Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis - Hardcover

F. Robert Van Der Linden; Dominick A. Pisano; Reeve Lindbergh

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810905523 ISBN 13: 9780810905528

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2002

Synopsis

A seventy-fifth anniversary tribute to Charles Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic considers his sophisticated grasp of aviation technology and considerable skills as a pilot, in a volume complemented by archival photography and new pictures of the airplane.

About this title

Review

In 1927, 25-year-old American aviator Charles Lindbergh earned international fame by making the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean (and won a prize of $25,000 in the bargain). This lively book, a publication of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, celebrates that great accomplishment in words and images. Museum curators Dominick Pisano and F. Robert van der Linden draw on the Smithsonian's holdings (among them Lindbergh's then-state-of-the-art monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis) to offer a portrait of the famed pilot in the context of his time. They emphasize Lindbergh's calculated daring--he did not carry a parachute or heavy radio, for instance, reckoning that neither would be useful should he have to ditch at sea--and his abilities, unusual for a man of his age and the time. They also chart Lindbergh's progress from young flyer to world hero, considering his later career without shying away from its unpleasant aspects--notably, his early embrace of Adolf Hitler's regime and his insistence that the United States not take the side of England and France in the impending global war, at considerable cost to his reputation. Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Lindbergh's flight and the centenary of his birth, this book makes a fine gift for aviation and history buffs. --Gregory McNamee

From Booklist

May 20-21, 2002, is the seventy-fifth anniversary of then 25-year-old Charles Lindbergh's nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris in a specially built monoplane dubbed Spirit of St. Louis by one of the feat's Missouri-based financial supporters. In this lovely book, dozens of photographs of the pilot, the plane, the event, and its aftermath accompany intelligent summaries of Lindbergh's early life, the making of the plane, the flight, and Lindbergh's subsequent life as the twentieth-century American hero. The flight's basics are probably still common knowledge, but lesser-known aspects--such as New York restaurateur Raymond Orteig's promise of $25,000 for the flier who first crossed the Atlantic or the 48-state tour Lindbergh and the Spirit flew during the summer of 1927--may be news to many. The authors downplay the Lindbergh-baby kidnapping and murder, seemingly in favor of discussing Lindbergh's opposition to U.S. entry into World War II (unfortunately, with more political correctness than understanding), his postwar criticism of the aviation industry, and his late-life environmentalism. A top-flight commemorative. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0810905523
• ISBN 13: 9780810905528
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 144