Charles Lindbergh book

April 17, 2008 12:08 PM

I'd really like to read a book about Charles Lindbergh but don't know which to choose of the hundreds that seem to be available. (I'm more interested in learning about his political career as a consultant/activist etc. than I am about the whole flying thing.)

An extensive biography would be great, though a well-written novel would certainly do, if there is one.
The American Axis looks interesting...has anyone read that?

posted by Claypole to Writing & Language (5 answers total)

I read Scott Berg's book when it came out a few years ago. Because it's a striaghtforward bio, you have to take the "famous flyer" parts along with the "was he a Nazi?" parts, but overall it's a very good book and pretty even-handed.
posted by briank at 12:18 PM on April 17, 2008

Yeah, my impression is that Berg's book is the standard biography, and a pretty good read. Start there, and check the book's bibliography for more.
posted by chinston at 1:16 PM on April 17, 2008

Ditto, Scott Berg. Very comprehensive, good on the non-flying stuff, captures the guy's character, well documented.
posted by beagle at 1:27 PM on April 17, 2008

Although it isn't at all historically accurate, I think Phillip Roths' The Plot to Destroy America is a great book about Lindbergh & about Bush. It's a lot of fun.

"When he said America First!/He meant America Next!"--Woody Guthrie
posted by OmieWise at 4:35 PM on April 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

I read the Berg... and then the Roth. It felt like the right way around to me, and I enjoyed both although the Berg dragged a little toward the end.
posted by unless I'm very much mistaken at 5:04 AM on April 18, 2008