Lindbergh

Rating:
Summary: Most even-handed account of Lindbergh I have seen
Review: The celebrities that we are familiar with now are stars in the movies, music, sports, politics or some combination. However, the biggest celebrity of the twentieth century was Charles A. Lindbergh. He was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic and it was an event that catapulted him into an international hero. It started before he even landed at the airport in Paris. As was reported in this book, there were so many car headlights around the airport that at first he couldn't recognize it from the air. Once he landed, the only way he was able to escape the crush of the media was to have his aviator cap placed on another person, who acted as a decoy while Lindbergh slipped away.
Since those tragic days when his infant son was kidnapped and died during the crime, many additional crimes have been dubbed "the crime of the century." However, that is nonsense, the kidnapping of Lindbergh's son was without question the greatest crime of the twentieth century. It seems that the question of whether Hauptmann actually did it or whether the baby really died never seems to be truly settled. That is astonishing, for although Hauptmann denied it, the amount of evidence against him was overwhelming.
Lindbergh also suffered from the affliction that all major celebrities suffer from, that the public always takes their every statement beyond what it is actually worth or what was meant. As an aviation expert, in the thirties, Lindbergh was asked by the U. S. military to go to Germany and report on what he saw concerning the growing power of the Luftwaffe. His statements about the rising power of the Nazi air force have been soundly criticized and used to argue that he was pro-Nazi. That is nonsensical, his reports, as was later obvious from the efficiency of the Lufwaffe in World War II, were honest and accurate. As only military historians seem to know, the German air force was the best in the world when World War II started. Lindbergh was right about that and had the allied political leadership paid more attention to him, they may have been better prepared for the German attacks.
I was not aware that Lindbergh actually flew combat missions in the Pacific theatre in World War II. Since I knew that he was no longer in the military at that time, I had assumed that he was not involved in combat. He flew "observational" and "test" missions, and the military commanders said that if he was to choose to engage in some "target practice" while flying, no one would object. His "target practice" even included shooting down a Japanese fighter. I also knew that Lindbergh and Franklin Roosevelt had a mutual dislike for each other, but I had no idea that Roosevelt hated Lindbergh so much. Part of it was due to Lindbergh's involvement in the American First committee, which was so strongly opposed to Roosevelt's pushing the U. S. into involvement in the wars in Asia and Europe. However, some of it was probably due to Roosevelt's realization that he should have paid more attention to Lindbergh earlier. Roosevelt accomplished much while he was president, and he richly deserves the credit for having won World War II. The often forgotten reality is that he was also a ruthless politician when he had to be, and he only reluctantly backed off from hounding someone he perceived as an enemy.
I was also unaware of how talented Lindbergh and his wife Anne were as writers. Quite naturally, their books would make a mark due to their celebrity status, but that would only take them so far. The rest was due to their writing talents, which were considerable. Both Charles and Anne were subjected to a great deal of praise and vituperation during their lives. So bad that years after their child was kidnapped, they regularly received letters threatening to kidnap and even kill their remaining children. Which shows us how little the consequences of being a celebrity have changed over the last seventy years.
This is an excellent biography of how a boy from rural Minnesota became the greatest hero of the twentieth century. On the whole, he handled his celebrity status very well, even after it cost him his son. There is also an honest appraisal of Lindbergh's contact with the Nazi government, he was never as pro Nazi as his critics have charged. Lindbergh has also been accused of being anti-semitic over his remarks concerning the desires of Jews. Yes, he said that Jews were trying to push the United States into war with Germany, but he also said that he understood why. Nevertheless, his point was that the persecution in Europe was not enough to justify the United States going to war. When you consider that Lindbergh's statement has been official U. S. policy for decades after World War II, then it is clear that he was merely expressing the opinion held by most Americans concerning the justification for war. Since that time, we have seen persecution and slaughter in many areas around the world and the U. S. has yet to consider it a reason to go to war on any significant scale.
This book is the most even-handed appraisal of the life of Lindbergh, what he did, what he really believed and all of his many accomplishments after the Spirit of St. Louis landed at the airfield outside Paris.


Rating:
Summary: An excellent biography
Review: Berg has put together a fascinating account of a man both of great popularity and later of great resentment. Pages turn quickly and it becomes harder and harder to put it down.

My expertise is specific to the kidnapping of Lindbergh's son, so I can only critique the historical accuracy of that portion of his book. Because the book only deals briefly with the subject as Lindbergh had a long and very interesting life, most of the references are not highly detailed. However, I could find no major errors or discrepancies.

In all, a worthy publication.

Rating:
Summary: Well balanced, well written, author treads lightly...
Review: Great book and I encourage those interested to read the book. However, Berg does tread lightly on the America First issue. Though he is direct in printing Lindbergh's previously unpublished diary entries. All in all the book is very well rounded, and extremely well-written. I finished most of it in an evening (not to say it is short, just very easy to get through). It was very enjoyable, if not a tad hero-worshipy. Lindbergh was a man of contradictions and this book illustrates his contradictions. The book does a good job of portraying Lindbergh as a convicted (if not aloof) man. Interesting character in American history. Please do read it.

Rating:
Summary: "Lindbergh" by A. Scott Berg
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Unsure
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: an extraordinary man with extraordinary intellect & courage!
Review: Most of us only know Lindbergh as the man who made history by being the first to fly solo across the Atlantic, in that famous flight of 1927. On that alone, Lindbergh is a man to be praised for his courage, intelligence, heroism and perseverance.

However, there is much more to Charles A. Lindbergh than his enormous accomplishments as an aviator. In fact, the most interesting aspects of his life have nothing to do with aviation.

Scott Berg's biography describes these aspects of Lindbergh's life in an incredibly well-written book that flows from page to page. Within a few chapters, it's easy to see why this biography won the Pulitzer price. Berg is an expert at maintaining the right pulse, never boring the reader with too much detail while giving enough detail to present a thorough and accurate picture of Lindbergh.

But back to Lindbergh... I cannot say enough good things about this man. Sadly, the kind of selfless heroism found in Lindbergh is missing from society today.

As discussed in the book, Lindbergh became an adored celebrity across the world, after his record flight. The tragic kidnapping and murder of his first son, when the child was only an infant, was met with incredible support and empathy from thousands. Sadly, that all changed when Lindbergh began to courageously speak out against America's entry into the battles in Europe, pre-war. Lindbergh felt this was not America's war to fight. Plus, an even greater evil than Nazism existed -- the more tyrannical, more oppressive Communism in the Soviet Union -- and a war to topple Nazi Germany would only fortify and strengthen the Soviet Union (and so it did). More so, he felt America should only go to war to protect its own interests and when America itself was directly in danger. (Such was not the case with Nazi Germany, a sovereign nation that had not attacked us.) Lindbergh realized that, for reasons/influences lightly touched upon in the book, FDR was eager to go to war and pushing American public opinion in that direction. It took an enormous amount of courage for Lindbergh to speak out, along with many others of the America-First movement who were against the war. The press, predictably, pounced on Lindbergh, calling him a Nazi and a traitor. After Pearl Harbor and our declaration of war, Lindbergh felt that if we WERE going to go to war, and his efforts to prevent it had been unsuccessful, he would join the war effort. He immediately volunteered to join the armed forces yet spiteful FDR refused Lindbergh's valiant and noble offer.

One is also in awe of Lindbergh's selfnesses in that, for most of his career, he worked for little or no pay for the greater good of his country and Europe.

What a guy... THIS BOOK IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST-READ. Hats off to Scott Berg for an engrossing portrayal of this 20th century hero.

Rating:
Summary: Too Simple for a Complex Man
Review: Raise your hands - how many people see Jimmy Stewart when you hear the name Lindbergh?

Yet, we'd have a hard time seeing Jimmy embracing Hitler, which Lucky Lindy did. There's a brand now book out now exploring an "alternate universe" scenario where Lindbergh is president. One hypothetical outcome of President Linbergh is pogroms in the United States. Makes McCartyism seem like getting off easy...

This book dwells on the heroic aspects of Lindy without dishing up the forces which would draw this "simple country boy" into a belief that fascism would save the world. It cannot be just the "law and order" mentality delivered by the horrendous kidnapping of his baby, which seems to be suggested here.

Nonetheless, read this book before you read the new one on "President Lindberg." Real history is sometimes more challenging but more fun that the fictional stuff, and this book is straight facts.

Rating:
Summary: Sympathetic account of the "Lone Eagle"
Review: The subject of media attention throughout his life, Charles Lindbergh is a man whose legacy has been much defined by the images he left in the public imagination: his flight to Paris, the kidnapping and death of his son, his support of isolationism before the Second World War. Yet such events were only part of Lindbergh's astonishingly varied life, one that A. Scott Berg recounts in all its diversity.

Benefiting from access to Lindbergh's enormous collection personal papers (the consequence, Berg notes, of his desire to avoid distortions of his life), Berg provides a thorough account of his many activities, including his involvement in medical research and his support for environmental causes. His examination of the pilot's personal life is especially insightful; Lindbergh's wife Anne receives almost as much attention as her husband does, and Berg's account of their marriage is one of the great strengths of this book.

Yet there are many problems with the book. On occasion, Berg burdens the reader with details, clogging the text with irrelevant information about the minutiae of his subject's life (what his purpose was in detailing the layout of each place where the transient Lindbergh family lived escapes me). Moreover, he falls victim to a classic biographer's problem. Having immersed himself in Lindbergh's life, he views all of the events of the times through it, often overstating his contribution to them. Lindbergh comes across, for example, as the single greatest influence on the development of commercial aviation, yet were his ideas really that unique? And was Lindbergh really so dominant a media figure that his departure for Europe in 1935 launched a countrywide discussion on "the dismal state of the nation"? Berg's lack of critical analysis leaves such interpretations open to question.

Such flaws aside, Berg has written a good, sympathetic account of Lindbergh's life. Though readers will question some of the author's conclusions, this book will probably remain the standard work on the great aviator for decades to come.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best biographies I've ever read.
Review: This book has truly got it all. The definitive biography on Lindbergh, it begins with a fascinating subject in Charles Lindbergh himself. The man was a true enigma, a private person who became the most famous human up to his time. Lindbergh spent his life seeking something that he never quite seemed to find. The story also benefits by capturing an era when so much of life was in flux for so many.

A great story about a fascinating character, well-written and well-constructed. A must-read for biography and history buffs or for anyone interested in knowing more about Lindbergh.

Rating:
Summary: a worthwhile read
Review: This is no easy book to get through. Mr. Berg has done his homework and then some and the amount of detail he gives his readers is prodigious. However, the effort is well worth it as you end up with a very accurate picture of Mr. Lindbergh, warts and all. As a courageous aviator, he had no equal, but in his personal life, the flaws were extraordinary. This does not detract from the man but rather explains a lot of his drive, his restlessness, his perfectionism and his ultimate failure to get what he probably most wanted in life... approval from his dad. Many of Lindbergh's later views in life no doubt came directly from the mouth of his equally flawed father. This is something we all share and deal with in different ways. Lindbergh's way was not my way but it was HIS way and I was grateful for the opportunity to read such in depth analysis. I recommend this book highly and without reservation.