5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Donald Hall: The Man Behind History's Most Famous Plane, October 31, 2003
This review is from: Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh's Flight to Paris (Hardcover)
Nova Hall's "Spirit and Creator" presents a new and intriguing look at the design and construction of Charles Lindbergh's amazing plane, the "Spirit of St. Louis." Built in an astounding 60 days, the "Spirit" was a unique and, this book makes clear, radical aircraft designed for one goal: to make a flight from New York to Paris possible.
Although the story of the creation of the "Spirit of St. Louis" has hardly remained a secret, many details concerning its design have been obscure. Until now. One day in 1998 Nova Hall, the grandson of "Spirit" designer Donald A. Hall, discovered a locked trunk in his family's garage. Once it was pried open, the trunk revealed a literal treasure-trove of photographs, documents, and film footage of the plane during construction and in flight. This amazing book presents these materials with explanatory text, and does a great deal to clarify the historical record.
It is clear, after reading the book, that Donald Hall's design for the "Spirit" was the creation of a remarkable genius. Certainly Lindbergh contributed a great deal to the plane (biographer Scott Berg has noted that it was literally "a glove for Lindbergh's hands"), but it was Hall who came up with most of the innovative design. It's simplicity, apparent in a series of never-before-seen photos of the naked airframe, belies the complex challenges that faced Hall. That he was able to deliver a complete aircraft in a mere sixty days -- a time frame that did not even allow him to produce proper blueprints or pre-assemble many components -- makes clear that Lindbergh's arrival in Paris was a triumph not only for this pilot, but for the designer of his machine. As the title of the book implies, Lindbergh had the dream, and it took Hall's know-how and perserverence to create the plane that would make its fulfillment possible.
This is a terrific book for anyone interested in Lindbergh, and especially for anyone who would like to know more about the nuts and bolts of the "Spirit." The text is well-written and, while somewhat spare, it presents a highly reverential account of the life of Hall and his work on history's most famous plane (Wright Flyer notwithstanding). The photographs are amazing, and there are hundreds of them, some culled from extremely rare and precious nitrate motion picture film prints.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh's Flight to Paris, June 20, 2009
This review is from: Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh's Flight to Paris (Hardcover)
Although the author Nova Hall is Donald Hall's grandson, his oversized book of photos and memories of an extraordinary event and two extraordinary men comes off quite well. It gives the reader insight into the life and accomplishments of Donald Hall, the man who designed and built the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Lindbergh flew to Paris in 1927 to win the Orteg prize and international fame. The book is full of photos and designs of the aircraft as it was being created to Lindbergh's specifications in that sweaty, fish-smelling Ryan aircraft factory in San Diego, CA. But it is so much more than a boring technical treatise. It captures the day to day drama of a time when Lindbergh and the Ryan Aircraft factory were known to a very few. To think that all of this was accomplished in only 60 days is astounding. Two brilliant minds, two men after the same goal of immortality in aviation, came together at the perfect time. If you love the Lindbergh New York to Paris story, this is the book to have in your library.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
love history through photos and letters, September 1, 2003
This review is from: Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh's Flight to Paris (Hardcover)
Bought this for my husband who loves aircraft. But, I loved the book as I love history when told through correspondence and photos. My husband was born in 1926 so this will be a book we pass on to our son so he will be aware of the time period.
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