Letters From Amelia: An Intimate Portrait of Amelia Earhart

by Jean L. Backus

1 HARDCOVER BOOK WITH DUST COVER

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Classics, Memoir

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

XXX I went on a treasure hunt in the boxes in the garage, and finally found this book again in the 7th box of books I moved from Texas in 2004. I have read several biographies of Amelia, and this is the one I liked the best. I needed to read it again after I finished the new biography of Sally Ride, to be sure I was remembering it correctly. I was.

The parallels between the lives of these two women are remarkable similar. Both women advanced the acceptance of females in 'mens' job one hundred fold, at great cost to themselves. Both were uncomfortable with crowds, preferred solitude and privacy, hated to be touched. Both women were willing to sacrifice their comfort and well being to achieve their dreams. We owe them both a great deal for the legacy they left us. This is an older book published I believe in 1982, but it is an interesting look into her life, a great deal of it portrayed in letters written to her mother and sister.

[Bish Denham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am humbled to realize how very little I knew about with most incredible woman. I would hazard a bet that all most of us know is that she disappeared over the Pacific on her round the world flight. I was appalled at my ignorance. I didn't realize she had made the trip from east to west and was on the last and most dangerous leg of her journey when she and her navigator were lost. I didn't realize how many records she broke/made. I didn't realize how intelligent she was, how driven and focused, how gracious, and, even though constantly in the spotlight, how private.

Amelia Earhart is definitely worthy of being a banner to all women about what women can do. She could get down and greasy with the boys working on airplane engines and she could wear evening gowns with elegance and poise. She refused to be defined or limited by her sex. She was the original feminist.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became infatuated with Amelia Earhart in junior high when I had to write a paper on a historical figure and chose her. The woman haunts me and now I'm crushed all over again! Her letters are so endearing that it was emotionally hard to reach the final one. Why?! She had to have known how incredibly, almost impossibly, difficult it would be to find a tiny, one mile dot of an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And yet, she was also so close to obtaining the record. I wish things could have been different!

Jean Backus unobtrusively allows Amelia to speak from her letters home. She does an excellent job of weaving the letters together and the book flows well. I wish I knew how it was that Backus was entrusted with this book. One online source mentions that it was Backus who found the boxes of letters. (I haven't searched too hard, just the internet, so I don't trust that info too much.) What a find, though! I can't imagine coming across such a treasure. Backus rounds out the background information around the time the letters were written. The psychic!! Here is a piece of the story I'd never heard before. One of Amelia's fellow female pilot friends, Jacqueline Cochran, a phenom as well, had psychic abilities which Amelia trusted. She knew where Amelia went down!
Unfortunately, Amelia's husband didn't ask her for help, in locating Amelia, until too late after the disaster.

Through Amelia's letters to her mother, the heroine becomes personal. Revealed is her strong love and devotion to her family, the reasons for her drive, and her weaknesses. All of which make her death feel more tragic. Her poor mother! The loneliness she must have felt, when Amelia was no more, comes through.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1980, four cardboard boxes were found in an attic in Berkeley, CA. The home had, at one time, been occupied by Amy Otis Earhart, Amelia Earhart's mother. Astonishingly, the boxes contained letters from Amelia to her mother from the age of four until shortly before her mysterious disappearance over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.

Jean L. Backus has put Amelia's letters to her mother in chronological order, added others Amelia had sent to family and friends, and has added background information to give us context. Amelia's letters from boarding school reveal her intelligence and personality but are not as interesting as those written once she began to set and break world records in aviation. She was a feminist and insisted that her sex not stand in the way of her lofty (get it?) goals. But she was also not comfortable with fame and crowds, and only engaged in hundreds of speaking engagements every year in order to finance her adventures.

I recommend Letters from Amelia only to those AE fans who want to know more about her relationships with her family, her unusual marriage and such. She did not write to her mother about the details of her flights, so please look elsewhere for that fascinating history.

[Glen Stott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always admired the things Amelia accomplished. Having read this biography, I can say that I also admire her. Her mother’s parents were well to do and the time she spent with them she learned about aristocracy. Her father was from a different class and had a hard time making a living. Her parents’ relationship was unstable. Amelia was totally committed to flying after a friend gave her a ride. She was also committed to making decisions about controlling her mother’s life, and to some extent, her sister’s life.

Once she became famous, her life was incredibly busy. She was on lecture tours every year, she was constantly in flying contests, she wrote a book, helped start a passenger airline company, pushed commercial flying to the rich and famous, leaders of companies, and politicians at every level.

Backus uses letters from Amelia to her mother as an anchor for the stories she is telling.
Started: 2019.03.12 - finished: 2019.03.20

[Cee Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really really really really dated and not very good

[Larry Earhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better books that I have read about my second cousin.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a bit slow at times, but overall it was a fascinating glimpse into a brave and daring woman. That she wrote to her mother during such a busy life reveals her character, even sending her mother a gift and post card during her last flight around the world. I also learned some things about her first flights and other accomplishments.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most well-written book about Amelia Earhart (my new love) that I've read. Backus writes in a way that makes you want to keep going.