The Spirit of St. Louis (Paperback)

~ (Author) "NIGHT ALREADY SHADOWS the eastern sky..." (more)
Key Phrases: liquid compass, degrees right rudder, scattered squalls, New York, San Diego, Lambert Field (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Brendan Gill Author of Lindbergh Alone The best authority on Lindbergh is Lindbergh. -- Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Chicago Daily NewsA stunning, tremendously beautiful reading experience...a classic of adventure writing.

TimeAt its exciting best, this book keeps the reader cockpit close to a rare adventure. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 580 pages
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087351288X
• ISBN-13: 978-0873512886
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,262,447 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enduring aviation classic, April 13, 1999

By	Douglas Smith (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

I first read this book as a high school student, and remembered well the hour by hour description of the flight over the Atlantic. On my second reading as an adult, I discovered an additional story within the story that can apply to everyone who has a desire to accomplish something great in their life.

Lindbergh traces how the very wisp of an idea, that an aircraft with enough fuel, powered by a reliable engine, and held on course, could fly 3,600 miles from New York to Paris. Once he realized that he had enough qualifications to make the flight by himself, and could see himself doing it, he was a changed man, he was a man who was going to Paris by air! Now he faced the problem of obtaining support, a task that filled him with more anxiety than the flying itself.

He nurtured his idea, protecting it from the naysayers, carefully confiding in those who could accept his reasoning that a single engine plane made more sense than the trimotor aircraft others were planning to use in that era. He fretted about obtaining an engine, and then an airplane, and met almost continuous obstacles in his path. Yet again and again, to his surprise, financial and technical support was provided, often from totally unexpected quarters.

This book is not only an aviation classic, it is a classic on project management, on turning a vision into goals, and goals into tasks, knowing where the milestones of success can be measured, and when the go/nogo decisions can be made.

If you are a pilot, or want to become one, then this book belongs in your library, and you should consider buying a second copy to give to your CFI. Our instructors represent an unbroken lineage of aviators back to the era described in the story.

But it would be a shame to limit this story to the aviation community. Everyone who has a burning desire to achieve something beyond themselves will gain new insight into how ideas change our lives. If you have read "The Path" by Laurie Beth Jones, then you will most certainly enjoy this book, too.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is about more than flying, March 6, 2000

By	Mike Blinn (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spirit of St. Louis (Scribner Classics) (Hardcover)

I love reading about aviation, and Lindbergh does an excellent job describing the flight. However, the more inspiring story (I think) is found long before Linbergh cleared the power lines at Roosevelt Field and went on his way. The St. Louis banker who took a chance on an unknown airmail pilot; the obscure aircraft manufacturer in San Diego whose management, engineers, and craftsmen poured their hearts and souls into a one-off creation that they would practically sell at a loss; the fact that Linbergh succeeded where world-famous pilots, backed by five and ten times the money and the best of everything, failed... even the most hardened cynic will want to stand up and cheer. Lindbergh's writing is detailed, yet very easy to read. Buy this book.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Autobiography, November 16, 2001

By	Steven K. Szmutko (EWING, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The world embraced Charles A. Lindbergh as its hero in 1927 when he piloted his single-engine Ryan Monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, across dark waters, completing the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris.

THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS is an extremely well written book by an American icon. It not only chronicles Lindbergh's famous flight, but also faithfully tells the story of his early life as well. The book provides insight into the early history of American aviation and does so in an entertaining yet compelling format.

A few years ago, A. Scott Berg's biography of Lindbergh chronicled the life of the famed American figure. That book delves into the entire life of the aviator, including his darker days when he was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer. THE SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS offers a different, more exuberant vision into the author's more youthful soul. I would recommend reading both books for a complete portrait of the man.