Customer Reviews

Lindbergh

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

From the moment his wheels touched ground at Orly Airport in Paris in May of 1927, Charles Lindbergh's life started on an incredible second journey over which he often seemed to have little guidance or control, a whirlwind life spent in the suffocating death-grasp of public attention. In this wonderful biography by A. Scott Berg, we are invited to take this momentous ride alongside "Lucky Lindy" from his birth and early beginnings to his efforts to gain fame and recognition by becoming the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic. Yet in a way totally unanticipated by the enigmatic and somewhat naïve Lindbergh, this was only the beginning of an incredible life. For in accomplishing this spellbinding feat, to this brilliantly enterprising young man's amazement, the fame and fortune he had so eagerly sought to achieve soon took control over the direction and destiny of his life.

This is a book full of surprising twists and turns, and the reader is led on an entertaining and exotic excursion unto the interior of a marvelously complicated man's life, as well as into the realities of the story-book romance with his beautiful young wife, the former Anne Morrow, an ambassador's daughter. Their courtship and marriage fueled the public's imagination, and they became figures that loomed larger than life in the tabloid journalism of the early 1930s. Lindbergh found himself fashioned into the first modern day media superstar, a person so celebrated and famous it sometimes seems he spent the balance of his life's energy trying to escape such attention. As a result of his own personal qualities and frailties, and his uneasy and sometimes uncomprehending place in American spotlight, he was both deified and demonized in the public press again and again.

Each event in his all-too public personal odyssey is examined here, from the trip into fame and fortune aboard the "Spirit of Saint Louis" to his romance and marriage to Anne Morrow, from their life in the spotlight to the incredible ordeal of the kidnapping and death of their infant son, which resulted in the most celebrated and controversial trials and subsequent executions in modern American history. Berg examines the evidence of the kidnapping, which eventually led to the Lindberghs fleeing for their sanity sake on an odyssey taking them to England, an island off the coast of France, and to Nazi Germany, where Lindbergh's fascination with Hitler's regime and technical prowess led him to eventual political adventurism of his own with the "America First" movement. In unsuccessfully challenging Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lindbergh lost both his public credibility and cache, becoming vilified in the press for his questionable political views and dubious patriotism.

When war came Lindbergh was flatly refused any active role, but eventually found himself a way into the fracas first as a commercial test pilot, and later as an unofficial pilot in the South Pacific, where he performed brilliantly as a combat pilot with over fifty missions to his credit. After the war he became involved in a number of environmental, humanitarian, and medical issues, and devoted himself to anonymous public service, purposefully hidden from popular scrutiny and public view. In his strange and eclectic odyssey, he had caught public imagination, but had kept his own complexities and personal demons hidden from view. Lindbergh is in many ways a tragic figure, a person tripped by fate into being believed as a figure bigger than life, when in fact he was unequal to the task. He was, after all, only human, and tragically so at that. This is a fascinating and entertaining book about one of the most enigmatic and puzzling figures in 20th century history. I highly recommend it.

The author presents a thorough, vivid, balanced and very readable history of the events and times of Charles Lindbergh's life (which spanned a considerable era, from the Wright Brothers to the moon landings) as well as a perceptive, in-depth, flesh and blood portrait of the man, his personal and family life, and his career.Thanks to the copious and detailed written record that the Lindberghs kept of their experiences -- made available to Mr. Berg in addition to all his other research -- the book gave this baby boomer a riveting glimpse into the half of the Twentieth Century which I was born too late to witness. There was truly a "you are there" feel to accounts of the famous flight, the kidnapping, the trial, the couple's marriage, the birth of commercial and military aviation, the events leading up to World War II, and even Lindbergh's passing as they were unfolding. There was also a very real and intimate depiction of Charles and Anne as people through the various stages of their lives.It was enlightening that public craziness and media frenzy hardly began with Princess Di and O.J. It was also quite revealing of the times that Anne so unquestioningly suppressed aspects of herself to support her husband and his endeavors even though she was an educated and independent woman with separate needs which were quite often at odds with his.If anyone thinks this book would not interest them, they should think again. A very worthwhile read in many respects. Definitely deserved the Pulitzer Prize.

So how did a farm boy from the backwoods of Minnesota become one of the most revered heroes in world history?

Perhaps no book written about the ice-veined, brilliant aviator Charles A. Lindbergh answers this question better than A. Scott Berg's "Lindbergh", a marvelous, smoothly-written biography that uses heretofore unavailable sources to chronicle the unimaginable ups and equally unimaginable downs of Mr. Lindbergh's life.

The book is the first biography of Lindbergh that was written with the input and blessing of Lindbergh's family, including his widow, the noted author Anne Morrow Lindbergh. For the first time, the family granted unrestricted access to masses of material in the Lindbergh archives.

After reading this book, one concludes that two extreme forces shaped this great man's destiny.

The first was flight, taking off with his days as a barnstormer and airmail pilot, soaring with his courageous solo in a monoplane across the Atlantic, and coming to a soft but significant landing with the endeavors of his later life that involved not only aviation, but innovative projects in the fields of medicine and environmentalism. He also distinguished himself as an author (with, I suspect, the assistance of his wife, Anne, herself a talented writer.) In 1954, "The Spirit of St. Louis" the book won the Pulitzer Prize. It remains one of this country's most compelling, true-life adventure stories.

The second force was fame, the scourge of this extremely private man's life. Keep in mind that this was no normal fame, but a fame that bordered on fanaticism. It was fame that directly related to the kidnapping and death of his infant son, the family's exile to Europe, and the scorching criticism directed Lindbergh's way for his anti-war stance in the years preceding World War 11.

And although Mr. Berg's book was written with the cooperation of the Lindbergh family, it doesn't gloss over the consequences of his remote personality and long absences from home. Both had much to do with Anne Morrow Lindbergh's love affair with her doctor.

Some day, I hope that an ambitious television network such as HBO creates a mini-series based on this captivating biography. There is no way that a single movie can do justice to the expanse of dramatic events and stunning accomplishments that made up the life of America's greatest hero.

Here was a man. And here's a biography that does him proud.

To this baby-boomer growing up, Charles A. Lindbergh was a shadowy hero about whom little was known. We knew of his heroic flight across the Atlantic in 1927 and the tragic kidnapping and murder of his son a few years later. As time went on I came to know that there was some controversy about his stand in the years leading up to World War II. Occasionally a magazine article would associate his name with some environmental cause, but the human being remained in the shadows of the spectacular dash across the Atlantic. In this biography, A. Scott Berg brings the man, his times, what the world would make him and the ways he influenced the world all to life. The book does even more than that, for it gives us a biography, not only of Charles, but also of his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

The book starts with the family background of Charles A. Lindbergh. The grandson of a prominent member of the Swedish Riksdag and son of a Progressive Minnesota Congressman, Lindbergh was no stranger to the public forums into which he would later delve. Both his father and grandfather would fall from political favor and seek a modicum of success in regions far from their political bases. Lindbergh actually got much of his familial support from his maternal family, based in Detroit. His parents marriage would long exist in name only, a trait which would bear some comparison to Charles and Anne's marriage.

Throughout the book, Berg makes the reader clearly aware of the contrasts in Lindbergh's life. Although the son of a former Congressman who might be expected to have the support of establishment figures, Lindbergh undertook the Trans-Atlantic flight with the credentials of a Midwestern mail pilot, who had primarily flown routes in Missouri and Illinois. Before the Trans-Atlantic flight he was far from being considered one of America's prominent aviators. Although seemingly flying out of the mists onto the world stage, he was to become a prominent force in American corporate and public policy debates for the rest of his life.

With touchdown in Paris, everything changed for Lindbergh. He became an instant celebrity on a scale the world had never seen before or since. The press would hound his every movement for years. This provided Lindbergh with both an opportunity and a curse. He suddenly became accepted as an expert on any subject on which he might choose to express an opinion. He used his new persona to promote the causes in which he believed. At the same time his life became a constant struggle to preserve some degree of privacy and normalcy for himself and his family.

Lindbergh's first passion was to promote aviation. For several year she devoted his energies, both through personal appearances and through corporate and governmental positions, to the advancement of aviation throughout the world. It was during this period that the tragic death of his first son, Charles, Jr., occurred.

As the clouds of war arose over Europe, Lindbergh devoted himself to the crusade to keep America out of war, serving as the most prominent member of the America First movement. As Berg points out, Lindbergh was, as were many of his time, motivated, less by a fear of Nazism, than by a fear of Communism. Lindbergh's main argument was that the greatest tragedy for Western Civilization in general, and the United States in particular, was the establishment of Soviet hegemony over Europe. He felt that the West needed Germany as a bulwark against Asiatic Russia. He felt that Germany, based as it was in the Western tradition, would moderate its extremist tendencies more quickly than would the Soviet Union, steeped in its autocratic antecedents. The history of the 50 years following the triumph of the Soviet Union over Germany goes far toward justifying Lindbergh's fears. Lindbergh's involvement in national politics and international affairs made turned Lindbergh from the international hero to national pariah. Never again would his public acceptance be what it had been prior to 1940.

Throughout his career, Lindbergh dabbled in medical and scientific experiments, culminating in his rather gadfly involvement in the environmental movement.

During these years, the Lindbergh marriage was blown by the personalities of Charles and Anne as well as the currents the world circulated around them. The financial independence resulting from Charles' notoriety and Anne's inheritance permitted each of them to undertake projects without the obligation to commit to a stable lifestyle. For Charles this meant the freedom to come and go, largely as he pleased, in order to promote the causes to which he was devoted at the time. This left Anne, who made her own mark as an aviator and a writer, to provide much of the domestic support for the children, often without knowing when Charles would leave or return. Although Berg presents Charles as having an affection for, interest in and influence over his children, the reader is left with the impression of Charles and Anne as filling more the roles of "married singles" rather than functioning as a mutually supportive partnership.

Overall this is an excellent book. The reader is left with an understanding for the world in which Charles Lindbergh lived and acted. The development of aviation is seen through the report of his actions. The story of an important segment of public opinion on the European situation leading up to World War II is well explained. The postwar Lindbergh, bouncing from project to project without any apparent driving force brings the book to its conclusion. It is an excellent portrayal of an extraordinary life.

This was, without question, one of the best, most skillfully written biographies I have ever read. I try to be tough with my five star ratings, but A. Scott Berg's bio of Charles Lindbergh was simply too great a book to rate any less than five stars. What an interesting man Charles Lindbergh was- and to think that had he not made his famous flight in May 1927 he probably would have ended up being a farmer!! Lindbergh had a natural curiousity about a great many things: aviation, democracy, politics, medicine, environmental causes, and much later in his life, religion. The one area where maybe he failed was being a dutiful husband and wife. A tough task-master to the end, he often pushed his wife and children to "be strong" in mind and not to show emotion. He was a lifelong traveller who was not around very often, building homes in remote areas on a whim only to move on to another destination upon completion while his family was left to pick up the pieces.

Aside from the major aspects of Lindbergh's life, I was disappointed with the treatment Lindbergh received from FDR during World War II as I have always admired FDR as a great, creative politician. While I don't necessarily agree with some of the things Lindbergh was quoted as saying through the America First movement, FDR was unable to separate Lindbergh the man from Lindbergh the political mind, ultimately leading to FDR's blackballing of Lindbergh's involvement during the war. It seems FDR realized that Lindbergh was literally his political rival as both were considered super-men by their adoring publics, so he attempted to squash Lindbergh when he was down. These kind of limits placed on any American citizen, political adversary or not, does not speak well of Mr. Roosevelt. I will say that Lindbergh made a mistake when he chose to send copies of his correspondence with Roosevelt to the press while the original letter to Roosevelt was still in the mail, which often led to newspapers printing Lindbergh's letters opposing FDR's political stances before Roosevelt even had time to read the original letter. Lindbergh should have known you don't undercut a politician when it comes to his public, especially because FDR valued his popularity with the public so much.

All in all, a great work on a great man. Lindbergh was not great from a domestic standpoint as he was not a good father or even a dedicated husband, but he was a man who explored and conquered a number of frontiers. It was only later in his life when he realized that aviation as he once knew it in the early 1920s was changing. The plane flies the man now, not the other way around, he once remarked in the 1950s. He was fascinated with the new aviation technology that came from the post-war boom and yet he loathed the capabilities of that very technology which had the potential to wipe out civilizations.

I can't say enough about the book or the man. At 562 pages, it might seem long but it is hard to put down. A great book that has my highest recommendation.

I thought Berg did an excellent job portraying both sides of Lindbergh: the public one as well as the private one. I admire and respect Lindbergh for his accomplishments. He was in a difficult position...flew the Atlantic at age 25...then had to face intense media exposure for the rest of his life. He faced attention equal only to Princess Diana, Kennedy's, & the OJ trial. Now personally, he was a cold, unlikeable person who should never have married or had children. I was appalled at his treatment of Anne during the Hauptmann trial (calling her a failure). It was a very disfuctional marriage. He always dragged her around to new homes (& on months long trips after each baby was born) to always keep her focus on him. Yet, Berg points out that she enjoyed playing the victim. I thought the writer's portrayal of his racial beliefs were balanced; he provided the quotes from Lindbergh's speeches and diaries. I can't caomprehend how Lindbergh could feel such sadness at the allies' treatment of Germans following the war & Japanese victims of bombing raids, yet never feel horror at the Holecaust or Japanese atrocities.

Berg has done a wonderful job on a very paradoxical subject.

After reading this book, I remembered what someone said about Frank Sinatra after he passed away. The remark was, "He was not cheated in life, he lived enough life for several people." Although you would never mistake Frank Sinatra for Charles Lindbergh, there are many similarities to their lives if you think about it.

That said, Charles Lindbergh was a major figure in the 20th century. His flight and his efforts afterwards in promoting aviation were huge parts of how the world developed. The kidnapping of his son and the trial of the kidnapper were huge events, showing how celebrity would be in the 20th century. Then his controversial efforts on America First made him a pariah to many. Finally, he became a leading conservationist.

That could be enough for 4 or 5 lives, Charles Lindbergh lived them all. And the reader will soon see that he was a successful eccentric.

Berg does a wonderful job in going through all this in his book. He had unparalleled access to the papers of Lindbergh and his family.

There are so many contradictions to Lindbergh, if he was such a private man why did he court publicity in so many ways? Was he an anti-semite, he said he wasn't, but he is contradicted by his writings and speeches. Berg notes that Lindbergh edited a lot of the bigotry out of his papers, but never denied that he believed that he saw the US as a Christian nation.

This is not an idol-worshipping book. Berg is critical of Lindbergh is many ways, he is also quite critical of Anne Morrow as well.

When writing about such a controversial figure, some writers would choose to psychoanalyze the subject and state why the subject acted the way he did. Berg chose not to, he prefers to state the facts and let the reader do the analysis on their own.

All my life I have been fascinated by Charles Lindbergh - my family name is also Lindberg (different spelling and of course no relation) so we have always felt a sort of "kinship" to this amazing man. I found A. Scott Berg's treatment of the historic flight, the kidnapping, the world's opinion of Lindbergh during WWII - and his later years, to be nothing less than 100% objective and fair. I think Berg does an outstanding job of presenting "just the facts" and allows the reader to draw his own conclusions. Although it's clear that Berg admires the great man and his family, he never editorializes or sensationalizes. That is a rare trait in biographies these days. I am recommending this book to everyone I know; I have copied lines of poetry and prose from this book into my own journal. Lindbergh's final line about "... I am of the stars" ranks right up there with the most profound to be found anywhere.

It is not just Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic in The Spirit of St Louis, or the infamous kidnapping/murder of his first child, or his frontline position as a crusader for the isolationists before WW2 that makes this book so fascinating to read; it is also the details of his life that one rarely thinks about: his work on an artificial heart pump, his environmental work, his interest in the world's tribes and their way of life. Lindbergh's range of interests and his energy in pursuing them drive this biography.

This book seems as if it was written using the "point the camera and shoot" philosophy. Berg does a creditable job laying out Lindbergh's life, but there's nothing flashy about his book. The prose is solid and workmanlike. Tangents into other issues of Lindbergh's times are kept to a minimum. Berg sometimes gets bogged down in less interesting areas of Lindbergh's life such as mundane family matters, but he maintains enough momentum to push through without too much damage to the narrative.

Lindbergh, however, doesn't need a brilliant biographer; he brought enough energy to his life and fulfilled enough of his great ambitions to capture any reader's interest. This is a very good book and worthy of much of the praise it has received here, but that has more to do with the subject of the book than with its author.

Scott Berg did a great job of telling about Charles Lindbergh, from the rather inauspicious origins of his family (still fun to read) to the golden years.

Lindbergh would have stayed in the public eye even without being at the center of the crime of the Century, because his was the flight of the Century. Even so, I would guess that Mr. Berg is kicking himself that he did not know the more recent revelations about the shadow family in Europe... Or the fellow in Central Florida who has claimed to be Junior. Well, maybe there will be a sequel to this someday. If so, we hope Berg writes it.