Product Description
Seventy-five years ago, Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly across the Atlantic. Newspapers called him "the flying tool" and called his tiny propeller plane "the flying cotton." But Lindbergh was determined to fly across the Atlantic all by himself. And he did. S. A. Kramer captures all the excitement of the 33 1/2-hour flight and explains to Level 2 readers exactly why it was so amazing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Night Flight
Night Flight: Charles Lindbergh's Incredible Adventure: Charles Lindbergh's Incredible Adventure (All Aboard Reading) Good book for elementary students. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography.

This New York Times bestseller from the National Book Award-winning author is "one of the most important biographies of the decade...an extraordinary achievement."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

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."

"A magisterial work...a superb job."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Berg brings us about as close as I suspect we will ever get to the man himself...provides enough fresh detail to trace the roots of Lindbergh's personality, its strengths as well as its maddening flaws, all the way back to his turbulent boyhood."--New York Times Book Review

* Berg is the first and only biographer to be granted this degree of access to Lindbergh's files and interviews with crucial figures in his life, including his children and his widowAmazon.com Review
In 1927, Charles Augustus Lindbergh made the world smallerwhen, at 25, he completed his fabled flight from New York to Paris. Hespent the rest of his life watching the world close in aroundhim. Actor Eric Stoltz smoothly captures A. Scott Berg's eruditeprose, impressive narrative drive, and fascinating minutiae, and bydoing so earns an intense sympathy for and understanding ofLindbergh's relentless need for privacy and his frustration at losingit to his worldwide fame. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes)--Lou Schuler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (145)

Incredible!
If you like historical non-fiction, this is a must-read.I was a little skeptical about reading a biography about Lindbergh, but this novel has been a pleasure to read.The book gives a enlightening perspective on America in the early 1900's, and I have learned a lot about the history of aviation that has been extremely interesting even though I didn't think I wanted to learn about it!I highly recommend this book.

Lindberghby Scott Brown
Excellent book. Purchased used but the condition of the book was like new. Lindberg by Scott Brown is well written
and if you have an interest in historical events of the 20th Century, you'll find this book an outstanding choice.

Lindbergh: A Much Maligned 20th Century Visionary
I came late to this party, having just finished (mid-2009) Berg's 1998 biography of Charles A. Lindbergh, who I consider to be an aviation and environmental visionary.

It amazes me that otherwise well-intentioned people allow themselves to be distracted by his [insert current number here] illegitimate children or alleged Nazi sympathies. (In my opinion, there are no illegitimate children but multitudes of wayward parents.)

If you are one whose head and heart has been turned by this sort of calumny, this book will help you gain the perspective you need on an unlikely hero, a world citizen and arguably the first modern global celebrity.

The author, who was granted unprecedented access to voluminous primary source files, clearly attempts to provide a balanced, but measured, biography.In doing so, it becomes obvious that Lindbergh accomplished great things despite a bizarre childhood, an obsessive personality, a difficult marriage, the famous murder of his firstborn and decades of unrelenting media intrusions into his private life.

But his contributions--some of them incredible and surprising--to our world far outweigh these significant negatives.

The book is riveting, readable and well-written.

hagiography and non-history
There should be a zero or minus star category.Read the book a few years ago, only to find after the most superficial googling and fact-checking, the author omitted or did not find out about Lindbergh's multiple illegitimate children by two German women.Besides soft pedalling his notorious racism and anti-Semitism, how can this be considered a biography when such basic information is left out?Is there going to be a corrected edition?

A Fascinating Biography of an American Original Charles Lindbergh
~Lindbergh~ is an astute an well-written biography by acclaimed writer A. Scott Berg. Berg captures the life of this most fascinating character. What unfolds is an amazing tale of the aviator turned adventurer turned statesmen turned war hero.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh, gained acclaim for the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight across Long Island, New York to Paris, France in 1927 in the famed "Spirit of St. Louis." Not long after, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. At the time, Lindbergh was seen as a man of seemingly impeccable character. He became an American hero overnight.

A. Scott Berg casts light on Charles' complex marriage to Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the daughter of the famed J.P. Morgan investment banker. His marriage had its ups and downs due to his indiscretions, and it was not a fairy-tale marriage by any stretch of the imagination. Though, public perception certainly believed the marriage as a storybook romance in 1927. Berg also illustrates how tragedy hit the Lindbergh family and the whole nation in 1932 with sensitivity.

Lindbergh, being an acclaimed aviator, was invited to Germany in the 1930s, where he subsequently received a medal. It was an opportunity that intrigued him, for the Germans were renowned for their innovation in aeronautics. With the approval of Nazi chieftains Hermann Goering and Ernst Udet, Lindbergh was permitted to inspect and tour German Luftwaffe facilities, and view some of their latest innovations such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Junkers Ju 88. He became enamored of German aviation technology not coincidentally thereafter. He believed that German aviation was superior to that of the Americans and British. Why? Probably, because it was. His trip to Germany, however, soon soiled his reputation, particularly after 1939, despite the fact that Lindbergh returned the commendation awarded by the German government. When misguided historians like Max Wallace present Lindbergh as a Nazi sycophant, he conveniently forgets, either out of ignorance or obfuscation, that Lindbergh came to Germany at the urgent request of the U.S. military attaché at the American embassy in Berlin. The military attaché was charged with learning everything possible about Germany's new warplanes. In other words, Lindbergh was covertly providing U.S. intelligence, and playing off of his reputation as an aviator of international fame to gain a warm reception by the Germans. He might not have brought back stolen 1:6 scale airplane models from the hangar offices and secret James Bond snapshot pictures, but he was doing his country a service nonetheless.

His political odyssey took some strange turns, and it put him at the helm of the American First Committee which pressed the case for keeping the United States neutral and out of World War II with Germany. While his patriotism and motives have been brought into question, Berg gives us a few reasons not to question Lindbergh's sincerity. When the war began, Lindbergh was quick to uphold his honor, and be a part of the Army Air Corps unofficially. Unfortunately, being the bitter partisan, President FDR, stripped him of his opportunity to fly in dress ranks, and he flew unofficially as a contractor. But Lindbergh earned much success dogfighting against Japanese over the Pacific. He was denied his deserved commendations because of politics.

This book is a marvelous journey into the life of aviator Charles Lindbergh. Berg sculptures a sensitive and astutely written account of the life of this acclaimed American. If read, in tandem with Lindbergh's on autobiographical journal "The Spirit of St. Louis," one can certainly get a fascinating picture of his life. The superb prose is matched by the fascinating insights of the author who had direct access to the Lindbergh family's personal archives. ... Read more

Product Description
In late May 1927 an inexperienced and unassuming 25-year-old Air Mail pilot from rural Minnesota stunned the world by making the first non-stop transatlantic flight. A spectacular feat of individual daring and collective technological accomplishment, Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris ushered in America's age of commercial aviation.
In The Flight of the Century, Thomas Kessner takes a fresh look at one of America's greatest moments, explaining how what was essentially a publicity stunt became a turning point in history. He vividly recreates the flight itself and the euphoric reaction to it on both sides of the Atlantic, and argues that Lindbergh's amazing feat occurred just when the world--still struggling with the disillusionment of WWI--desperately needed a hero to restore a sense of optimism and innocence. Kessner also shows how new forms of mass media made Lindbergh into the most famous international celebrity of his time, casting him in the role of a humble yet dashing American hero of rural origins and traditional values. Much has been made of Lindbergh's personal integrity and his refusal to cash in on his fame. But Kessner reveals that Lindbergh was closely allied with, and managed by, a group of powerful businessmen--Harry Guggenheim, Dwight Morrow, and Henry Breckenridge chief among them--who sought to exploit aviation for mass transport and massive profits. Their efforts paid off as commercial air traffic soared from 6,000 passengers in 1926 to 173,000 passengers in 1929. Kessner's book is the first to fully explore Lindbergh's central role in promoting the airline industry--the rise of which has influenced everything from where we live to how we wage war and do business.
The Flight of the Century sheds new light on one of America's fascinatingly enigmatic heroes and most transformative moments.

Praise for Capital City:

"In Capital City, Kessner has achieved for his subject what James McPherson accomplished for the Civil War."
-- Wall Street Journal

"Graceful and lucid."
-- Mike Wallace, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winner Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Fascinating in depth work of a bygone era
Thomas Kessners' contribution to this era and to the body of knowledge regarding Lindbergh is immeasurable. This book is a highly enjoyable and interesting read. It is exceedingly well researched and has taught me a great deal about the enigmaticCharles Lindbergh. I highly recommend this book by the very talented author.

Highly Recommend! Excellent Read!!


I am a general reader who likes biographies. I am not fascinated by the history of the airline industry or American society in the 20s. But this book brings together so many elements around the story of Lindbergh's flight that after I finished reading it (initial attraction: the author's challenge about what made this sporting stunt so important) I felt that I had learned a lot, albeit painlessly. The author brings you into the process of Lindbergh's character formation from when he was a young child in a broken home to his teenage years as a loner who loved solitude more than anything.By the time he was a young man he was driven by ambition and a strong code of personal honor and responsibility. He is drawn to the excitement of the new airplanes, and in the process he discovers something that gives meaning to his ambitions for success. He goes on to succeed where so many who were better prepared failed. The book is a pleasure to read and after the initial build up to the flight, the story had me hooked. Rightly or wrongly the celebrity machine made him a symbol for the new era, and he was savvy to use the fame to build aviation.

He made a lot of money along the way and he gained great fame, but his importance extended beyond his flight, the airline industry and his personal accomplishments. He advanced US diplomacy and trade in Europe and South America and made Americans comfortable with the idea of flying.

But he was a cretin. He respected totalitarianism more than democracy, Hitler more than Roosevelt. He spoke with emotion about peace and the environment but he thrilled to the idea of bombing the enemy during World War II (so long as it was Asians and not Germans!). He was deeply biased. He treated his family and especially his worshipful wife badly. He fancied himself a philosopher while he dealt with abstract ideas incompetently and he died as a kind of unfulfilled hippie

This short biography respects the casual reader but it is written with authority and grace.

Aspects of the Hero
There are a number of aeronautical or aerospace accomplishments that might be called "the flight of the century."The initial flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903 might be one, but the nation responded with little enthusiasm at the time.Speed ahead only sixty years, and the space flights and the lunar landings might also qualify, but no one has been back to the Moon for decades.Historian Thomas Kessner is surely correct in his assignment of the title to his book _The Flight of the Century: Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of American Aviation_ (Oxford University Press).This is something different among the many books about Lindbergh.The flight itself takes up a small chapter toward the early middle of the book (after all, there are only the reports of Lindbergh himself to refer to).Before that is a brief history of his upbringing, and more importantly his training as an aviator.Most of the book, however, has to do with what happened to Lindbergh afterwards and his direct effect on how Americans and the world viewed flying and started up commercial airlines.After all, Kessner himself says the flight was a stunt, an entry in a competition to win a prize: "He cured no deadly diseases.He ended no wars, uncovered no fresh continent; he made no scientific discoveries.He did not invent jazz or write a great novel or stir the American conscience with his eloquence."Accomplishing the stunt, however, made him the most famous man in the world, and he used his fame to boost commercial and government endeavors in aviation; we fly the way we do today at least partially because of his involvement.The structure of Kessner's book also means that the unseemly aspects of Lindbergh's racial views are mentioned but do not overwhelm that latter part of the book.

Lindbergh didn't take to schooling; when it came time for him to study anything to do with flying, he had no problem buckling down and taking in the information efficiently and quickly, but nothing else much motivated him.He barnstormed and taught student pilots and numbingly carrying sacks of mail from one city to another, when he began planning for the $25,000 prize offered for a nonstop flight from New York to Paris.No one was re-thinking how to make the flight until Lindbergh came along.He wanted a stripped-down plane built to the purpose of the task, with just one motor and one pilot.Comfortable seating, emergency equipment, navigation lights, communications devices, parachute - for Lindbergh, they were all jettisoned as excess weight that would make attaining his goal less likely.He even clipped the margins off his navigational charts to save weight.He took off from New York and had a relatively worry-free flight, landing near Paris, with his main worry being that he didn't have a visa and so might be kicked out of the country.Lindbergh was perfect - he looked naïve and bewildered, and when he was called upon to talk, he kept his speeches short and used every opportunity to praise French aviation and aviators and war heroes.He went on to visit England to the same sort of acclaim, and then back to America as the most famous man in the world.Everyone loved him as a hero, and when he could have cashed in with a proffered lucrative film role, people loved his down-home restraint.Will Rogers said that his innocence ought to be protected as a national resource.Lindbergh wasn't as naïve as he seemed, though; he had an intelligence for aviation that he plied into the airline boom, and with his book sales he did very well indeed.He wanted aviation to change the world and make it a more peaceful place.He had a hand in just how those planes were going to fly.He had shunned a radio for his own plane, but realized that lightweight ones were needed for safety's sake; he knew that the barnstorming flyboys he had grown up with were going to have to turn into conservative and trustworthy pilots if they were going to fly passengers; he studied emergency backup systems; he worked on pressurized cabins for high-altitude flights.

The depression found him out of touch with the common man who had acclaimed him as hero and now saw him as just another tycoon.He clashed bitterly with FDR.He hated the lack of privacy, whose worst manifestation was the kidnapping and death of his son.Aviation which he thought would unite a peaceful world became another tool in warfare.His winning boyish charm changed into a dogmatic racism.He admired Hitler's Germany and his America First movement seemed more and more wrong until it was undone by the start of WWII.Kessner, however, barely gets to mention all these difficulties, and ascribes at least some of them to Lindbergh's belief that the next new technology was going to bring about real progress.His optimism is thus part of his darker side, but Kessner's portrait is mostly of Lindbergh, the admirable hero and planner of an aeronautic future.There is no reason to forget the darker parts, but plenty of reason to celebrate the accomplishments before they took over.

A Soaring Read!
Thomas Kessner has done a fantastic job in creating a meticulously researched biography that reads like a novel. Kessner paints a rich portrait of a complex man against the backdrop of a similarly complex time period when air travel was viewed in ways beyond merely being a new method in transportation.On one hand it was a time when Americans, and the world, grabbed on to Lindbergh's accomplishment(s) as a way to channel their yearning for new hope in human achievement.On the other hand it was also the time when the era's business leaders sought to commercialize aviation with the creation of a new and profitable industry.The author does a wonderful job weaving in the various aspects of Lindbergh's personality, beliefs and activities and how they dovetailed with the different voices and forces of that defining period in America's history.

A compelling read for anyone interested in the history behind "today's" America, this wonderful book sheds light on how American modern society was created not just by those whose accomplishments are one-sided, but even by those flawed individuals whose achievements are quite possibly greater than themselves.

High Flying and Fabulous
If you want to read a fascinatingbiography dealing with Charles Lindbergh's flight, fame and importance I think you will enjoy this fabulous book. It is lucid, informed and while it has the scholarly apparatus (one would not expect less from Oxford's Press) it carries its learning lightly and with good humor. Lindbergh became a hero without a clue about his own significance and this book gives us a good idea about why, despite a long list of real accomplishments, he remained essentially clueless about the public and how to deal with it for his entire life.


"Flight of the Century" vividly reminds us why all this made a difference. How a modest young barnstormer who insisted that his notion of flying across the ocean in a small single engine plane alone was a better idea than what all the experienced men of the flying fraternity were doing managed to capture the world's imagination with a picture perfect flight from New York to Paris while the others died trying.

It's a wonderful balance of history and human insight.




... Read more

Product Description

In the 1920s America yearned for a hero. They had great baseball players and actors, but they longed for a seminal achievement — authentically heroic in its defiance of the odds. The Lone Eagle delivered, and the public treated him like a hero from a fairy tale, with rewards of wealth, fame, and a princess in marriage. But domestic tragedy followed. And so, in this wonderful concise biography, Walter Hixson has shown how "Lucky Lindy" exemplifies the triumphs and tragedies of America's coming of age.

The titles in the Library of American Biography Series make ideal supplements for American History Survey courses or other courses in American history where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. At the same time, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

Customer Reviews (2)

Small, Easy to Read, Well Written
This is part of Longman's series of American Biography. They are short, with a reading level set for high school students in American History. It is a little surprising to me that the average high school student doesn't know Lindbergh. To those of us born before World War II, he was a famous person. But then again, his famous flight across the Atlantic was as far away to the modern high schooler as the Spanish-American war was to my generation.

Mr. Hixson does an excellent job of describing Lindbergh's early flying of the mail, the solo flight across the atlantic and his personal life. Of particular concern to today's student was Lindbergh's attitude towards World War II.

Lindbergh was a prominent member of the American First group that strenuously wanted to keep America out of the war. He was strongly condemned. I particularly liked Lindbergh's comment: 'I have always believed that every American cieizen had the right and duty to state his opinion in peace and to fight for his country in war.' Lindbergh was not in the military, but did serve as an aviation consultant in the South Pacific. He flew missions against the Japanese and developed new techniques to extend the range of American fighters, particularly the P-38.

Useful Text
It is my understanding tha this series is marketed to the post adolescent teen market and widely sold to libraries.
For such purposes, and for the mildly curious, this length volume is adequate.

From the tone of the book description abovw, this may be in the nature of a hagiography. Best if it offends both right and left for the truth is most often in the middle.

The national acclaim for Lindbergh that swept the country in the twenties and later was on the order of the hysterical acclaim given the Beatles in later years. Having been mildly aware of the former, as an adult observoe of the latter, I certainly know more of the latter.

Growing up in the forties and being constantly reminded in my consciousness of the all surrounding atmosphere of World War Two, I was not aware of any other state of existence. The depression was not a memory for me at all for my family had managed to hang on in the lower middle class throughout the Great Depression which was never a dinner table subject even when Grandad came over on Sunday. The only result of the Great Depression on me is that I am ten years younger thsn I would have been if my parents had married soon after they first met. :)But the thirties were the days of dismissing of married female teachers, and mother had had to pay off her father's debts. Dad still had to live at home and scraped by on even less.

But though the depression was not in my childhood perceptions Lindbergh was. In that period of my life, I just knew he was famed for his flight. He was a national hero, the Boy Scouts published a book "The Lone Scout in the Sky: The Story of Charles A. Lindbergh" by James E.West, which remained in their catalog for many years. (West was the long time chief executive of the national BSA and was resonsible for shaping it through the forties.)

Lindbergh's writings and those of hisequally famous and publically beloved aviatrix wife, Ann Morrow, sold widely in the thirties. The tragedy of their baby's kidnapping and murder cemented the national affection for him. When I first became aware of him, his grest flight was the only subject I knew.

Later on, I learned of the kidnapping and by the late fifties I had become aware of the political controversies about his actions in the late thirties with the America First isolationist movement and his open admiration of the German Luftwaffe,
Because of these activities he was not favored by President Roosevelt, and thus, though he was a reserve colonel he was never mobilized after Pearl Harbor. Lindbergh did manage to get to the Pacific area as a civilian technical consultant and flew several combat missions against the Japanese. From then on he just faded away, I have no recollection of him or even when he died.

Thus Chsrles A. Lindbergh has joined the American pantheon of heroes who many aew aware of and consider to be worthy of praise but haven't a clue as to why. Not totally forgotten, he is now and then still commemorated. In the last twenty years or so there has been a Lindbergh drive next the Montgomery County Airpark near Gaithersburg, Md, but most would not know who he was.
So such works are useful if not definitive. ... Read more

Product Description
Pilot Charles A. Lindbergh was one of the first Americans to be lionized by the news media.When LIndbergh made his nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927, radio and sound movies were just beginning to be popular, enabling people to learn of events almost as soon as they happened.Overnight, the 25-year-old Lindbergh, a man of modest means and education, was catapulted into the public limelight.He became the American hero whom everyone adored and thought could do no wrong.Lindbergh's popularity lasted little more than a decade.His ties to Nazi Germany and his outspoken isolationist views prior to World War II cost him the respect of many close friend and relatives, and of the general public as well.The story of Lindbergh's rise to fame and abrupt descent into disgrace is told here with frankness and understanding.The meticulously researched text and generous selection of archival photographs present a lively and rounded portrait of a man who earned his place in aviation history despite his faults. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Carolyn's Review oCharles A, LindberghA Human Hero
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.It gave many details about the first solo flight across the Atlantic.it showed that while a national hero Lindbergh was still a regular human with his own ideas & opinions.

Lindbergh in all his glorious complexity
The general idea behind Giblin's book is that Charles Lindbergh was a hero despite his faults and flaws.Cleverly, he has chosen to present Charles's life in full, making him a understandable character, before later revealing his Nazi sympathies.Giblin is no stranger to the controversial biography.His adept children's book, "The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler", follows much the same path as this earlier creation.Lindbergh's life was nothing if not exciting.He became the first man to cross the Atlantic from New York to Paris.Then his baby was kidnapped and killed.Then he started spouting racist and anti-semitic speeches in an effort to keep America out of World War Two.Finally, he worked tirelessly to conserve the environment and protect endangered species for the rest of his life.If you examine these facts as a whole, you find it difficult to pigeonhole this fascinating human being.Giblin has presented his subject honestly.People who see Lindbergh as a hero and people who see him as a racist traitor will both enjoy this riveting biography.To his credit, Giblin never shies away from the negative aspects of his otherwise beloved subject.Though he offers several possible explanations for Lindbergh's relentless isolationism, he lets the viewers come to their own conclusions about this tarnished man.

Giblin is to be commended for his research as well.There is no fact presented in this book that is not backed up by rigorous sourcenotes.An adept timeline, index, and bibliography appear in the back of the text.Personally, I find it difficult to forgive Lindbergh his crimes.Just the same, I cannot help but find things to admire about him, all thanks to Giblin's amazing skills as a children's biographer.This book is a full-scale biography that every student of history should read.

Charles Lindberg
This book is about Charles Lindbergh, the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean with his Spirit of St. Louis. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Charles Lindbergh. ... Read more

Product Description

Geary’s Treasury of Victorian Murder moves onto the XXth century with one of the most sensationalistic cases ever!

All was well for Charles Lindbergh, after his daring solo crossing of the Atlantic. Fame and fortune came quickly as well as marriage into wealthy family. But soon after they build themselves their dream home far from the madding crowd, tragedy strikes: their baby is abducted! Geary retraces all the different highly publicized events, blackmail notes, false and otherwise, as well as the string of colorful characters wanting to ‘help,’ some of which actually successfully snookered the beleaguered hero. A fascinating story, of course without a fully satisfactory conclusion, replete with savory details and unsavory people as only Geary can masterfully relate with his understated dark humor.

A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF 2008.

“Fast paced and difficult to put down. Recommended”-Library Media Connection

“The tension between Geary’s newspaper-style captions and the devastated people he describes produces a story that is simultaneously factual and poignant.” -Teacher Librarian

“A well-researched account of one of the most controversial true crime cases in American history. Recommended!”-Kliatt

“As for the differences between XXth Century Murder and Victorian Murder, they mainly have to do with the rise of the mass media, and the way impossible mysteries become all the more frustrating when so many people are following the story. Geary`s Victorian series was all about the creepy America that was; this new series looks like it`ll be about the creepy America that is… A-” -The Onion

Customer Reviews (6)

Gone, baby, gone
Charles Lindbergh Jnr, aged 20 months, was taken from his room during the night of March 1 1932, while his parents Charles Lindbergh - the celebrated aviator who made the first transatlantic crossing in 33 and a half hours - and Anne Morrow Lindbergh were downstairs. Also in the house were two servants and the baby's nurse, Betty Gow, who would be the first to discover the baby was missing.

A ransom note was left on the windowsill where the abductor had supposedly entered asking for $50,000 for the baby's safe return. What followed was a feverish search for the baby, the hunt for the abductor, and, following the capture of the abductor, be called the "crime of the century".

The details of the case are fascinating. How no fingerprints except the baby's were found in the nursery for example, or the fact that in a full house how nobody saw or heard anything like a home made ladder being set up outside and the abductor entering and taking the baby without a noise being uttered by the infant.

The baby's remains were later found a short distance from the house, after the ransom had been paid. An unemployed German immigrant called Bruno Hauptmann would later be charged with the murder and abduction after it was found that he had in his possession over $14,000 of the ransom money, the serial numbers having been recorded before being handed out. Also a plank of wood from his attic was missing which matched a part of the home made ladder found at the scene of the abduction.

Though there was a lot of circumstantial evidence and dody witnesses, all recounted here by Geary, Hauptmann was convicted and executed in 1936. Though it seemed likely Hauptmann was the perpetrator, it has never been conclusive and the various theories and inconsistencies are fascinating to read about.

Though it was famous at the time and for many years afterward, now in the 21st century the case remains all but forgotten to the mass of people and to myself. It was a thorough and interesting account of this case and was great to read. As always, Geary brings to light forgotten cases and reveals them in detail, keeping the reader in suspense despite these cases being resolved decades ago. Another great book by Geary, highly recommended.

Fascinating and highly informative
This book is part of the Treasury of XXth Century Murder series, a series of books in graphic novel form that tell the stories of famous twentieth century murders. This book tells the story of the abduction of Charles August Lindbergh, Jr., the infant son of American hero Charles Lindbergh, the attempt to arrange a ransom payment, the discovery of the body, and the arrest, trial and execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann.

This is a really good book. I was impressed with the way the author used the graphic novel format to bring the story to life, but without being too graphic or gruesome. He successfully walked a fine line, presenting the facts of the murders in an even-handed manner, including facts that seem to implicate Hauptmann and those that seem to exonerate him. Overall, I found this to be a fascinating and highly informative book.

So, if you are interested in the Lindbergh Baby case, and want an easy-to-read, and yet balanced and informative read, then I highly recommend this book to you.

History in Easy to Read Form
I picked this up at the library while looking for something else.It's actually pretty interesting and informative.I didn't know about all the cons that tried to profit off the Lindbergh's misery - taking advantage of whoever they could. I think it's funny how Geary draws those lines beneath people's cheeks.They look just like cat's whiskers - especially when they extend beyond the face. And the way he made Hauptmann's one year old baby look like a bully was hilarious.

Geary Tackles "The Crime of The Century".....
Rick Geary is truly a master of the Comic-Book art form, and a terribly underrated one, at that. Be it children's books or his "Murder" graphic novels (The original TREASURY OF VICTORIAN MURDER series and the new TREASURY OF XXth CENTURY MURDER), his work as a Writer/Artist is uniformly excellent.

His latest graphic novel is the first book in the TREASURY of XXth CENTURY MURDER series (At least I hope it'll be a series!), in which Geary presents, in a fair, unbiased, straight-forward way, the facts in Lindbergh Baby kidnapping. The art is clean and appealing, and for all it's simplistic appearance, it's actually incredibly detailed and easy to follow. The book is packed with facts, but never feels too dense or hard-to-follow. The hardcover is a beautiful little package, at a terrific price. I really can't recommend this book highly enough.

A uniquely entertaining way to learn history and highly recommended
There can often be a dark side to fame. "The Lindbergh Child: America's Hero and the Crime of the Century" tells of the fateful tragedy of the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's baby. Lindbergh is famous in the annals of aviation history for being the first man to fly across the Atlantic in an airplane. "The Lindbergh Child" tells the entire story from the kidnapping to the following investigation to the tragic conclusion in the form of a highly accessible graphic novel. "The Lindbergh Child" is a uniquely entertaining way to learn history and highly recommended. for personal, school, and community library American History collections.
... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1917Original Publisher: National Capital Press, inc.Subjects: Banks and bankingWorld War, 1914-1918United StatesBusiness ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Shows how little Politics has changed in 90 years
While reading source material regarding the United States and World War I, I cam across this book. It is well written and covers much more than just the economy during the war.

The book centers on a high level view of politics. I was truly amazed that nearly the entire book could have been written in 2009. So much of what Lindbergh says about how politics works still rings true, it is almost sad.

This book is in the public domain. It should be read by anyone looking into either politics in the first decades of the 20th century or those looking at how things work today. I find it amazing that I truly believe that the book could have been written yesterday. ... Read more

Product Description

He was one of the most famous men of the twentieth century, the subject of best–selling biographies and a hit movie, as well as the inspiration for a dance step – the Lindy Hop – he himself was too shy to try. But for all the attention lavished on Charles Lindbergh, one story has remained untold until now: his macabre scientific collaboration with Dr. Alexis Carrel. Together this oddest of couples – one a brilliant surgeon turned social engineer, the other a failed dirt farmer turned hero of the skies – embarked on a secret quest to achieve immortality.

Their endeavor began on November 28, 1930, in Carrel's laboratory at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, a haven created by the world's richest man, John D. Rockefeller, so that medical investigators could pursue their wildest dreams, freed from the demands of clinical practice. For Carrel, who won the Nobel Prize in 1912 for pioneering organ transplants, that dream was conquering death. But not for everyone – only a special few.

In one of his more ghoulish experiments, Carrel removed the heart from a chick embryo and placed it in a glass jar, where, with special cleansing and feeding, he kept it alive, with no signs of aging, far beyond the species' natural life span. That result, Carrel believed, suggested that natural death wasn't inevitable.

But to attempt such a test with humans, Carrel needed a mechanical genius to create a device in which severed human organs could live and function indefin–itely. Might that genius be the handsome pilot who astonished the world in May 1927 by flying alone across the Atlantic – a feat even most pilots had thought impos–sible – in a single–engine airplane he designed himself?

Part Frankenstein, part The Professor and the Mad–man, and all true, The Immortalists is the remarkable story of how two men of prodigious achievement, and equally large character flaws, challenged nature's oldest rule, with consequences – personal, professional, and political – neither man anticipated.

Customer Reviews (12)

Profiles in extreme behavior
50 years ago, before MTV, before rock & roll, and the Internet, America was captivated by individuals who actually accomplished great deeds.Two of them were Charles Lindbergh and Alexis Carrel.The former became famous for his flying prowess, his rags to riches fame, and then his political stances.Dr. Carrel was reknowned for his medical skills, and being the first American to win a Nobel Prize.This book examines their lives and relationship over the course of the early and middle of the 20th century.Covering the professional and personal lives of both men, the book explores the world they lived in, and how they changed it for better and worse.Hence the book profiles the rise of the aviation industry, advances in vascular research and cytology, the advent of WWII, the death of pacifism in the USA.Both Lindbergh and Carrel started out at the head of these changes, but were eventually overtaken by them.More importantly, many of the views the two men shared at the beginning of their relationships would come back to haunt each of them.Maybe the best way to sum up each man's life is that sometimes one meets a destiny on a road chosen specifically to avoid that destiny.Overall, a great book; well-researched and easy to read.

For Lindbergh Case Afficionados
A must for the serious student of the case. Was recommended to me by an expert.

More lies about Lindbergh!
In David M. Friedman's psuedo-science book,
he tries a slight smear v. the great Amer-I-Can
hero Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. by aserting
that though Lindberg helped one-time friend Alexis
Carrel produce a machine to keep genes and hearts
alive - away from the body for use by elite cauca-
sians [only) while all Lindbergh really did was use
his mechanical skills to help the former Nobel-prize
winning doc put together an external perfusion pump.

There is notruth that Lindberg or Carrel were ever
involved in 'eugenics' which is close to NUTZI-ism!
Neither of these men were 'egalitarians' as the flawed
khazar [Neo-Bolsheviki) author contends. Note the author
used to work for the Federal Reserve Banking cartel, an
organization the aviator's late father opposed from the
beginning. It's also a fact that Rockefeller contributed
to help get this smear publised ONCE Lindbergh was dead!

An excellent book, but keep it in perspective.
The first half of this book is superb in detailing the development of the organ perfusion pump and related scientific breakthroughs made by Dr. Carrel and Mr. Lindbergh in the 1930s. In this part, Mr. Friedman relies mostly on his own research.

The second half describes the sad fate of Mr Carrel, who was unfairly accused of collaboration, and the unique fate of Mr Lindbergh, who was demonized during the neutrality debate in 1939-41 (and still is). Here Friedman draws heavily on the work of A. Scott Berg, whose biography of Lindbergh is fair but obviously incomplete, and on Max Wallace's The American Axis, which is not fair.

Carrel, a brilliant scientist with controversial opinions, in now mostly forgotten, but Lindbergh certainly isn't. There is a vast chasm between Lindbergh's reputation in the aviation community and his vilification among the chattering classes. In the former, he is esteemed not so much for his rather elementary 1927 flight, but for his subsequent contributions, not least flying fifty combat missions as a civilian, and developing engine management techniques which continue to be taught and have probably saved many lives. In the latter domain, Lindbergh is a piñata, but an unusually enduring one who keeps getting hung up and whacked for the views he is supposed to have held. Friedman is in the second domain, but his approach is new in looking at the Carrel-Lindbergh collaboration.

Anti-Lindberghists are faced with a terrible dilemma. It is impossible to examine the pilot's work, utterances, and voluminous writings without concluding that he was an earnest, well-meaning, humanitarian, and patriotic person who made substantial contributions in every field he entered, and whose main fault was political dyslexia.

To get around this, anti-Lindberghism must extrapolate and exaggerate. Of course, the media simply lied, and the writer Philip Roth, borrowing from the tactics of the authors of the Chronicles of the Elders, writes a whole parallel history in his recent The Plot against America. In contrast, Friedman is honest, but spins some facts against the flier.

The blood libel against Lindbergh - that he was a racist, Hitler-loving, anti-Semitic eugenicist - is now such a shibboleth that it's risky to set the facts straight. Lindbergh had nothing against Jews, but he was worried about the power of the Jewish lobby over American foreign policy. In a peculiar statement such as "it's good for a country to have some Jews but not too many" one senses a puzzled mechanic trying to adjust the mixture so that the engine will run smoothly.

In warning about the Lobby, he said what everybody knows. Friedman parrots Berg in countering that only a few percent of the total media is Jewish-owned, but everyone can see that is an artful evasion. On the other hand, that power is perfectly legitimate, and Lindbergh was clearly wrong to suggest that a Mr Goldberg's opinion is less "American" than a Mr Lindberg's.

He was completely mystified by the media vendetta against him after his 9.11.41 speech in which he said the English, the Jews, and the FDR folks were trying to get us into the war - the same speech in which he said he understood their anguish and deplored the outrages being carried out in Germany.

Agree with neutrality or not, what he said was true, but his timing was certainly abominable. Friedman, to be fair, emphasizes the case of a Jewish scientist whom Lindbergh helped escape Germany in 1936. In that man's words, the Colonel was not "sophisticated." Had he been more "sophisticated" he could have used this period to also agitate for the acceptance of European Jews into America - with his access, Berlin would have had to listen. Paradoxically, if he had done this, he would also have exposed the true anti-Semitism lurking in the U.S. government.

Lindbergh wasn't a racist, but he was certainly a racialist. He had no interest in denying anyone their rights, but he repeated the common contemporary prejudices about the characteristics of races and ethnic groups. "I admire both races" (English and Jews) sounds weird today, but such terminology was in common use in the first half of the 20th century. And it's a strange racist who spends much of the rest of his life as a spokesman for indigenous peoples worldwide.

The Colonel was sent to Germany to report on German air power for the U.S. Army. Being gullible, he was taken in by German efficiency propaganda and overestimated the relative strength of the German air force. Nonetheless, his maligned predictions to Mr Chamberlain and the French were quickly proved correct. People who have carefully studied the 1938 correlation of forces tend to agree with him that the decision not to go to war over the Sudetenland was wise.

Lindbergh was pro-republic and anti-democracy, in sharp contrast with FDR, whose New Deal was almost openly fascistic. He tried to be impartial in the European civil war, and held both sides equally responsible. He favored a negotiated settlement. Though these views sound naïve today, they were standard U.S. foreign policy up until the war. Would it have been better to take his advice? Who knows - the whole thing could have ended a million different ways and all we know for sure is that we'd all be taught that the good guys won. You can read Niall Ferguson, not usually considered a monster, and find very similar assessments.

Lindbergh favored eugenics because it's common sense. Ever noticed that people shopping for genetic material tend to favor Nobel winners and avoid Death Row? Eugenics has only gotten a bad name because it was used coercively by governments.

The neutrality debate of 1939-41 has a lot in common with the intervention debate of 2001-03. The Colonel didn't realize that reasoned argument is not the currency of public debate. What happened to Messrs Blix, Ritter, and Wilson in 2003 is chicken scratch compared to what they did to Lindbergh. (And what Bush did to the Constitution pales compared to FDR's scorched-earth war against it.)

In the end, one senses that anti-Lindberghism has more to do with the idea of Lindbergh than Lindbergh's ideas. (Amusingly, something similar might be said about anti-Semitism, which caters to the base psychological needs of the mob.) The media made him into a Nordic superhero; then they went berserk tearing him apart. His firstborn was killed, he was run out of the country, and then Lucky Lindy was made into an American Hitler. You don't have to agree with him to see the calumniation. People who say only what they are supposed to, aren't worth listening to; Lindbergh and Carrel certainly weren't in that category.

really interesting
You might think you know Charles Lindbergh, the guy who flew the plane and got famous, had a kidnapped & killed baby boy, etc. But Lindbergh was a really complex guy, with a difficult personality and his own views on things. This book is about one of those things.
It's a fascinating account of his relationship with another unusual person who happened to be a surgeon and medical researcher. Lindbergh is not well known for this portion of his life, but his mechanical intuition led to the forerunner of the cardiac bypass pump!
Great book. Vicki of Mobile ... Read more

Product Description

Along with most of my fellow fliers, I believed that aviation had a brilliant future. Now we live, today, in our dreams of yesterday; and, living in those dreams, we dream again...." -- From The Spirit of St. Louis

Charles A. Lindbergh captured the world's attention -- and changed the course of history -- when he completed his famous nonstop flight from New York to Paris in 1927. In The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh takes the reader on an extraordinary journey, bringing to life the thrill and peril of trans-Atlantic travel in a single-engine plane. Eloquently told and sweeping in its scope, Lindbergh's Pulitzer Prize-winning account is an epic adventure tale for all time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Spirit of St. Louis
This had been a must read for me for years. When I started to read it, I couldn't put it down. Lindbergh had a flair for the pen. What better read could you ask for, but from the individual who experienced it. Even though you know the outcome, it still reads like an adventure novel. This young man shows through his own words, that he had the right stuff or "SPIRIT" if you will.Enjoy!

Good book, very informative, well written
I liked this book, it felt like I was there in the plane with him crossing the atlantic. What he accomplished is truely amazing.

Book brought my spirits up!
Seriously, I was in a rut when it came to reading, and this book popped me right out of that rut.This book is an inspirational adventure of Charles Lindbergh's preparation and trip across the Atlantic ocean in the Spirit of St. Louis plane.

Spoiler alert!!He makes it across the ocean.

I highly recommend it though, an excellent accounting of the true story, and the book includes technical details of the plane, routes (Atlantic trip, plus touring), and the adventure in general.Good pictures too.Smithsonian Institution, here I come!

Eyes ove the Atlantic
I think the book is wonderful.I wanted to attain a better sense of Charles A Lindbergh and what better
way then to read something he wrote.He is a good writer and his character comes through.It is also very
enterntaining and down to the practically of having real substance of history in the book.I am greatful to have read it and attained a glimps of a cherished individual in our aviation history.

An Enthralling Saga
Lindbergh took some risks with this book. He wrote it out first person, present tense. (A big "no no".) And he broke up the storyline with frequent flashbacks. Somehow it all works anyway, in spite of or because of these risks.

But, then again, Lindbergh was a risk taker. He put his life on the line with his Paris flight and succeeded gloriously. He does the same thing here, in the literary world, winning the Pulitzer prize.

We should all stop to reflect a moment on how great a coup this was. And how improbable. Lindbergh published this book in the decade following his ill-fated attempt to prevent America's entry into World War II. In many ways his star had fallen with the American public, politically and otherwise. Yet, he was able to resurrect himself through this first-hand story of his great experimental flight. You can't keep a good man (or woman) down.

My favorite part of this book is the section where he refers to his metaphysical experiences during his flight over the Atlantic. He recounts these experiences in more depth in Autobiography of Values, but it is here that they first see the light of day.

This is an enthralling saga of a great moment in the history of aviation, told by the flier himself. It is a unique contribution to world literature, and as such, scarcely needs me to recommend it. Yet, I do so, unreservedly.

Richard Salva--author of Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh [UNABRIDGED] ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Brilliant and Interesting Journal
Every so often my reading leads me to another book of the past that is out of print. I almost always find the book on Amazon.com, and if I am lucky, the book will be a forgotten jewel. Wartime Journals of Charles A. Lindbergh is just such a book. This is a magnificent journal, 1000 pages of narrative, that takes the reader from March, 1938 to June, 1945. The journal immerses the reader in Lindbergh's daily life as well as the history of the time, yielding a facinating narrative of events leading to WWII as well as Lindbergh's combat experiences in the South Pacific during approximately 1 year in the course of WWII. Lindbergh writes well, and he frequently spends a substantial amount of time on a daily entry, explaining what he was doing on that day and what his thoughts were about the situation. He has a number of entries concerning his wife, Anne, and the 4 children that they had prior to the end of the book (Reeve was yet to be born). There is much discussion about the family's life prior to the war while living in England as well as France. I was particularly interested in his many entries with regard to his experiences at Ford Motor Company during 1942 and 1943. His work there is not universally known; however, it was quite interesting and chronicles his continuedposition of being on the cutting edge of aviation.

I found this book facinating, well written, and a real contribution to my historical reading. This is not necessarily a book exclusively for scholors of this period of history. It is a very readable, real world journal. There are many photographs, and a substantial number of noteable, historical figues move through the daily entries.

Normally in reviewing a book, I exclusively address my comments to my thoughts about the book. However,I will mention that I think the review posted from the previous reviewer is a disservice to potential readers of this outstanding document. I strongly suspect that this reviewer did not read the book. His gloss over lightly is inaccurate and essentially is a criticism of Lindbergh's America First position prior to December 7, 1941 as opposed to a review of the book. One of his major points was that Lindbergh became a man without a country after his activities as a speaker for America First. This is not close to the truth. I might point out that Lindbergh's most successful book, The Spirit of St. Lewis, published in 1955, was a Pulitizer Prize Winner as well as a No. 1 seller on the New York Times best seller list for a number of months. This is generally not how the work of a washed up has-been is treated.

Thought provoking entries by controversial figure
By the time WWII began Charles Lindbergh was firmly entrenched in the Isolationist movement and no friend of FDR's. He was confident Germany would defeat all of her opponents and rule Europe. He didn't figure on the Japanese however and once the war began however he wanted to contribute but not in uniform (afraid of Roosevelt ordering him to a cubby hole somewhere) so he found jobs testing aircraft and giving flying advice to pilots in the South Pacific. A brilliant but also incredibly naive man, Lindbergh basically found himself a man without a country only two decades after his remarkable achievements. ... Read more

Product Description
Before World War II, two groups vied for dominance of American foreign policy - the interventionists and America First.The interventionists argued that we should declare war on Hitler before he took over the world.The America First argument was that we were far to weak to attack Hitler's powerful army and so we should avoid war at all costs.Charles Lindbergh, the wildly popular American aviator, often served as spokesman for America First. ... Read more

Product Description
1927. The famous flier's own story of his life and his transatlantic flight, together with his views on the future of aviation. Flying was his trade, his means of livelihood, but the love of it burned in him with a fine passion and his fame gave him a wider scope of usefulness, he announced he would devote himself wholeheartedly to the advance of aeronautics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This is a true Anerican adventure.
For years I've wanted to read this book! I finely got to do it. Have the movie "Spirit of St. Louis" but the book puts you right in with the pilot. He flew this "mission" by the seat of his pants, and this was true flying. A must read!

Memoir of a superhero, '20s style
Lindbergh certainly was the superstar of his day. Following his singlehanded flight from New York to Paris in May 1927, the public rapturously hung on his every word. In this memoir, written only days after the event and subtitled "the Famous Flier's Own Story of His Life and His Transatlantic Flight, Together With His Views on the Future of Aviation," the "Lone Eagle" tells about his childhood, how he acquired his first plane, his career as a stunt flier, his training in the Army Air Corps, and his work as an Air Mail pilot (including his four emergency parachute jumps). Then, in great detail, he describes the preparations for his epic flight, the flight itself, and the wild welcome that met him in Europe. The "spiritual meaning" of his flight also gets a lot of coverage.

Maybe it's just the cynicism of the latter part of the 20th century, but all the modesty seems somehow self-serving. The timing of this book makes it important to anyone interested in Lindbergh, but his later "The Spirit of St. Louis" is a far better book.

A 1927 fresh-from-the-flight account by Lindbergh himself.
Someone once said that nobody told his own story better than Lindbergh himself.When one considers the continuous flow of books written about him, this is an opinion to be seriously considered.

Thoughts naturallyleap to his Pulitzer prize-winning The Spirit of St. Louis, which still haslavish praise heaped upon it by even Lindbergh's most recent biographers. Published in 1952, more than 15 years after Lindbergh's historictransatlantic nonstop flight from New York to Paris, its intriguing flow isheightened by what is known in the world of English grammar as thehistorical present indicative tense, a seldom-used approach by writersbecause it is said to be so difficult to sustain, particularly over thelong haul of an entire book's length.In short, the author describes whatis happening at a particular moment, but zig-zags flashback style out ofthe present while the author recalls moments in his history past.

Stayalert, Reader, for anyone writing in this manner must perform near-perfectwriting artistry to maintain interest.Of course, The Spirit of St. Louisfalls into that elegant category.

All but vanished into the shelves ofjuvenile literature in some libraries - or the collections of those whotreasure its merits (or collect Lindberghiana)- is the long-forgottenLindbergh memoir simply entitled "We."

Here comes theinevitable momentary comparison with The Spirit of St. Louis, whichLindbergh worked on for close to 13 years and sent to numerous critics andfriends for review during the long writing process.This is not acriticism of Lindbergh, for he was a perfectionist; the book he thenproduced was worth its wait in spades.

But "We" is the oneand only fresh-from-the-flight retelling of our newly crowned hero'slifetime adventures.Rushed to publication just three weeks later, makingit the converse of its younger brother, this is precisely where the book'sreal value counts.

Consider the times:it was 1927 - those topsy-turveytwenties.Much as we know that they were famous for the Charleston,fashion, fun, and freedom, despite what Mom thought, they were dark times,nonetheless, for many veterans returning from World War I found their jobshad vanished.It was not long before sound waves coming from Europe weretroubling.And - there was no hero in the White House, for Coolidgeneither aroused enthusiasm nor had any sense that he should try.However,technology was being harnessed to an untold degree.Radio, telephone andHenry Ford's Model T were opening up linkages across America inunprecedented fashion.Aviation was being heralded as a form ofcommunication where, unimaginably, it might even become possible to carrypassengers from one destination to another.

Lindbergh's feat was not onlya large miracle, but placed in his times, there comes the realization thathe also had the benefit of a press and pubic longing to break the rules,see the world, and hoist a hero into history.His natural good looks anddemeanor only added to the package; he was irresistible!

Written instraightforwaard, unvarnished prose, in"We," Lindbergh not onlytakes the reader into the fledgling wings of aviation, but recalls hisearly life, progressing from boyhood through planehood and on intoherohood.How could anyone not be caught up in this real-lifehero-in-the-making myth?Here we have simple language telling of a goldendream.Plainly told in boy next store sentences, the book is more than adress rehearsal for the prize winner which succeeded it.

Beginning withthe conventional, "I was born in... . My father was... .", ofLindbergh's still pristine memories, he wrote:"On several moreoccasions it was necessary to fly by instrument for short periods; then thefog broke into patches.These patches took on forms of every description.Numerous shorelines appeared, with trees perfectly outlined against thehorizon.In fact, the mirages were so natural that, had I not been in themid-Atlantic and known that no land existed along my route, I would havetaken them to be actual islands."

Could anyone else have writtenthis you-are-there recounting, told as only a young Lindbergh - not aseasoned, even embattled Lindbergh, could tell it?"We" is anear-instant, first person replay which history would be a little numberwithout, and without which, THIS Lindbergh could not have been known.

Andthat almost happened, except our hero wouldn't allow it.Originallyassigned to ghostwriter Carlyle MacDonald's pen by G. P. Putnam, Lindberghwas aghast to see what he considered either mistakes or misinterpretationsin MacDonald's version.No one but he would write his book - which hadbeen promised for publication in a matter of weeks.The hapless MacDonalddid make one major contribution, for it was he who named "We""We," having noted Lindbergh's overt use of the "firstperson plural" when referring to his plane and himself.One of thefew rounds Lindbergh ever lost, "We" stuck!Perhaps it would nothave mattered an iota aabout the title; it sold a riotous 190,000 copies injust two months and earned its author more than a hundred thousand dollarsin the first six months, quite an achievement for that time or anyother.

"We" still graces library shelves, albeit, you may haveto look in the young readers' section.Or maybe, now that you are aware ofit, you might try mentioning it to Aunt Isabel, because she just may have acopy sitting on her own oak library shelf! ... Read more

Product Description
CRIME OF THE CENTURY The Lindbergh Kidnapping Hoax
by Gregory Ahlgren
and Stephen Monier

After it was announced that the twenty month old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was abducted on March 1, 1932, the entire world grieved for their loss. Seventy-two days later, the body was found in the woods next to a roadway, a short distance from Lindbergh's house, near Hopewell, New Jersey.
In 1927, Lindbergh was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic in his Spirit of St. Louis. By 1932, he was perhaps the most famous man alive. A great American hero, he was allowed to be the chief architect of the investigation into his son's kidnapping. He demanded that the body be cremated without an autopsy.
This book traces the 2½ year investigation by the New Jersey State Police, headed by Colonel H. Norman Schwarz¬kopf, and which led to the arrest, trial, conviction and execu¬tion of Bruno Richard Hauptmann. It challenges the effective¬ness of the investigation, and the evidence advanced by the prosecution, which convicted Hauptmann.
More importantly, it dissects evidence previously over¬looked of Lindbergh's own role in his son's disappearance, which, in combination with the authors' expert analysis, leads to a new and bold assertion as to who actually committed the Crime of the Century."
... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

The Truth So Help Me
Growing up in New Jersey I recalled how Mrs. Hauptmann would always proclaim her husband's innocence upon the anniversary date of his execution.She steadfastly and adamantly asked the extant governor for clemency and routinely was denied. No action was ever taken by law enforcement nor anyone else all this time.This book clears the record completely.

Well written, precise, detailed and accurate, the authors clearly show who actually killed Lindbergh's son and unfortunately, the true, real and actual evidence points to none other than Lindbergh himself, as I also expected.You see I live in Hillsborough, New Jersey a neighboring landmass near Hopewell and the Lindbergh home.

I recommend this book for anyone who is willing to shed historic events for the real deal and discover for themselves how tragic one innocent man was executed in place of a villain proclaimed hero.Another piece of disturbing history in the land of the free and home of the brave.

Open mind for an American hero/villian
While I appreciate the accomplishments of this man I also have to look at the "other man" for lack of better term. Most certainly a egomaniac who allowed fame to take over reason at some point in his life. I found the idea of an alter explanation worth looking into. Not satisfied with this book alone-brought up a lot of ideas but left some of them hanging so I took on a 5 year quest for satisfaction on the topic. Completely suprised by the amount of information out there I found a lot of pros and cons. I have come to the conclusion that the book is creditable on many fronts and lacking on some. The investigation was riddled with errors and largely controlled by Lindburgh. His status as an American icon made open minded investigation almost impossible obvious by the amount of control he had during it. Not quite well known is the prior prank Lindburgh pulled of the exact topic. Further exam of his life made me even more curious on this subject and the actions after the event bothered me. For all who read this and are negative to it, YES I do have first hand knowledge and horror on the subject. My family has endured saddness and horror of a kidnapped 2 yr old child since the early 90's. Only we have no closure-no body to bury. Just ongoing questions. My quest led me to trial transcripts, talks with involved individuals and/or family members, investigating as much information as I could find on the investigation I have come away with a new perspective. I find much of the hoax gone wrong theory creditable and believable. Not near enough time was spent investigating and exploring as many avenues and explanations as possible. I believe a rush to judgement was obtained and an innocent man was hastily executed. While certainly not saying Lindburgh was absolutely guilty for his sons death the conclusion of the case left me empty and frustrated and feeling that this icon in history is no longer a hero to me but a man with great accomplishments and a tarnished image.

"Lindbergh, An Unsung Prankster & Coward?"
"Crime of the Century:The Lindbergh Kidnapping Hoax", Gregory Ahlgren and Stephen Monier, Brandon Books, MA, 1993 - ISBN: 0-8283-1971, HC 276 pages plus Footnotes, Biblio. & Sources, Index and 10 B & W Illustration/Photos.9 1/4" x 6 1/4".

The authors, a criminal defense attorney and a Police Chief present their detailed conclusions after conducting extensive research that effectively exonerates Bruno Richard Hauptmann in the kidnap and murder of the Lindbergh baby: -- they construct a rather convincing case indicting the father, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, for a tragic hoax that began as a repeat of a foolish prank and ended with his son's death and worsened by his cleverly planned cover-up leading to a wrongful conviction and execution of an innocent German immigrant who was not fluent in English, denied an interpreter and was assigned an alcoholic defense lawyer whose salary was paid by The New York Daily Mirror newspaper in return for worthy news briefings, additionally supplied with prostitutes beginning day one.

Many articles and books write of the innocence and wrongful conviction of Bruno Richard Hauptmann consequent to his inept legal counsel, over-zealous prosecutors, and a farcical trial judge -- but this book is said, by its authors, to be the first to indict the true alleged perpetrator, the Father (CAL) -- one who in today's society, as a parent, would automatically have been a person of interest if not a prime suspect.

The authors weave their theory of Lindbergh's guilt after accumulating generous if not overwhelming circumstantial evidence of the hoax kidnapping and complete failure of the criminal justice system to have questioned either parent.Col. Lindbergh was bestowed with social and political esteem excesses which provided absolute reverence and immunity that even extended to the lead state investigator, Col. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, father of Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf of "Desert Storm" fame.

I'd be one of the first to insist on the necessity of having true heroes and champions to give us and our children lofty goals and/for inspiration, thus I am saddened to read this seemingly compelling book that deconstructs one of them quite focefully, convincingly, and totally.We must remind ourselves, however, that the "Lone Eagle" is not alive to defend himself...and that additional publications would be essential before abandoning this American Icon.

Provoking
I find this study to be credible and ably presented but with one significant defect. Who built the ladder? Where and when? Surely, the authors don't imply that Lindbergh built it. If not him, who? Otherwise, a very persuasive study.

Seriously flawed
I originally read this book when it first came out. Having read most of the commercially available books on the Lindbergh kidnapping case I have to admit I was curious to read this new theory. The book's premise is that Charles Lindbergh killed his son during a practical joke gone horribly, horribly wrong. On it's face this is quite fantastic but as most books seem to fall into the "Hauptman was guilty as hell" or "Hauptman was railroaded" camps I found the premise worth at least looking at.

That said, while I have to admit this was an entertaining book, as history or forensic analysis of the case it is lacking. To say that Charles Lindbergh had "issues" is an understatement. But to extrapolate that he not only killed his only son, covered it up, played along with John Condon and his negotiations with 'Cemetary John', paid thousands of dollars to cover it up, sat in silence as Hauptman was framed and executed for a crime he didn't commit and on top of it all testified against Hauptman (who may or may not have been 'Cemetary John') seems incredulous. My main objection to the theory is --- would a man like Charles Lindbergh purposely leave his only son (and its pretty conclusive that the body found was the Lindbergh baby) to moulder in a shallow pit only a couple of miles from his house?

I'm sorry I don't buy it. This is an outrageous conclusion and the authors quite frankly don't offer the evidence to support their conclusions.I gave the book two stars because while I find the theory quite absurd, I've always enjoyed historical fiction. ... Read more

Product Description
James Newton is an extraordinary man who formed friendships with several men who helped shape the 20th century. His associations found him a witness to the unveiling of Ford's new V-8 engine; discussing humanity with the father of modern surgery, Alexis Carrel; and in prewar France with the Lindbergh family. Illustrated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A lesson of commitment and ethics
I met Mr. James Newton and his wife Ellie, almost twenty five years ago in his Fort Myers real estate office. Jim was in the process of finishing the manuscript for this outstanding book in which he shares many life changing moments with his five unusual friends.Jim delightfully reminds us of his firsthand experiences with them.Throughout the book, he gives us a clear understanding of how these historical icon friends impacted his life.Each of them, 'The Uncommon Friends,' had high standards of personal and business ethics.Reading the book is a flash back in American history.You may have heard some of these stories previously.But they were secondhand.Now you can read in his book as Mr. Newton relates many of these firsthand, intimate moments with Edison, Ford, Firestone, Lindbergh and Carrel.I recommend the book!

My only regret is waiting so long to acquire the it.

Very Interesting.
What a lucky man, to have lived and shared the time he did, with those incredible people. Mr. Newton tells it like he lived it, you get the distinct impression, from reading this book, that Mr. Newton saw these men as both great leaders and great men. It is impressive today to be able to get a cross section of turn of the century greatness, all rolled up in one place. Interestingly enough, Mr. Newton has a strong sense of faith that worked it's way into all of these relationships, yet he incorporates it into the text with minimal overtones. I would recommend this book to anyone, like me, that only has a passing knowledge of these people and their times, it helped to color these people in as human.

Fascinating & stimulating
This book gives insight in many discussions on business, theology and philosophy among five extraordinary people. But I find it regrettable that the belief of Edison, Ford & Lindbergh in reincarnation is rather superficially worked out. Perhaps because of the religious stance of his wife and the author.
I deem it also regrettable that no mention is made of the membership of Edison of the Theosophical Society while it is obvious he was much inspired by the books of Blavatsky.
Apart from a few inaccuracies (on p. 10: Edison is attributed to have received as a gift every new car that ran from the Ford assembly line, among which the first V8. But the V8 was introduced after the demise of this great inventor, p. 100) I find this book very readable and stimulating.

A Fascinating Book on the Lives of Five Great Men
This book originally caught my eye as an addition to another book I read called Edison: A Life of Invention by Paul Israel. I wanted a book that would cover a little more of Edison's personal life, and this book did just that. However, James Newton's close, dedicated friendships with all of these great men of the twentieth century is truly amazing, and I learned more than I would probably learn otherwise about some of these important historical figures.

The entire book is fascinating, and surely different parts will appeal to different readers. I was particularly enchanted with a poignant description of how Charles Lindbergh handled dying as he lay on his deathbed. I was also fascinated with how environmentally conscientious some of these men were, particularly Edison and Lindbergh, but also Ford. For example, Ford was very interested in making automobile parts out of soybeans in order to reduce the need for metal parts. It seems that all of these men had numerous ideas and ideas for inventions that were way ahead of their time - perhaps some of them still are.

Newton's writing is quite good, and I only have one very minor criticism: it seems that he preaches a little bit and dwells on the religious facet of his relationships with these people. Of course, I'm sure this was a very important part of his relationship with these men and their families, but it seems that there is a grand, overarching agenda he has in constantly illustrating their connection to God and religion.

If you are interested in any of these historical figures and their fascinating relationships with each other, this book is definitely the best book you will find on the subject.

A Truly Fascinating Book on the Lives of a Five Twentieth Ce
This book originally caught my eye as an addition to another book I read called Edison: A Life of Invention by Paul Israel. I wanted a book that would cover a little more of Edison's personal life, and this book did just that. However, James Newton's close, dedicated friendships with all of these great men of the twentieth century is truly amazing, and I learned more than I would probably learn otherwise about some of these important historical figures.

The entire book is fascinating, and surely different parts will appeal to different readers. I was particularly enchanted with a poignant description of how Charles Lindbergh handled dying as he lay on his deathbed. I was also fascinated with how environmentally conscientious some of these men were, particularly Edison and Lindbergh, but also Ford. For example, Ford was very interested in making automobile parts out of soybeans in order to reduce the need for metal parts. It seems that all of these men had numerous ideas and ideas for inventions that were way ahead of their time - perhaps some of them still are.

Newton's writing is quite good, and I only have one very minor criticism: it seems that he preaches a little bit and dwells on the religious facet of his relationships with these people. Of course, I'm sure this was a very important part of his relationship with these men and their families, but it seems that there is a grand, overarching agenda he has in constantly illustrating their connection to God and religion.

If you are interested in any of these historical figures and their fascinating relationships with each other, this book is definitely the best book you will find on the subject. ... Read more

Product Description
In his wide-ranging investigation, Max Wallace goes further than any other historian to expose how Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh posed a serious threat to democracy in the U.S. and abroad. Wallace reveals how these so-called heroes abused their power to launch crusades that played a crucial role in bringing about Hitler's rise to power and undermined the Allied war effort. Based on thousands of previously undis-covered documents, including shocking FBI and military intelligence files, The American Axis presents not only a mesmerizing narrative, but a compelling historical expos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Helping Hitler
Hitler didn't want us in the Second World War. To keep us out, he enlisted the aid of many powerful Americans.

America loves heroes. Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford were heroes. And, after their fall from grace during the WW11 years, they're back to being heroes again. America forgets. But the author of this fantastic, well-written book reminds us. Moreover, he tells us things we may not have known in the first place.

I remember as a child my uncle, an Air Force colonel, coming home from a mission or flight of some sort. He seldom talked about any of them and we didn't ask. But this one time he said he had "Flown that damn Lindbergh to ____ Air Force Base." He said he absolutely hated the man because he was a "Nazi lover and anti-American." That's the first time I'd heard the name of Lindbergh. Oh, I'd heard the family talk of the "Lindbergh baby" but didn't really care. I was hardly old enough to know about these things.

My point is, there was a time in America when our fathers and uncles, some of our aunts were over seas fighting the Nazis. They didn't want to hear about the greatness of the Nazis or Hitler or Gorring. Lindbergh thought they were great. Moreover, he aided them by trying to keep American out of the war and trying to keep us from helping Britian and France. His mouth was full of anti-Semite trash, like that of the Nazis. Being a naive man, he believed everything Hitler uttered.

Henry Ford aided the enemy as well. What's more, his Ford Werkes in Germany "purchased" young kids, mostly girls, to work in its plants under gross conditions. They were slaves. This was the real Henry Ford. He too was an anti-Semite. But, more than Lindbergh, he aided the enemy by providing them with vehicles and much more.

When he became an anti-Semite no one really knows. But his private secretary was an alleged Nazi spy and fed lots of trash to Ford.

I don't think either man really understood the horrendous acts they were encouraging. Regardless, they aided the enemy. So did Thomas Watson of IBM and Prescot Bush, father of a president and grandfather to another. The difference? The latter did it for money only. The former did it out of hatred of Jews.

This is an eye-opening book. It's well-written and important. I highly recommend it.

- Susanna K. Hutcheson

Solid history
It's hard, especially for Americans it seems, to take off the rose-colored glasses when regarding our so called "heroes". Most who have bothered to read up on Henry Ford will acknowledge that he was an odd variety of anti-semite. But there is still much resisitance to the idea that Lindbergh was an anti-semite too, in his own equally odd way. Both were very naive, poorly educated men who spent their lives in denial. Max Wallace does an excellent, thorough job of putting the evidence before us: these men were dangerous, hate-addled dupes who were used to lasting effect by the Nazis. Lindbergh, especially, needs to be taken down a few pegs: his "heroic" flight was nothing more than a dangerous stunt. His timing, however, was accidentally brilliant, resulting in a frenzy of adulation from a hero hungry world. That his half-baked ideas should have had such influence is most regrettable. Hopefully "American Axis" will help set the record straight for future historians.

The Hobo Philosopher
I have not only read "the International Jew" published by Henry Ford. I have also read Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. I have even written my own analysis of Mein Kampf which I have been serializing on my blog the hobo philosopher. I have been doing my own personal research of "Who Financed Adolf" for at least a decade now.
It is difficult to vouch for anyone's research on any subject no matter how renown the reputation of the historian or the author - people are still criticising Gibbon. But though this book is the most blatant indictment of these two men as Nazi supporters that I have yet found, there is nothing in this book that is inconsistent with numerous indictments and accusations by other historians and authors.
Though any book can be criticised for its accuracy one can only judge by its consistency with the historical record and one's own personal abilities as a critical reader and researcher.
On both counts I find this book substantiated. There is nothing in this book that is beyond reasonable acceptance. For what it is worth this book has approx. 60 pages of notes and sources.
Henry Ford, especially, is becoming less and less a "great" man and American the more and more I read. It is sad.

Books written by Richard Noble - The Hobo Philosopher:
"Hobo-ing America: A Workingman's Tour of the U.S.A.."
"A Summer with Charlie"
"A Little Something: Poetry and Prose"
"Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"
"The Eastpointer" Selections from award winning column.

Non-Sequiturs of Extensive Research
Max Wallace must be given credit for being such an ambitious researcher.Unfortunately, his exhaustive research is ruined by his animus contortions of logic and his willingness to make assumptions which far exceed the evidence he so eagerly sought and failed to find.The book's cover says it all--With a picture of Auschwitz next to Charles A. Lindberg and Henry Ford, _The American Axis_ is an attempt at making a 'but for' case that without Lindberg and Ford, the Nazi Holocaust never would have occurred.

The heart of Wallace's case against Ford is his writings in the "Dearborn Independent" (1920), later compiled as _The International Jew_.Wallace must assume that most of his readers will not have ever read _The International Jew_ as he incessantly uses every expression imaginable to convince them that is was inspired by hatred.But those who read it for themselves will see in Ford's own words that, "Prejudice and hatred are the very conditions which a scientific study of the Jewish Question will forestall and prevent."Nevertheless, misunderstandings did ensue and rumors did abound. Wallace dedicated many pages to every rumor of Ford financing the 3rd Reich as if to make the reader believe proof was immanent.Yet buried within pages and pages of innuendo were small admissions that each and every rumor was not substantiated.What is most significant to Wallace is his claim (p.295) that anti-Semitism was highest where Ford's Dearborn Independent was most popular, although I have no idea how Wallace made such a measurement.

The most damning evidence Wallace presents as a condemnation of Ford is the fact that Robert Schmidt, a former employee of Ford, managed the German Ford plant during America's involvement in WWII and obtained 50 workers through Albert Speer.These workers were actually on the payroll, but one person--Elsa Inanowa--later claimed she was never paid.In 1998, she filed a class action lawsuit against the Ford Motor Company for compensation, but the case was dismissed.(These are the facts given in the book, minus the spin and all the subsequent talk about the Nazi's use slave labor in general.)Robert Schmidt was also involved with the IG Farben Company which had a rubber factory in Auschwitz and also produced Zyklon B--used in the gas chambers.Robert Schmidt himself, was not even under the direct control of Ford and was never convicted of any war crimes.Nevertheless, Henry Ford, Wallace would have us believe, somehow bears responsibility for the Nazi death camps.

The research does indicate that Lindberg supported a form of eugenics when applied to cases of mental retardation and criminals.Yet again, Wallace makes unsubstantiated inferences that he would have approved eugenics for the purpose of committing genocide against the Jews.This is what I would call "intellectually dishonest," although Wallace applies this phrase to all of Lindberg's other biographers.(p. 277)And how does Wallace justify such outrageous assumptions and accusations about Lindberg?He does so by the argument that we and his biographers should have "judged him by his followers." (p.280)Such reasoning would indict the Beetles for the acts of Charles Manson years after they recorded Helter Skelter.And of course the circular argument is presented (p. 294) that any of Lindberg's defenders must themselves be anti-Semitic.Ever the clever propagandist, Wallace confesses that nowhere did he find any evidence that Lindberg was a Nazi (p.281), yet he knows that a picture is worth a thousand words as he suggests that a picture in the book shows Lindberg giving a Nazi salute.Most people alive today are unaware that in those years this is the way we saluted our own American flag. (see [...] and [...])The reason we later changed our flag salute should be obvious.

The politics of America's involvement in WWII is so oversimplified by Wallace that without any independent research or knowledge, the reader would believe that anyone in the "America First" movement was pro-Nazi.Anyone who opposed or criticized the Treaty of Versailles, Franklin D. Roosevelt, The New Deal, Communism, or even labor unions, Wallace skillfully paints as anti-Semitic.There was no room, in Wallace's analysis, for consideration of the so-called "Yellow Peril" of Russia and China since these were considerations of anti-Semitic Nazis and Fascists.And despite the fact that above all else Ford was a business man, Wallace gives no consideration to any distinctions between military Isolationists/Interventionists and economic Isolationists/Interventionists. Yet one of the greatest Austrian economists, Ludwig von Mises (himself a Jew), in his _Interventionism, An Economic Analysis_ (1940), had this to say: "The 'progressives' who today masquerade as 'liberals' may rant against 'fascism'; yet it is their policy that paves the way for Hitlerism."There were very many other viewpoints and complex issues ignored in _The American Axis_. But Wallace does anticipate his critics to some degree by including brief admissions here and there such as on p. 260 where he admits that sometimes charges of being un-American, anti-Semitic, or pro-Nazi were used unfairly.However, his overwhelming message is made very clear--you were either on the side of the Allies or the side of the Axis.

_The American Axis_ is filled with lines such as, "It is almost impossible to know." (p. 338)Yet conclusions always follow without hesitation.Even within the space of a single page (p.319) Wallace follows his words "no conclusive evidence" with an admonition to believe one of his conclusions anyway, while soon thereafter stating that because there is "not a single piece of convincing evidence " we should not believe another.Apparently he is the final arbiter of the difference between convincing and conclusive evidence.Max Wallace definitely has a political agenda and will not hesitate to take his shots wherever he feels the urge and sees an opportunity.For example, out of the blue (p. 349), in between bringing Edsel Ford and GM's Opel subsidy into the picture for brief mentions of their shares of the blame, we get a page-and-a-half of discussion on Prescott Bush, based on the _The Secret War Against The Jews_ by John Loftus.And nothing brings Wallace's personal animosities to the fore any more clearly than his vengeful descriptions of the deaths of all the major villains portrayed in his book.

[...]

Not so fast
An interesting read ... I can't be so judgmental of mr lindburg as many people especially considering the state of the world and the state of our culture under our democracys. I have less sympathy for ford.

America has certainly killed millions of people in the world to further its goals too and with the world population approaching 9 billion by the year 2050 largely due to our modern value systems we can probably expect dicey times ahead...man made and otherwise.

My only point is to suggest that we should not be so cocksure that we know it all... and not be so quick to judge. Many scientists, artists and thinkers in the 1930's lended at least some support to the german regime and if you read what they had to say about it they are frighteningly articulate ... we may not agree with everything they have to say but with the way the world is going today, I don't think we are in the best of positions to totally dismiss some of their points even if with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight we can certainly dismiss many of the excesses of the german regime.
... Read more

Product Description
Charles Lindbergh will always be remembered for completing the first transatlantic flight, leaving New York City on May 20 and landing in Paris and in history on May 21, 1927. The crowd greeted him with such intensity that a speech was impossible, and when he stepped out of the cockpit and into the throngs, his feet did not touch the ground for half an hour.

Even without that historic flight, Lindbergh's story would thrill, affording us a firsthand glimpse into the colorful, risk-filled world of the professional pilot in the early days of flight.

In April 1923, Lindbergh purchased his first plane, a Jennie, for $500. He used this open-cockpit biplane to make his living in the West "barnstorming," flying from town to town, offering the locals a flight for five dollars. As entertainment, or to drum up business, he sometimes spiced up a visit by dropping a straw-filled dummy from the plane, parachuting into town, or even standing on the wing while his copilot flew. And the flights themselves were anything but dull. Besides the real possibility of crashing, hair-raising takeoffs were almost routine. Surviving a brush with some treetops in Meridian, Mississippi, Lindbergh writes with characteristic understatement, "I had passed through one of those almost-but-not-quite accidents for which Jennies are so famous and which so greatly retarded the growth of commercial flying."

Seventy-five years after the Spirit of St. Louis touched down in Paris, The Lyons Press republishes "We," Lindbergh's own account of his place in history. (5 1/2 x 8, 320 pages, b&w photos)

Charles A. Lindbergh, the son of a congressman from Minnesota, remained a huge figure on the American cultural scene long after his historic flight. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

WE - The first take
Lindbergh rejected a ghost written life story and account of his flight.Committed to a book soon after his New York to Paris flight and feeling obligated he wrote quickly and did not re-write or edit.While many of of the tales in WE are repeated in The Spirit of St. Louis, there is a feeling of spontaneity and freshness in WE that is not present in the later, more formal book. ... Read more

Product Description
Rosa Park's refusal to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, led to a boycott of public buses in 1955 that lasted 381 days! Read about the impactand contributions made by each of these leaders, innovators, and pioneers. ... Read more

Product Description
When Charles Lindbergh's baby son was mysteriously taken from his home near Hopewell, New Jersey, in 1932, the world was shocked. It happened during the worst period of the Great Depression, at a time when kidnapping neared epidemic proportions across the nation. Despite the overwhelming publicity the case received both at the time and in all the years since, many controversies surrounding the "Crime of the Century" and subsequent trial have never been resolved. The Case That Never Dies is a comprehensive study of the Lindbergh kidnapping, investigation, and trial, placing it in the context of the Depression, when many feared the country was on the edge of anarchy.

Historian Lloyd C. Gardner delves deeply into aspects of the case that remain confusing to this day. These include Lindbergh's dealings with crime baron Owney Madden, Al Capone's New York counterpart, through gangland intermediaries, as well as the inexplicable exploits of John Condon, a retired schoolteacher who became the prosecution's chief witness. The initial investigation was hampered by Colonel Lindbergh, who insisted that the police not attempt to find the perpetrator because he feared the investigation would endanger his son's life. He relented only when the child was found dead.

After two years of fruitless searching, a German immigrant, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, was discovered to have some of the ransom money in his possession. Hauptmann was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Throughout the book, Gardner pays special attention to the evidence of the case and how it was used and misused in the trial. Whether Hauptman was guilty or not, Gardner concludes that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of first-degree murder.

The Case That Never Dies draws upon never-before-used FBI records that reveal the animosity between J. Edgar Hoover and Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of the New Jersey State Police. The story is filled with incredible twists and turns that continue to fascinate people. Set in historical context, this book offers not only a compelling read, but a powerful vantage point from which to observe the United States in the 1930s, as well as contemporary arguments over capital punishment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

The Kindle version
The contents of Gardner's book are thoroughly reviewed elsewhere. I intend this "review" as a warning only for Kindle customers. The Kindle version of this book is faulty. Paragraph are in the wrong order, usually at the beginning of chapters. At best, having to unscramble paragraphs is distracting. At worst, it could lead to misreading of the text, which would certainly be unfair to the author as well as the reader.

Disturbing questions
This book attempts to sift through and analyze the contemporaneous information; both the evidence at Hauptmann's trial and other information available at the time that was not, for various reasons, presented to the jury as well as significant amounts of additional information that has come to light since Hauptmann's execution.

Professor Gardner considers in detail the four principle types of evidence that led to Hauptmann's conviction; (1) eyewitness testimony that either placed Hauptmann in the vicinity of the Lindbergh estate, at the payment of the ransom or passing ransom bills, (2) expert handwriting testimony with respect to the authorship of the ransom notes, (3) expert testimony tracing the wood and one of the tools used in building the kidnap ladder and (4) the discovery, following Hauptmann's arrest, of a substantial portion of the ransom money in his garage together with evidence with respect to his explanation for his possession of it.

As to each of these, Garner discusses some of the circumstances that have been advanced to throw doubt upon each element of the evidence which, absent such circumstances, certainly presented, in sum, an overwhelming circumstantial case.I was familiar with the essential evidence in the case from prior readings and had previously been of the view that, given the variety of circumstantial evidence and the number of witnesses involved, the hypotheses of either innocent errors or a "frame-up" were both incredible. Even before reading the book, I was disturbed by Hauptmann's stubborn insistence upon his innocence despite virtually being offered a commutation if he would admit his guilt and name his accomplices and his seeming choice to go to the electric chair rather than talk.The theory of some psychic block to admitting anything provided a possible, but less than convincing, explanation.

After reading the book, I am far less confident than I was before.

Professor Gardner's book raises serious and disturbing questions as to each of the major elements of proof; eyewitnesses who had repeatedly changed their stories or were pressured to make identifications, the main prosecution handwriting expert's initial inability to link the ransom notes' handwriting to Hauptmann which changed only AFTER he had been informed of an eyewitness identification, frailties in the wood expert's testimony and additional information about Fisch (whom Hauptmann had claimed had given him the ransom money) that increased the plausibility of Fisch's involvement in the crime.

Most disturbing of all that, according to Gardner, (1) a great deal of this exculpatory evidence was never disclosed to Hauptmann's defense lawyers and (2) they were given an inadequate opportunity to conduct their own analyses of the physical evidence and investigation of witnesses in preparing Hauptmann's defense.This, together with the trial judge's highly suggestive discussion of the evidence during his charge to the jury, very likely had a substantial influence on the ultimate verdict.

Of course, accepted standards for the conduct of criminal trials were quite different in the mid-1930s from what they are at present; for example, there was no requirement that the prosecution disclose exculpatory evidence in its possession, regardless of whether it would have been effective in either exhonerating the defendant or raising a reasonable doubt as to his guilt. The standards of one period do not necessarily provide fair criteria for the evaluation of conduct during another.

But even though Hauptmann's trial may have passed legal muster by the standards that prevailed at that time, I conclude that the trial was far from fair and that, had it been otherwise, there is a real likelihood that reasonable doubt could have been established to the satisfaction of the jury, at least as to the first degree murder charge, although perhaps not to a lesser charge of complicity in the extortion of the ransom payment.

Professor Gardner's assembly and consideration of voluminous materials is impressive, despite sometimes enigmatic presentation of his sources in his footnotes and despite an occasionally disjointed analysis of particular aspects of the case in diverse parts of the book.

Overall, however, the book is an interesting and informative presentation that is well worth reading, not only for one interested in the Hauptmann case, but also as an object lesson in why modern rules of criminal procedure do much more than merely create potential technicalities for the avoidance of criminal liability but, on the contrary, are essential to achieving the dual objectives of ascertaining guilt while minimizing the risk of error.

This was a terrific book!!!!
I have read many books about the Lindbergh kidnapping.I feel Lloyd Gardner's book is thoroughly and thoughtfully researched.I have read it twice carefully and each time I read it I discovered new information.Who was John Condon?Why did Violet Sharpe commit suicide?Why did Lindbergh act so strangely the night of March 1,1932?Does a parent call his attorney before calling the police when he suspects his 20 month old child is missing?There are so many bizarre events surrounding the disappearance of the Lindbergh baby that it is no surprise that Lloyd Gardner titled his book "The Case That Never Dies".The trial was a farce and a circus: an embarrassment to the State of New Jersey. Read it!!!!

Most OBJECTIVE Book
Gardner has produced a book that allows the reader to consider the evidence and make thier own conclusions without being presented a prosecution brief of a Jim Fisher(Lindberg Case-1987). Bruno Richard Hauptmann appear to have been involved. But the key word is appears. Gardner does a good job showing inconsistencies of a John Condon ( a bigot by the way that wanted to blame the I-talians).He explores the weirdness of the crime itself. The Lindbergs normally were not at that house on Tuesdays. The window was unlocked,the right shutter was warped,the baby was not to be disturbed by a Charles Lindbergh routine from 7-10,that demanded that the baby was to be left alone.This suggests inside help contrary to the lone wolf theory. The flimsy ladder allegedly made by the carpenter Hauptmann. The narrow window,the lack of any prints which is contrary thata lone wolf wiped down the room and could have commited the crine . Other details such as the ladder being set off to the right of the window,indicated to the police that the kidnapper (Isido Fisch)was left handed. I don't believe that in the case of Hauptman,that is the fact . The footprints that don,t fit Hauptmann left at the house or the cemetery where the ransom was paid off . The window was closed upon leaving the bedroomso the lone wolf Hauptmann had to do wife down the room, find the off set ladder with his legs,carry the baby and close the window all of this by himself . This is not believable and this smells of inside help-indeed Violet Sharpe a maid in the other Morrow house committed suciide after being evasive. This book demonstrates that thehand writing that doesn't match as much as Fisher's book claims.

I use to believe that Hauptman did this by himself but this book rasied enough doubts. I cannot understand the criticism on the scholarship on the book. Sure there are mistakes but is calling Joe Perrone, John Perrone enought to dismiss this book? A good book by some psychologist would be why some people attack anyone that raises concerns that Hauptmann did this alone? Why the emotion in protecting police mishandling of the case,after 70 years? Lindbergh was a national hero and with that fame came this horror but Lindbergh sqandered much of the good wiil from this tragedyy by coming a friend of the Third Reich and making speeches that were Anti Semitic. After 70 years we need more of this scholardhip . I recommend any serious researcher of this case to get this book and use the info the serch out new leads as the table that was found recently 2002 that appears to be the template for the ransom notes

"An Historian's Review of the Lindbergh "Eaglet" Kidnapping in 1932"
"The Case That Never Dies: The Lindbergh Kidnapping", Lloyd Gardner, Rutgers Univ. Ress, NJ, 2004.ISBN: 0-8135-3385-6, HC 415 pgs., plus Notes 44 pgs., Biblio. 4 pgs., Index 14 pgs., and 30 B & W Photographs/Illustrations. 9 1/2" x 6 1/2".

Gardner, a distinguished Prof. of History & author of a dozen books gives a fair-minded exaustive analysis of the Lindbergh baby's kidnapping (Mar. 1, 1932), ransom, murder, and the subsequent apprehension, trial (Jan. 2, 1935), conviction and execution (Apr. 3, 1936) of german immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann (BRH).To the chagrin of many readers, but more-so to the author's credit, is Gardner's neutrality or foregoing of taking one side or the other, but rather walking a fine line to avoid and evade bias, prefering facts to speak for themselves but still pointing out errors made by authorities & both legal counsels.

The writer drew heavily upon FBI records and from the official Police records, papers and documents in repositaries, museums, etc.Of interest are photographs of the colorful notables and of the Lindbergh's home floor plans.The book has 16 chapters, each rather sharply devoted to the testimony or viewpoints of a specific person, topic or subject matter.The read is tedious at times for much is built upon recorded witness testimony in and out of court, oft "she-says he-says", and at many times outbursts from questionable sources having questionable motives -- but all of which is part and parcel of the Hauptmann trial.We learn, for example, of the tricky and complicated money transfers by BRH in a variety of business schemes and con games, stock market tradings, possibly money laundering, and how the ransom money gold certificates were crucial in finding BRH, and of the sundry hiding sites BRH used to stash away the ransom moneys. The author also deals with the previously noted imperfections of baby Lindbergh, alleged to have overlapping of toes bilaterally, enlarged cranium with open fontanelle and mention is made of possible rickets (not uncommon in those days, but no mention of possible hydrocephalus).Gardner also notes the 1948 discovery by Bolliard in NJ of writing on the underside of a small table that also had a small metal brace whose holes were discovered by Falzini in 2002 to matched the markings of the ransom notes precisely.

"It was a two million dollar funeral", although BRH was a declared pauper, brought to bear by the states of NJ, NY and the USA to "turn a human being into a whisp of smoke and a jar of dust", said Lloyd Fisher.In the end, "Gardner concludes that there was insuffient evidence to convict him (BRH) of first-degree murder." It remains the finest documented book I've encountered on this subject, a must read.

... Read more

Product Description

In 1927, pilot Charles Lindbergh made his famous flight between New York and Paris. After that he had many more journeys, and met many people on the way.This is the story of one such flight, when a young boy had the good fortune of meeting Charles Lindbergh in a field in Mississippi.

In her narrative, Borden beautifully recreates the excitement and awe that was felt by Harold Gilpin -- upon whose character the fictional young Gil Wickstrom is based -- when he met the renowned aviator in 1929. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great children's book!
This true story of a young Mississippi boy who gets to knowCharles Lindbergh is a fun gentle history. In the increasingly fastworld of the present, Lindbergh's revolutionary flights seem quaint and old-fashioned.This is a wonderful introduction to historical biography. ... Read more