The Flight: Charles Lindbergh’s Daring and Immortal 1927 Transatlantic Crossing

This is an account of the 18-or-so hours that Charles Lindbergh spent crossing the Pacific from New York to Paris, and it’s a riveting one.

Let’s be clear that the author isn’t about to defend the man’s politics, or to go over the kidnapping of his son. It’s strictly about the flight, and it’s a good thing.

The perilousness of his feat is well illustrated by the forward, which follows the attempt by two French aviators to make the crossing from Paris to New York two weeks before.  After using the best plane, a concocting a solid game plan, and leaving nothing to chance – they disappear.

Lindbergh’s margin of error was small, and the story illustrates the many times it could have gone wrong. Using his own account of the flight and other contemporaneous accounts, you’re in the cockpit with “Slim,” and find yourself rooting for him, too.

The story does correct and unearth some forgotten information, such as the fact that he flew combat missions during WWII, which, of course, he opposed. That opposition didn’t, and doesn’t, make him a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer, any more than those in the 2010s who oppose action in Iraq are automatically ISIS or ISIS sympathizers.

This book lets you revel in the triumph of flight, when it was still a wonder, and marvel at the people who stretched the boundaries.

I received this book for review from Goodreads.