? In point of this, Lindberg loved his children deeply and showed it. Lindberg made this public. In point of the biographer's speculation, Lindberg actually stayed away from the newborns so that the news media would not blow up the event of the births and attract more madman and murderers to the infants. Anyone can understand this reason, anyone except the instant biographer. If you lived during the Lindberg kidnapping, you know exactly what I mean. Lindberg's bad luck was a direct result of his fame. When his next two children arrived, he and his wife flew around the world so as to keep the fame hunters away from the new babies. Apparently, the present biographer being a fame hunter himself believes that Lindy actually was abandoning his children by taking off. You can bet this type of biography has some hidden agenda to it given its misunderstanding both accidental and deliberate. Shame, shame, shame

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read. Shows the all too human side of Lindbergh
Review: Berg certainly decerved the Pulitzer for this work. An excellent read; shows the all too human side of Lindbergh. A very complicated man, a very complicated, but rewarding life.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic portrayal of an enigmatic man
Review: Scott Berg has put together a magnificent piece of literature worthy of its many accolades. I am now a compulsive reader of biographies, and I must say that Berg has managed to capture even the most subtle nuances in the life of Charles Lindbergh while keeping the reader captivated through symbolic expression. I liken it to Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln in regard to their impressive style of writing. Rather than providing a simple list of common knowledge, both authors concentrate on showing the inner workings of their respective subjects. The point is an accurate yet entertaining chronicle of the celebrated characters in our world's history, or so I believe. Scott Berg has a strong grasp on this concept, one which some people seem to not quite comprehend. One must attempt to UNDERSTAND the book rather than writing it off on first glance. It evokes incredible moral thought and philisophy, and the book provides a very effective spring board for personal interpretation as well as the author's intended themes. The detail with which Berg portrays the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Lindbegh's eldest son brings a tear to the eye. Scott Berg depicts the thematic life of a perplexing character very well, highest recommendations.

Rating:
Summary: It could have been better
Review: I was given this book by my girlfriend as a gift because I love aviation andstories about aviators. I was really happy because it looked to be a good read about a very interesting man, whom I knew little about. Unfortunately, I think the self-affected Mr. Berg got in the way of this great story. First, is it just me, or does every page contain reference to Princeton or Yale Universities, or Smith College. His constant references to these facts for people that were trivial in the scope of the the main story got to be a bit repetitive. Second, although I think Berg does a great job in describing Lindbergh's roots and the flight over the Atlantic, there was little detail after the 1940's. I wanted to read about Charles not Anne Morrow (who definitely deserves her own biography). The book seems to be as much about her as it is about Lindy(if not more so). Berg doesn't discuss in great detail the trips overseas Lindy took, what Lindbergh did, who he saw or any other details I would have liked to have seen. Third, Berg makes some minor factual mistakes in the book. I only mention this because for such a long time between books(10 years??!!!!), you think Berg would have checked the facts completely. For one thing, he mentions the US Air Force during WWII. However, the USAF was actually the US Army Air Force and wasn't seperated until 1946-47-48- definitely after the war. Also, Berg mentions Lindy bunked one night with Thomas Mcguire on an island in the South Pacific, but Berg makes it sound that McGuire (2nd leading ace of the war) was a Marine and not USAAF. Overall, I would like to read the Max Perkins book, because I think Berg is a decent writer. Yet, I think the great book about Lindbergh has yet to be written. It's my impression that Berg (having read the book and seen him on some interviews) is an affected man, who is impressed with the friends he has accumulated by writing and the lifestyle he leads because of it ( say hello to Hepburn for me Scott). Great for him, but I think this book will only leave the reader asking more questions about Lindbergh then are answered and that's unfortunate because the point is to answer the questions. Further, Berg seems to write about the man as though nobody knew him, not even his wife. If he had access to letters, etc, where are they???? Did Lindy ever write or is his record the junk mail he didn't open. This book is relative disappointment. If the other readers think this book is detailed - read a book about Peter the Great by Massie, that is a detailed book written without benefit of boxes at Yale or First in His Class by Maraniss, far better biographies because we get the soul of the people, which is the entire point. A for effort C in final analysis - maybe someone else can write a better book in a few years so Lindy isn't some ethereal person up in the clouds.

Rating:
Summary: Panoramic
Review: It's a big book, but I read it all. Found out a lot I didn't know about Lindberg and his times. Was Lindberg anti-semitic? Despite Berg's efforts to be balanced about it, I think the answer is yes. One thing Berg doesn't mention is that although Lindberg was a publically active figure throughout the 50s and 60s, and certainly a pioneer in the environmental movement, he appears to have not had a word to say about the great natinal issue of that period, the civil rights movement.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent biography of an American hero
Review: CL had his faults which this biography points out very clearly. But the narrative describes so well the history of the times that I found it diffult to put the book down. I remember very well the newspapers in the 1930's and the description of the Hauptman trial and execution. This book captures all of this very vividly. In spite of his errors in judgment during the prewar years CL did this all with great sincerity and with great patriotism. Wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful account of an American hero.
Review: I stood over Lindbergh's grave at Hana three months ago with my wife and daughter. We pondered his gravestone: "If I take the wings of the morning,/And dwell on the uttermost parts of the sea." And we looked at each other and said, "Then what?" When we got back to San Francisco, I saw Mr. Berg's book and bought it thinking, "Nah. He won't address that kind of detail." But he did, on page 557, and a lot more. It's a real pleasure to meet the Lindberghs. I wish them only the best.

Rating:
Summary: Lindbergh - A Coward and a Wimp!
Review: This was an informative and entertaining read. Although, the more I read, the longer it took me to get through the moderately thick pages. Why? Because the more I read, the more I lost interest in the subject. This was a man who had one great accomplishment and then let the world support him. His instincts were off about people and he was scared to take sides. I'm glad I read this book. I learned about somone I only heard of and have nothing more to learn from.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating true life story of a remarkable man.
Review: This is a fascinating true life story a a remarkable man living in remarkable times. I was surprised to learn that Lindbergh's achievements were not limited to the field of aviation. He made major contributions in the field of medical science. The quality of Mr. Berg's writing is unsurpassed. It is hard to see how anyone would be disappointed with this book.

Rating:
Summary: Berg's best when he gets the truth out
Review: This book deserves a good score just for getting out the truth about Lindbergh's views on the Jewish. The ignorant spout of "Lindbergh was an anti-Semite" without backing up their claims with any evidence. Berg does the easy thing and actually points to the speech in question, which criticizes the wide support for the military-industrial complex from a variety of groups. Lindbergh even went so far as to excuse Jewish supporters of belligerence given the very personal stake they had in seeing the end of Hitler.

If Lindbergh was an anti-Semite, there is no evidence to support it, only platitudinous folklore.