The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame awarded this book "Best Aviation Writing in 2008."
This biography covers Anne Morrow Lindbergh's entire life although it focuses on her early years. A licensed pilot and Morse code radio operator, she crewed for her husband, legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, on hazardous survey flights during the 1930s.
In this revealing biography, Kathleen Winters recreates the adventure and excitement of the golden age of aviation and Charles and Anne's roles in it.
Drawing on new material, including the Lindberghs’ flight logbooks and Anne’s diaries at various archives, Winters presents never-before-published details.
Kirkus Reviews: starred review of this book:
Pilot and aviation historian Winters focuses on the neglected subject of Mrs. Lindbergh's work as copilot, navigator and radio operator on pioneering flights exploring air routes for the infant airline industry.At the time of her death, in 2001, Anne Morrow Lindbergh already seemed a figure from the yellowed headlines of the distant past. Her renown came early, with her 1929 marriage to the most celebrated hero of the 20th century.
Its tragic second act included the most famous kidnapping/murder trial in U.S. history, but the bereaved mother recovered to write many bestselling books.
Largely forgotten today, though publicly appreciated in her time, is her role as one of the early and important women in the almost entirely male world of aviation. Winters covers Morrow's sheltered early life as part of a wealthy, service-minded family (her father was ambassador to Mexico at the time she met Charles Lindbergh) and touches, sometimes more than briefly, on her marriage, the kidnapping and her literary career. But the author devotes the bulk of this narrative to meticulously tracking the many flights Anne and Charles made on behalf of Pan Am. Her husband proudly identified her as "crew," but Anne was careful never to claim too much on behalf of her aviation exploits, even though they required undoubted skill and courage. She always maintained that for her, flying constituted first and foremost a refuge, helping to preserve the intimacy of a marriage subject to overwhelming public scrutiny. This makes her a tricky feminist icon, considered strictly as an aviator, and Winters, following her subject's lead, wisely never overstates the case. Anne's flying career ended in her early 30s. Near the close of her long life, after finally receiving numerous awards honoring her contributions to aviation's golden age, she did concede that her years spent flying were, perhaps, her "most feminist period."
A perfectly calibrated tribute to an early heroine of the air.
Kirkus Reviews
Book Details:
Hardcover & Paperback Editions
241 pages
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Photos, Maps, Notes and Sources, Index
Available at your favorite local or online bookstore. Or click on the cover image at upper right.
More acclaim for the book
"There's no denying the pioneering nature--or danger--of the Lindberghs' flights . . . readers interested in the early years of flight and the Lindberghs will find the book of interest."
--
The Washington Times
". . . both pointed and modest . . . Charles could have had almost any pilot in the world for his second seat, so his choice is a ringing endorsement . . ."
--
The New York Times Book Review
"Winters vividly reminds us what a courageous pioneer Anne was."
--
Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Winters' thoughtful account . . . brings out the truth. With this book, she brings back to us the excitement and adventure of those early flying days, and honors a quiet, courageous woman who became an integral part of it all. I recommend this work wholeheartedly, and with gratitude."
--Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of Anne Morrow and Charles Lindbergh
"Kathleen Winters has rendered a service to aviation history by telling a story that, amazingly, has gone untold for decades."
--Barrett Tillman, author of Lemay: A Biography and Clash of the Carriers
"brilliantly researched and thorough biography" --
Plane and Pilot
"highly recommended read" --
EAA Sport Aviation Magazine
"fresh perspective on Lindbergh's early years"
--
AOPA Pilot Magazine
**To contact Kathleen: kathleen.winters@comcast.net
