What do you think?
Rate this book
The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever
His historic career as an aviator made Charles Lindbergh 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—that he himself was too shy to try. But for all the attention lavished on Lindbergh, one story has remained untold until his macabre scientific collaboration with Dr. Alexis Carrel. This oddest of couples—one a brilliant Nobel Prize-winning surgeon turned social engineer, the other a failed dirt farmer turned hero of the skies—joined forces in 1930 driven by a shared and secret to conquer death and attain immortality.
Part Frankenstein, part The Professor and the Madman, 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—that neither man anticipated.
Part Frankenstein, part The Professor and the Madman, 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—that neither man anticipated.
466 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
19 people are currently reading
403 people want to read
About the author
David M. Friedman
18 books22 followersDavid M. Friedman has written for Esquire, GQ, and Rolling Stone, and was a reporter for New York Newsday and the Philadelphia Daily News. His first book, A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis, was published in more than a dozen countries. He is also the author of the widely acclaimed The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever. He lives in New York.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 3, 2008
This is truly an amazing book. I found it very interesting right through. The story of Charles Lindbergh in particular is almost 3 separate lives, or maybe even 4, and we are taken through each part with the same thoroughness and attention to detail. Dr. Carrel as well lead a very fascinating life, ahead of his time by about 70 years, but the two men’s lives mesh in an almost fantastical way.
Beginning with Lindbergh’s flight as almost an aside, it was mostly used to set the theme of the effect the notoriety had on his life. The death of his infant son also is not a major part of the story but more of a background. What is amazing and exciting is how these two men, an engineer and a scientist produced the forerunners of so many medical practices today. To read what they were able to produce with their “misguided” attempts at immortality is completely worthwhile. The “middle” portion takes us through the days leading up to WWII and the results. The final portion brings us back to exoneration, hope, prestige and Lindberg’s re-entry into flight. One is made to feel we come full circle by the end of the book. To be honest, I had no idea as to the depth of these personalities and the book was a real eye-opener. I am so glad I was able to read this fantastic story and heartily recommend it.
Beginning with Lindbergh’s flight as almost an aside, it was mostly used to set the theme of the effect the notoriety had on his life. The death of his infant son also is not a major part of the story but more of a background. What is amazing and exciting is how these two men, an engineer and a scientist produced the forerunners of so many medical practices today. To read what they were able to produce with their “misguided” attempts at immortality is completely worthwhile. The “middle” portion takes us through the days leading up to WWII and the results. The final portion brings us back to exoneration, hope, prestige and Lindberg’s re-entry into flight. One is made to feel we come full circle by the end of the book. To be honest, I had no idea as to the depth of these personalities and the book was a real eye-opener. I am so glad I was able to read this fantastic story and heartily recommend it.
June 22, 2009
As I don’t get out much, I knew exactly four things about Lindbergh (and nothing whatsoever about Carrel). I knew about his solo flight, I knew he solicited much of the funding for this from members of St Louis’s Noonsday Club, I had some fleeting knowledge about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and I was told that his wife donated his library to Yale, not through any altruistic, scholarly motives but as a vehicle to get all of his crap out of the house to eliminate all physical reminders of “that crazy son-of-a-bitch” (presumably a paraphrase).
Thus my interest in The Immortalists was piqued (especially as I discovered it lying near to the open slot that supposedly housed the book I intended to check out - thanks again 3rd largest library in the US!). It’s a pretty amazing story. Whenever I’m presented someone of “Renaissance Man” stature I always raise an eyebrow as these types typically don’t have “day jobs” and can dabble in this, that, and the other armed with unlimited funds, inexaustable connections, and no need to deal with those pesky licensure issues that we have today (any given Jefferson, Da Vinci, or Ibn Rusd would no doubt have to languish in university classrooms for seven or eight decades before plying their trades today).
In a sense, Lindbergh is no different. As an aviator, he becomes the “most famous man in the world” at 25. This opens the door for his subsequent careers as an inventor/developer of medical research devices, primatologist, eugenics enthusiast, author, isolationist, WWII flying ace, environmentalist, philanderer and, finally, cancer victim. It’s an amazing story. At the least, perhaps he’s the last Renaissance Man? Maybe he’s actually more interesting than that hirsute Dos Equis guy? (though hard to imagine the “humorless” teetotaler selling lousy Mexican beer, but I digress…).
Of course, the Nobel Laureate Frenchman, Alexis Carrel - with his perfused chick-heart and his pendulum-toting wife – is a fascinating component of this story. If one can get past his disdainful social theories, he’s a fairly likable guy. But ultimately the importance of this book revolves around Lindbergh’s personal journey from a belief system that only advanced white people should procreate and benefit from immortality (not the “wrong” kind of white people such as journalists and, presumably, those who wear Ed Hardy shirts un-ironically) to the notion that all humans are inherently evil to, finally, the concept that only naked primitives and Monkey-eating Eagles are worthy of this earth… a fairly predictable transformation certainly.
Thus my interest in The Immortalists was piqued (especially as I discovered it lying near to the open slot that supposedly housed the book I intended to check out - thanks again 3rd largest library in the US!). It’s a pretty amazing story. Whenever I’m presented someone of “Renaissance Man” stature I always raise an eyebrow as these types typically don’t have “day jobs” and can dabble in this, that, and the other armed with unlimited funds, inexaustable connections, and no need to deal with those pesky licensure issues that we have today (any given Jefferson, Da Vinci, or Ibn Rusd would no doubt have to languish in university classrooms for seven or eight decades before plying their trades today).
In a sense, Lindbergh is no different. As an aviator, he becomes the “most famous man in the world” at 25. This opens the door for his subsequent careers as an inventor/developer of medical research devices, primatologist, eugenics enthusiast, author, isolationist, WWII flying ace, environmentalist, philanderer and, finally, cancer victim. It’s an amazing story. At the least, perhaps he’s the last Renaissance Man? Maybe he’s actually more interesting than that hirsute Dos Equis guy? (though hard to imagine the “humorless” teetotaler selling lousy Mexican beer, but I digress…).
Of course, the Nobel Laureate Frenchman, Alexis Carrel - with his perfused chick-heart and his pendulum-toting wife – is a fascinating component of this story. If one can get past his disdainful social theories, he’s a fairly likable guy. But ultimately the importance of this book revolves around Lindbergh’s personal journey from a belief system that only advanced white people should procreate and benefit from immortality (not the “wrong” kind of white people such as journalists and, presumably, those who wear Ed Hardy shirts un-ironically) to the notion that all humans are inherently evil to, finally, the concept that only naked primitives and Monkey-eating Eagles are worthy of this earth… a fairly predictable transformation certainly.
July 30, 2008
Charles Lindbergh was a global celebrity, a daring aviator, and -- as this book surprisingly reveals -- an unsung mechanical genius, even from early childhood. Alexis Carrel was a brilliant surgeon, capable of sewing together tiny veins with his bare hands and naked eyes, who ran an eerie mad-science institute where the doctors dressed in black and chicken hearts were kept alive and pumping for years. Neither of them, at least in aggregate, was really all that fond of Jews -- or anyone who wasn't rich and white, really.
With crisp and compelling prose, this book charts the weird quest of these two extraordinary men to make sure that rich white people could live forever. Along the way, Lindbergh developed an extroardinary pump used to preserve live tissue, one apparently still unequalled in its brilliant design today. The book's greatest strength is its refusal to either demonize or excuse Lindbergh and Carrell's vile and ultimately tragic philosophies; instead, it takes pains to simply help the reader understand what experiences in their life might have driven them to think as they did.
"The Immortalists" is a fascinating mix of science and history, and the very sad tale of two men who did great things, and whose brilliance and bigotry ultimately worked in tandem to condemn them both to unhappy lives.
With crisp and compelling prose, this book charts the weird quest of these two extraordinary men to make sure that rich white people could live forever. Along the way, Lindbergh developed an extroardinary pump used to preserve live tissue, one apparently still unequalled in its brilliant design today. The book's greatest strength is its refusal to either demonize or excuse Lindbergh and Carrell's vile and ultimately tragic philosophies; instead, it takes pains to simply help the reader understand what experiences in their life might have driven them to think as they did.
"The Immortalists" is a fascinating mix of science and history, and the very sad tale of two men who did great things, and whose brilliance and bigotry ultimately worked in tandem to condemn them both to unhappy lives.
March 23, 2009
Two unlikely partners, Charles Lindbergh, the famed aviator and the French Nobel Prize winner and surgeon, Dr. Alexis Carrel an early organ transplant specialist work together exploring ways to achieve human immortality. Their experiments were tied to a mutual desire to achieve a superior race, so, it was no surprise that Lindbergh developed a fascination for the Nazis. After World War II, Lindbergh reflects on his earlier beliefs and to his credit, openly admits he had erred. Having seen the ravages of a Nazi work camp, he develops a new appreciation for humanity and becomes an ardent environmentalist as well. The author cleverly reveals two fascinating character studies both of whom were once admired and then later reviled.
May 14, 2014
A very thorough and engaging chronicle of the work and friendship between two brilliant and polarizing historical figures, especially of Lindbergh's life post-trans Atlantic flight.
November 30, 2018
If you are at all interested in early aviation, you know the name Charles Lindbergh. If you follow the geopolitics of 20th-Century America and World War II, same. Have an interest in the weird intersection of crime and celebrities, or New Jersey, or racism or isolationism or Hitler circa 1936? Like Zelig, there he is.
Now, name a pioneer in the field of organ and tissue preservation. Go ahead, I'll wait...
The book becomes almost sad, as Lindbergh's 'halo becomes a noose' (Walter Winchell). His well-known racism, and the support he finds for it in the beliefs of Dr. Alexis Carrel, is not the end of his story. In Lindbergh's later years he turned away from a now-modernized aviation industry (and much modernity and science in general) to a complete admiration for Masai culture and the conservation movement. An interesting look at a true, if troubled, iconoclast.
Now, name a pioneer in the field of organ and tissue preservation. Go ahead, I'll wait...
The book becomes almost sad, as Lindbergh's 'halo becomes a noose' (Walter Winchell). His well-known racism, and the support he finds for it in the beliefs of Dr. Alexis Carrel, is not the end of his story. In Lindbergh's later years he turned away from a now-modernized aviation industry (and much modernity and science in general) to a complete admiration for Masai culture and the conservation movement. An interesting look at a true, if troubled, iconoclast.
August 23, 2019
This is one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read. I only knew what I’d learned in grade school history classes about Charles Lindbergh, and hadn’t thought about him since then. In fact, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to read this if my friend hadn’t recommended it.
There’s so much about this man that I’d never heard. Some of it admirable, some controversial and even disturbing. The story of his work with Alexis Carrel, including early organ transplant and other medical advancements, is really interesting. The author relied largely on diaries and journals kept by Lindbergh, his wife, and Carrel. He writes so seamlessly it reads almost like fiction, and parts of the story are so incredible, it’s hard to believe they’re true.
I’ve recommended this book to more friends than any other book I can think of. Read it!
There’s so much about this man that I’d never heard. Some of it admirable, some controversial and even disturbing. The story of his work with Alexis Carrel, including early organ transplant and other medical advancements, is really interesting. The author relied largely on diaries and journals kept by Lindbergh, his wife, and Carrel. He writes so seamlessly it reads almost like fiction, and parts of the story are so incredible, it’s hard to believe they’re true.
I’ve recommended this book to more friends than any other book I can think of. Read it!
March 12, 2025
Growing up my only knowledge of Lindbergh was from the Jimmy Stewart movie, The Spirit of St. Louis. Over the years, the more I leaned about Lindy the less I liked him. This book contributed to that dislike.
From this book I leaned things about Lindbergh I never knew, particularly his involvement with science. The book is well-written and includes all of the different phases of Lindbergh's life. In some ways, I do admire the man, but, overall, he is not the hero I grew up with watching The Spirit of St. Louis. In the end, I think I admire Jimmy Stewart more than I do Lindbergh
From this book I leaned things about Lindbergh I never knew, particularly his involvement with science. The book is well-written and includes all of the different phases of Lindbergh's life. In some ways, I do admire the man, but, overall, he is not the hero I grew up with watching The Spirit of St. Louis. In the end, I think I admire Jimmy Stewart more than I do Lindbergh
January 23, 2019
I read The Aviator’s Wife and absolutely loved it. This is a great companion to that book.
It’s fascinating how the drive of great men can also make them difficult to live with and hard to understand. To me both men have enough redeeming values to overlook some of their misconceptions and viewpoints that are considered unacceptable to today’s standards. Their contributions are undeniable and this books examines them fairly and honestly. A very interesting read.
It’s fascinating how the drive of great men can also make them difficult to live with and hard to understand. To me both men have enough redeeming values to overlook some of their misconceptions and viewpoints that are considered unacceptable to today’s standards. Their contributions are undeniable and this books examines them fairly and honestly. A very interesting read.
January 17, 2025
This was fascinating. I knew so little about Lindbergh. His flight, the kidnapping/murder of his first kid, and that he didn't want the US to enter WW2. This book has left me in awe of what he did and more importantly how he changed.
Added to my que is the 1998 (?) Pulitzer Prize winning biography of him.
Added to my que is the 1998 (?) Pulitzer Prize winning biography of him.
February 14, 2021
I have read quite a bit about Lindbergh on the aviation side and the kidnapping of his child, but I was unware of this story and his quest of immortality. I knew nothing of Alexis Carrel he was ahead of his time with what he was working on but he was a bit on the macabre side.
February 5, 2018
Not an easy read but well worth the effort.
September 17, 2020
A side of Lindbergh I never knew about. Interesting book.
June 26, 2022
Interesting history of both gentlemen.
April 29, 2014
Charles Lindbergh, an authentic, iconic American asshole. Chuck was a lifelong believer and defender of eugenics and anti-Semite, who often praised European blood’s superiority over Asian races. This book proves how someone with a high degree of technical proficiency can miss the mark by a country mile when it comes to big picture ideas.
Lindbergh and his buddy, Dr. Alexis Carrel tried to ‘defeat death’. As an engineer, Lindbergh took a view of the body as a machine comprised of components that could potentially be removed, repaired and/or replaced. So far so good, but how does that lead to immortality? He must have known that many of the cars and planes that he successfully repaired eventually faded into a state of technical inefficiency. He never noticed entropy?
Dr. Carrel, Nobel prize winner, (and believer in crazy bullshit like phrenology, sixth sense, casting ruins, and whatnot) needed Lindbergh’s skill at solving technical problems in his ongoing quest to build a perfusion device. In return for his help he sold Lindbergh on eugenics.
Lindbergh walked through a death camp after the war and met survivors. He claims shock which he has no right to. There was no other end point to the eugenic rhetoric he was espousing . Further he must have known what the Germans were doing and denied it as an act of malice or unfathomable stupidity. Either way, as shaken as he claims to be he never does more than tone down his belief in the ideals that set the stage for genocide.
Also, Chuck had various other children with his European mistresses while presuming a moral affectation back home.
Lindbergh and his buddy, Dr. Alexis Carrel tried to ‘defeat death’. As an engineer, Lindbergh took a view of the body as a machine comprised of components that could potentially be removed, repaired and/or replaced. So far so good, but how does that lead to immortality? He must have known that many of the cars and planes that he successfully repaired eventually faded into a state of technical inefficiency. He never noticed entropy?
Dr. Carrel, Nobel prize winner, (and believer in crazy bullshit like phrenology, sixth sense, casting ruins, and whatnot) needed Lindbergh’s skill at solving technical problems in his ongoing quest to build a perfusion device. In return for his help he sold Lindbergh on eugenics.
Lindbergh walked through a death camp after the war and met survivors. He claims shock which he has no right to. There was no other end point to the eugenic rhetoric he was espousing . Further he must have known what the Germans were doing and denied it as an act of malice or unfathomable stupidity. Either way, as shaken as he claims to be he never does more than tone down his belief in the ideals that set the stage for genocide.
Also, Chuck had various other children with his European mistresses while presuming a moral affectation back home.
May 9, 2012
This is my 7th book on Lindbergh, several before Scott Berg's Pulitzer Prize biography. Friedman gives more depth to understanding of Lindbergh's daliance with elitism and/or racism. Charles had a less than stellar formal education (dropped out of Wisconsin) and when exposed to fame and married to Anne Morrow (well read, educated and lettered; her books won Pulitzer Prizes), Charles expanded his intellectual horizons. Friedman shows the reader how the Lone Eagle's involvement with Nobel Prize winner, Alexi Carrel. This brilliant scientist draws the naive Lindbergh into the first efforts to transplant human organs by relying on the pilot's practical mechanical genius to design a perfuser. The decisions as to who might receive these life saving organs leads Carrel and his pupil into discourses as to what criteria should be used to select the recipients of Carrel's invention. Carrel fails on many levels and ultimately Lindbergh recants the views of his mentor.
If you want to have a thorough knowledge of the true character of Lindbergh, this is required reading.
If you want to have a thorough knowledge of the true character of Lindbergh, this is required reading.
January 14, 2010
Charles Lindbergh (yes, that guy who was the first to fly across the Atlantic) understood engines and valves and wondered: Why can't human heart valves be repaired & replaced over and over the same way engine valves can? Could a person live forever?
While recognizing Lindbergh's aviation success, Friedman focuses on the years of scientific study performed in the years following that famous flight. When Col. Lindbergh and partner Dr. Carrel ask themselves who should be eligible of an immortal life, at first they relate to some of Hitler's ideas of white supremacy. But they recognize that Hitler is a fanatic and blah blah blah I didn't actually read the rest. I have always wondered how Hitler got so many people to follow him? Before he turned into a genocidal maniac, he had some ideas that many people found very flattering. (Probably mostly blond-haired blue-eyed people.)
While recognizing Lindbergh's aviation success, Friedman focuses on the years of scientific study performed in the years following that famous flight. When Col. Lindbergh and partner Dr. Carrel ask themselves who should be eligible of an immortal life, at first they relate to some of Hitler's ideas of white supremacy. But they recognize that Hitler is a fanatic and blah blah blah I didn't actually read the rest. I have always wondered how Hitler got so many people to follow him? Before he turned into a genocidal maniac, he had some ideas that many people found very flattering. (Probably mostly blond-haired blue-eyed people.)
February 4, 2008
I don't know much about early 20th century America (or don't remember much from high school) but this book was an interesting look at one of the biggest names of the era- Charles Lindbergh. The Immortalists follows Lindbergh in his quest for immortality along with Nobel Prize winning scientist, Dr. Alexis Carrel. Most of their ideas and experiments seem like something out of a science fiction novel. Lindbergh's theories took a sinister turn when he got involved with the Germans before WWII which was a little scary. Towards the end I felt like the book veered a little too much off topic and just became a biography of Lindbergh but an interesting read nonetheless.
October 9, 2011
Absolutely the best book I have read in years.. Fascinating and deeply disturbing about the lives of two people that had a vision to live forever.. Great insights into Lindbergh’s and Alexis Carrel’s vision of a super race…Lindbergh’s inventions and Carrels thinking were ahead of their time. Some of there ideas really hit home while the next sentence will make you think how can they believe in that!!!
September 14, 2015
A very good book. I would've given it a 5 star rating if the title wasn't slightly misleading. The title veers more towards a Frankensteinistic approach; however, it only briefly talks about how immortal life was sought after. Lindbergh was a very interesting man as he was a highly self-taught man who achieved great success in pretty much anything he put his mind to. I will buy this book and add it to my collection.
May 16, 2020
A hint of things to come. This historical review of some of the work of Alexis Carrel and Charles Lindbergh where a French surgeon and physician worked closely with an American adventurer who in some ways defied death. Their work the beginnings of organ perfusion and the attempt to extend life. Ultimately nearly a century later leads to ECMO and the life extending possibilities of perfusion of the brain and organs even while Cpr in progress.
October 2, 2007
A little clunky at times, but it's a fascinating account of how Charles Lindbergh's racial theories were nurtured by his pioneering laboratory work with the Nobel Prize-winning surgeon (and monomaniac) Alexis Carrel. The very fact that Lindbergh did some truly groundbreaking scientific work was a total surprise to me.
April 10, 2013
Fascinating look at a public "hero" who became A scientist and public speaker. Initially, a fan of the Nazi regime and eugenics, Lindbergh became a WWIi pilot. He teamed with Carrel in some ghoulish experiments thinking they could find life eternal, however their experiments did influence others in the scientific field as regards to organ transplants.
April 2, 2015
Fascinating. I had no idea that Lindbergh had his hand in so many different things. Not only was he a world-famous pilot, but he also created the groundwork for regenerative medicine and his device allowed for the first artificial heart. He also dappled in Nazism and environmentalism, which shocked me. Crazy stuff.
May 15, 2008
This book was highly recommended by a good friend; she was amazed. While the story does upend some of the preconceived notions I had of Charles Lindberg (who knew he believed in eugenics?) I didn't find it very riveting and am having a terrible time finishing the darn thing!
September 17, 2008
When someone says Charles Lindbergh, you probably don't think of one of the men who helped pioneer mechanical organs, but he did. Also interesting is how close Carrel and Lindbergh came to endorsing some of the practices of Nazi Germany.
September 20, 2014
I new very little about Charles Lindberg beyond the most well known tidbit, and his relationship with Alex Carrel, who I also only knew form textbook shorthand, and his science & eugenics was eye opening.
March 1, 2015
The remarkable stories of the two larger-than-life personalities that feature in this audiobook have a great deal to say to all thoughtful modern-day technoprogressives, transhumanists, futurists, and life-extensionists. Frequently surprising. Highly recommended.
January 8, 2017
This inspiring little known history of two men who changed the modern world is a must read for anyone who ever wonders 'how did we get here from there?' Both men were deeply flawed, which is one reason the book kept me enthralled.
October 28, 2007
I need somebody else to read this book so that I can discuss things! Like how much of a crazy em effer Charles Lindbergh was.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews