Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer [Hardcover]

Donald M. Goldstein (Author), Katherine V. Dillon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1997

The life story of one of America's most beloved heroines is explored on the 100th anniversary of her birth. Amelia offers new insights into the mystery that has confounded searchers for 60 years. What happened to Amelia Earhart? This work reveals the personality behind the celebrity and includes 30 photographs, some never before published.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA?Unlike the majority of books on Earhart, this one focuses on her entire life, and not just her mysterious disappearance. The authors strongly emphasize that their subject was much more than another aviator trying to set new records. Beginning with her childhood, they analyze why Earhart became not only one of aviation's great pioneers, but also a champion of women's rights and a devoted member of her family. When the inevitable disappearance is covered, it is handled with an almost scientific methodology, looking at all of the currently held theories. The book flows smoothly and is accessible to YAs. A must-read for any teen interested in aviation.?John Kiefman, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Comprehensive and gracefully written, this biography is highly recommended as an introduction to the life of a pioneering female aviator and remarkable individual. -- Choice, November 1997 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Brassey's Inc; 1st edition (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574881345
• ISBN-13: 978-1574881349
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,701,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't solve the mystery, December 13, 1999

By 

Jeffrey F. Bell (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer (Hardcover)

I read this book with high expectations, being familiar with Goldstein and Dillon from their earlier works with Prof. Gordon Prange on the Pearl Harbor attack. As a short biography of AE it passes muster; however as a serious attempt to investigate her disappearance in 1937 it falls short. The authors rely almost completely on an unpublished manuscript by Capt. Laurence Safford USN (famous to Pearl Harbor conspiracy buffs from his role in the "East Wind Rain" controversy). In the few places where this source is quoted directly, serious errors can be detected. For instance on p.236, Safford rejects the generally accepted theory that Earhart's 157-337 line of position was a sunrise observation by Noonan, on the grounds that she was using magnetic bearings and "A discrepancy of nine degrees is hard to swallow". On p.239 we learn that the difference between true and magnetic bearings near Howland Is. is exactly nine degrees! It is clear from this that Earhardt and Noonan were following the standard practice in celestial navigation of working in true bearings. Evidently none of the authors or editors had even a cursory knowledge of air navigation. These kinds of errors make me doubt all the information in this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amelia: a woman of independence!!, December 6, 2001

By 

Jeanine Vento (Pittsburgh, Pa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amelia: A Life of the Aviation Legend (Potomac's Paperback Classics) (Paperback)

(...) As soon as I started to read this book I couldn't set it down. It was really and truly inspirational, it shows you don't have to be a man, to do something thats considered a man's job, all you need, is determination and to have your heart in soul in it... but most of all do it for fun, do it becasue you love it! I read a lot of books and I know that you always have something to say or a lesson you get out of the story. Out of this book I've gotten knowledge of women heroes, of women leaders, and it also showed me to do what i want to do, when I want to do it, because you will regret it later. That's why I gave this book review 5 stars and 2 thumbs up!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comments on Amelia by Goldstein and Dillon, June 21, 2003

By 

RONALD REUTHER (Belvedere, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Amelia: The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer (Hardcover)

This is book worth reading because it incorporates for the first time in any published book the unpublished and uncompleted manuscript on Amelia and her disappearance entitled "Flight into Yesterday, the Amelia Earhart Enigma" by Laurence Safford, CPT USN (Ret). Safford was a famed cryptographer and a US Navy Intelligence Officer who gained fame for his role in intercepting Japanese codes prior to Pearl Harbor and for his insistance that Roosevelt and others had received the decoded "East Winds Rain" message signifying the imminent attack by the Japanese.

They also include for the first time in any book, significant information provided by Earhart researcher John Luttrell.

The book by Goldstein and Dillon makes good use of both Safford's manuscript and Luttrell's information and correspondence, but also incorporates several mistakes that Safford and Luttrell made and their (Goldstein and Dillon) book should be read with an awareness that it is not the final authority and that there are other books published concerning Earhart's disappearance that should be read for a balanced opinion of any conclusions. Those would include "The Search for Amelia Earhart' by Fred Goerner, "The Sound of Wings" by Lovell, "Amelia Earhart, The Mystery Solved" by Long and Long, "Amelia Earhart, The Final Story" by Loomis with Jeffrey Ethell, and "With Our Own Eyes, Eyewitnesses to the Final Days of Amelia Earhart" by Campbell with Thomas E. Devine.