Customer Reviews

Amelia Earhart Lives

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I could not put down this book, and yes I believe! The main investigator is Joe Gervais, who I believe is very credible considering he was a command pilot in the Air Force and also an aircraft accident investigator. According to Mr. Gervais, when he visited Ameilia's sister, Muriel Morrissey, she told him to not open his breifcase and refused to see any material from his investigation. It is interesting that so many road blocks were put up for Mr. Gervais, and there are those that went to great lengths to find out what he was uncovering while at the same time not wanting him to find out anything. I believe Irene Bolam is/was Amelia Earhart.

For those interested, there is a new book out this month continuing this investigation by Rollin C. Reineck. It is published by the Paragon Agency. I could not find it here at Amazon to my surprise. I had to order it direct from Paragon. Mr. Reineck's book follows up what transpired after Gervais and Klass book came out, and what happened to Irene Bolam. An article was in the LA Times a few weeks ago about the new book.

This was a fascinating book which left many unanswered questions. The writer conducted extensive research into Amelia's life and career. He questioned many people in Saipan where a plane with a man and women crashed and were held by the Japanese a few days after Amelia disappeared. There was evidence of a government cover-up, and the possibility that
EA was a spy. Aside from that, there was a glimpse into the personal life of one of the most influencial women of the 20th century. At one point, the author claims to have met a still-alive AE in the 1960's in New York. I was always interested in Amelia Earhart, and the mystery of her disappearance. Watching the recent HBO movie about her prompted me to read this book. It was very interesting, informative and intriguing. I would highly recommend it!

Joe Klass has done an outstanding job of research, and, when taken with the research of author's Robert Myers, Joe Gervais, Elgen Long, Thomas Devine, Vincent Loomis, and Colonel Rollin C. Reineck, there is no doubt, that Amelia Earhart was put under military orders, flew a different/faster/well-equipped plane, and acted as a spy, with a special camera to take pictures over Japanese military-controlled outposts. This author has done well and is to be commended for ferreting out the details of the missing Amelia Earhart.

i read this book in the early 1970's. it was, bar none, the most fascinating book that i have ever read. fast moving, and informative.

The first few pages of book mention Bob Dinnger, Well, Bob and I had lunch with each other,in Santa Rosa, Calif, every week at Rotary. I would ask Bob about all aspects of the book. I believe this book is real, very interesting and a good read.

As a young high schooler, I read the original publication and visited A.E.'s sister and asked her about the book. Mrs. Morrissey said that she had both spoken with the supposed A.E. and determined that she was not her sister. Mrs. Morrissey then said that the author had produced faked photos of the plane and that he was only out to make a buck. Shame on the new author and publishers!

This is a great book from an apparently knowledgeable author. The story is gripping and reads like a novel. A must read for anyone interested in a true mystery and its possible resolution.

"Amelia Earhart Lives," by Joe Klaas, McGraw-Hill Book Co., NY 1970. ISBN 70-128791, HC 272 pages plus 50 B & W glossy photos and a few illustrations. 8 1/2" x 6".

Author Klaas, a Ret. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col, prev. Yank in RAF, indicates he investigated the Amelia Earhart (AE) disappearance in detail, pursuing the inquiry leads developed by Major Joseph Gervais who originated "Operation Earhart" in 1960, and (they) draw heavily upon Gervais' findings until the secretive nature of International subterfuge was untangled. However, despite twenty-one chapters of hunt and seek, ploy and deploy, and calling, writing, asking, interviewing, and the like, Klaas & associate discover a duck who talks, walks and knows AE but "won't talk," i.e. won't confess to being the real Amelia Earhart.

In their conclusion (Klaas & Gervais), we are led to believe that AE was Tokyo Rose, was a prisoner of war, was smuggled out of Japan upon its surrender, was likely dressed as Catholic Nun to evade the Press, perhaps even inspired by her prior meetings with Cardinal Spellman (Guam and Manila), all under guidance of fellow Aviatrix, Jacqueline Cochran. Throughout these writings are not infrequent references to the importance of ESP, instant transfiguration, telepathy, etc. In the last chapter Klaas is introduced to a woman he believes ("knows") is AE, despite her denials. He believes the last AE flight was a photo spy mission for FDR, but AE became an international prisoner of war, living afterwards under a bogus name in the US.

Having reviewed 14 other books on AE, Klaas' book is worthy of reading merely as pulp fiction. I think it would be appropriate if the names were changed to protect the identity of the innocent, now dead, and unable to speak. Klaas's book lacks class. At times I am uncertain if he is serious or has written a tongue-in-cheek novella.

I have read all of the various theories about Earhart, and from the
evidence that cannot be disputed, we know that Earhart came awfully close
to Howland Island and that her maps were off by a number of miles, accounting
for navigator Noonan's inability to hit Howland. We also know she was low of fuel, both because we know exactly how much she took off with and that headwinds had reduced her margin of error a great deal. Together , these indisputable facts tell us that she could not possibly either turned around and flown 700 miles to the Marshall islands, or landed at the Marshalls and not come close to Howland. Those facts alone completely destroy Klass's rather
bizarre and unbelievably implausible claims. Add to it the evaluation of his Earhart candidate using measurements of the faces of both Earhart and his candidate and its perfectly clear that the two aren't even very similar in their individual facial characteristics- their noses don't look anything alike, the age lines on Amelia go past her mouth and there are two at the corner - Klass's candidate's age line stops well short of her mouth and is a single line. Amelia has a mole and freckles which Klass's candidate does not have. I'm surprised that Klass has seen fit to try to pass off such a completely unlikely person as Amelia, never mind the ridiculous story he has concocted to get Amelia out of Japanese prisons and into a New Jersey suburb and married to this joker when she was already married, etc. etc. There is also the absurdity of Amelia "spying" on the Marshall Islands and supposedly having a special camera. Amelia flew over the Marshalls during the night, not a feasible time to conduct photographic espionage. I've seen a lot of theories
about Amelia and the best is the simplest : she ran out of gas before finding Howland Island, and was using inaccurate maps. Books like this one just demonstrate what we've all seen elsewhere, as in the multitude of JFK conspiracy books - when someone famous is killed, there is a ready market for the most preposterous theories one can imagine. Take, for example, theories about a second gunman (why is there always the desire to have a second gunman?) in the resticted kitchen where RFK was shot, occupied by more than
20 eyewitnesses. Theories claim a second gunman was firing away, somehow
unnoticed by an of the many folks practically elbow to elbow. I know people are gullible, but Kennedy assassination believers have to be judged just plain
brainless to believe most of the junk that has been published. This Klass piece of utter nonsense is just as bad.