Lindbergh

De: A. Scott Berg

Narrado por: Lloyd James

Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 1999

Few American icons provoke more enduring fascination than Charles Lindbergh - renowned for his one-man transatlantic flight in 1927, remembered for the sorrow surrounding the kidnapping and death of his firstborn son in 1932, and reviled by many for his opposition to America's entry into World War II.

Lindbergh's is "a dramatic and disturbing American story," says the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and this biography - the first to be written with unrestricted access to the Lindbergh archives and extensive interviews of his friends, colleagues, and close family members - is "the definitive account."

©1999 A. Scott Berg (P)2013 Simon & Schuster Audio

Lindbergh was not a good person.

First a little rant about Charles A. Lindbergh, and then to the book. From the 1930s onward, Lindbergh was largely though not exclusively a terrible human being. He first engaged in moral equivalence between the Nazi's and the West, arguing that if America and Western Europe would just be more friendly this Nazi thing would have never become a problem. He was quick to defend Japanese in American internment camps, but never spoke of the plight of Jews in concentration camps. Though after America entered WWII Lindbergh did work to develop American air technology and he flew in several combat missions, it was accompanied by the criticism that the West had drug us into the war. America's fault again.

Earlier, Lindbergh silenced his wife's anguish over the death of their child and later mostly abandoned her through their marriage. But the real tell about how awesome Lindbergh was as a human was that he had 3 secret families and 7 illegitimate children in Europe who he also abandoned. This is not recounted in Berg's book, as it was proven shortly after publication.

As an aside, its a little mind-bending that Charles Lindbergh - whose famous aircraft had no windshield and was literally held together with chewing gum, met Neil Armstrong and was present to watch the launch of Apollo 11. In my mind, this is akin to John Adams playing paddleball with Tiger Woods. It just doesn't compute.

On to the book. It is an obviously extensively-researched account of Lindbergh's life going back to his predecessors. Narrator Lloyd James is a professional and you hear it. The trajectory of Lindbergh's life, and the manner in which is it recounted in the book, make for a very good listen. Mrs. Lindbergh's weakness, victimization and depression are on display as well. Did I love it? No. That's a high standard. I did like it and may listen again some day. And at 31 hours, you get your credit's worth both in quality and quantity.

Fascinating revisit

I had read this several years ago, and it was a captivating story. This Audible revisit was a well spent credit, I had forgotten many of the remarkable details of the Lindbergh story. I highly recommended this volume to anyone wanting to hear about Lindbergh or Aviation, or early 20th century history. So many of the hero worshipers of today seem so similar to the ones in the early 20tj century.

Too much hero worship by the author.

Berg may have not known of CAL’s
Double life in Germany. Apparently the Lindbergh children have acknowledged through DNA proof of their 1/2 siblings in Germany.

In depth and amazingly interesting

A very detailed account of Charles Lindbergh and the Lindbergh family. Great story with all it's excitement and unfortunate tragedy. Very well read - use caution with the length however.

The details

I had no idea that Lindbergh did so much stuff. He was a genius more than a great flier

Lindbergh Bio

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Recommened if you are interested in the life of Lindy, early aviation or history of the mid-20th century. Very detailed account of Lindbergh's life. I felt it was very well written and read in this audio book.

Enthralling

I read this on the recommendation of a friend in her late 80's. Of course I knew of Charles Lindbergh, but mostly from stories that came from my parents and relate to the tragic kidnapping. Lindbergh was not of my era. However, I found the book enthralling. Extremely well researched, written and edited. I learned a great deal about the development of commercial air traffick and it was surprisingly fascinating. Interestingly, I think Anne Lindbergh came away the most interesting person in the book. If I would have had the opportunity to lunch with Eleanor Roosevelt, I think I would have enjoyed including a mature Anne Lindbergh at the table.

Incredible detail and insight

Berg’s exhaustive research is evident at every turn of the history he records!
James’ narrative is smooth and very easy to listen to for hours at a time.
As a life long aviator, I found myself informed of many details I did not know of.
The detail of Lindbergh’s personality is the most important part of the book!!
HIGHLY recommended 😀

Very well researched, written, and narrated.

Excellent book about a true renaissance man. Thank you for creating this record of a unique and important figure in history.

Amazing biography of an amazing man

It is a very long book but worth every minute of learning about a man of whom most of us only knew that he was the first to fly solo across the ocean. He was so much more.