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Lindbergh: A Biography
In this highly readable biography, best-selling author Leonard Mosley offers a fascinating account of Lindbergh's childhood, days as a barnstormer and mail pilot, the flight to Paris and its aftermath, the Hauptmann trial, his later life, and much more. Source Notes. Index. 40 halftone illustrations.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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About the author
Leonard Mosley
57 books13 followersLeonard Oswald Mosley OBE OStJ (11 February 1913 – June 1992) was a British journalist, historian, biographer and novelist. His works include five novels and biographies of General George Marshall, Reich Marshall Hermann Göring, Orde Wingate, Walt Disney, Charles Lindbergh, Du Pont family, Eleanor Dulles, Allen Welsh Dulles, John Foster Dulles and Darryl F. Zanuck. He also worked as chief war correspondent for London's The Sunday Times.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 7, 2017
Charles Lindbergh has always fascinated me, not only for his amazing non-stop Transatlantic flight aboard the Spirit of St Louis at the age of 25 from New York to Paris in 1927, but also because of all the events that took place afterwards. Charles was a complicated person and his marriage to Anne Morrow Lindbergh was also complicated.
This is by far the best and most readable biography I have found about Charles Lindbergh. His time in history did not end with his flight aboard the Spirit of St Louis.
I recommend this book to any reader who is interested in Charles Lindbergh and/or history. This is an excellent read.
This is by far the best and most readable biography I have found about Charles Lindbergh. His time in history did not end with his flight aboard the Spirit of St Louis.
I recommend this book to any reader who is interested in Charles Lindbergh and/or history. This is an excellent read.
June 13, 2011
good facts-made him "real," excellent biography
September 10, 2021
I wanted to read *Lindbergh* mainly to learn more about this WWII isolationist/Nazi sympathizer sharing Aryan myth beliefs.
Positives: The account of the first trans-Atlantic flight is first rate.
The torture of being a celebrity--the hounding by the press, paparazzi, and undesired intrusions of worshipping fans--is forcefully described. The Lindberghs could not find a place to live where they could have any privacy in the USA.
The hatred and rivalry between Lindbergh and FDR is well-chronicled.
The author takes a dispassionate look at a flawed American hero. I enjoy his caustic style. Ex: “The English] they had confidence rather than ability, tenacity rather than strength, and determination rather than intelligence.”
My only negative is that he skims over the most famous kidnapping in the world; basically telling the reader that it’s already been told enough times, too complicated, etc.
This is not a psychological study, but he makes his point that here was an unsophisticated man, an Evel Knievel lacking in the liberal arts, who is thrust onto the world stage.
Positives: The account of the first trans-Atlantic flight is first rate.
The torture of being a celebrity--the hounding by the press, paparazzi, and undesired intrusions of worshipping fans--is forcefully described. The Lindberghs could not find a place to live where they could have any privacy in the USA.
The hatred and rivalry between Lindbergh and FDR is well-chronicled.
The author takes a dispassionate look at a flawed American hero. I enjoy his caustic style. Ex: “The English] they had confidence rather than ability, tenacity rather than strength, and determination rather than intelligence.”
My only negative is that he skims over the most famous kidnapping in the world; basically telling the reader that it’s already been told enough times, too complicated, etc.
This is not a psychological study, but he makes his point that here was an unsophisticated man, an Evel Knievel lacking in the liberal arts, who is thrust onto the world stage.
December 24, 2018
This was a painful one for me. I only knew the Lindbergh that Anne had described in her diaries and letters...up to their son Jon's toddlerhood. The whole Nazi nastiness, fall from grace, and truly bizarre behavior was a sad awakening to the realization that no hero is perfect.
February 20, 2017
As I rarely finish any biography, I am impressed by this one. Well written and well executed, I actually WANTED to finish this one. And I did!
It is a good balance of historical dates/facts and focusing on the person that Lindbergh was.
It is a good balance of historical dates/facts and focusing on the person that Lindbergh was.
February 22, 2013
Charles Lindbergh is one of those personalities where, I think, the generation gap most tells. I knew the name, that he was an early aviation hero, that he generated a fair amount of controversy by his isolationist (verging on pro-Nazi) stance during WW2 and the famous case of the 'Lindbergh baby', the kidnapping and death of his baby son - but that was about the sum total of my knowledge. His was a personality very removed from me, a name in the history books, little more.
I can't say I came away especially liking Charles Lindbergh. Mosley admits right at the start that Lindbergh was once a great hero of his, and there is a definite sense of almost wistfulness in these pages, a sadness and regret at the tarnishing of a hero - for that is exactly what happened to Lindbergh. He was the golden child, the poster boy of aviation, but his naivete, wilful blinkeredness and right-wing viewpoints during WW2 alienated great swathes of the American population, and his actions after the war never quite succeeded in regaining that lost opinion.
To be honest, I can't say I came away from this book with any greater understanding of the man - but that is no criticism of the author, Leonard Mosley. As described, Lindbergh seems to have been an intensely private man, who loathed the press and rarely gave anything of himself away, even to those closest to him. His estate denied Mosley permission to quote from a great number of Lindbergh's own letters, particularly those dealing with his actions and opinions during WW2. That with these limitations Mosley managed to make this biography still intriguing and compelling is an admirable achievement.
I can't say I came away especially liking Charles Lindbergh. Mosley admits right at the start that Lindbergh was once a great hero of his, and there is a definite sense of almost wistfulness in these pages, a sadness and regret at the tarnishing of a hero - for that is exactly what happened to Lindbergh. He was the golden child, the poster boy of aviation, but his naivete, wilful blinkeredness and right-wing viewpoints during WW2 alienated great swathes of the American population, and his actions after the war never quite succeeded in regaining that lost opinion.
To be honest, I can't say I came away from this book with any greater understanding of the man - but that is no criticism of the author, Leonard Mosley. As described, Lindbergh seems to have been an intensely private man, who loathed the press and rarely gave anything of himself away, even to those closest to him. His estate denied Mosley permission to quote from a great number of Lindbergh's own letters, particularly those dealing with his actions and opinions during WW2. That with these limitations Mosley managed to make this biography still intriguing and compelling is an admirable achievement.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews