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bioniclib's review against another edition
3.0
This is another book that I have a deeper appreciation for and understanding of thanks to being a book selection for my book group. The fellow who chose it was a navy pilot in Vietnam. So his personal experiences make the stuff I read about touch more deeply.
The guys, and I, loved the book. The three stars all contain a startlingly amount of courage. Though, it was pointed out that Mr. Groom engaged in not a little amount of hero worship. Any woman or man that makes such a mark on history that the three of these did are not without rough edges, which cut people the wrong way. Lindbergh specifically has major flaws, which Groom took up the mantle of chief apologist for. I didn't even think of that until one of the guys pointed out the oh-so-obvious fact.
As with any history book, there were oodles of things that I didn't know. Here's a sampling:
Banzai means may you live 10,000 years
After the Lindbergh kidnapping, it (kidnapping) became a capital crime. Also, it allowed the FBI to get involved if it crossed state lines.
Lindy designed the first artificial heart in hopes of helping his sister-in-law. He was too late for her.
Lindbergh was an environmentalist before there was even such a thing. .
He died in Maui.
He had 3 secret families in Europe that only came to light after his death.
He worked for the WWF, the wildlife one, not the wrestling one.
Great quote that sums up at least Lindberg if not all three of them “...all heroes are horses’ asses.” ~ John Marquand quoted on page 443
By taking airmail away from private airlines, and bankrupting them, FDR is shown as a bad guy. You don’t get much of that in history books. This is where Lindy’s dislike for FDR started. (pp.177-179)
The army turned out to not be good enough to, y’know, not get killed in crashes and so it reverted to civilians again but people who delivered mail before couldn’t this time.
In the beginning Rickenbacker seems to be more of a car guy than a plane guy, his stunt flying in WWI excluded.
I didn’t know that the Treaty of Versailles after WWI put Northern Poland between two halves of Germany, this was referred to as the “Polish Corridor”.
The guys, and I, loved the book. The three stars all contain a startlingly amount of courage. Though, it was pointed out that Mr. Groom engaged in not a little amount of hero worship. Any woman or man that makes such a mark on history that the three of these did are not without rough edges, which cut people the wrong way. Lindbergh specifically has major flaws, which Groom took up the mantle of chief apologist for. I didn't even think of that until one of the guys pointed out the oh-so-obvious fact.
As with any history book, there were oodles of things that I didn't know. Here's a sampling:
Banzai means may you live 10,000 years
After the Lindbergh kidnapping, it (kidnapping) became a capital crime. Also, it allowed the FBI to get involved if it crossed state lines.
Lindy designed the first artificial heart in hopes of helping his sister-in-law. He was too late for her.
Lindbergh was an environmentalist before there was even such a thing. .
He died in Maui.
He had 3 secret families in Europe that only came to light after his death.
He worked for the WWF, the wildlife one, not the wrestling one.
Great quote that sums up at least Lindberg if not all three of them “...all heroes are horses’ asses.” ~ John Marquand quoted on page 443
By taking airmail away from private airlines, and bankrupting them, FDR is shown as a bad guy. You don’t get much of that in history books. This is where Lindy’s dislike for FDR started. (pp.177-179)
The army turned out to not be good enough to, y’know, not get killed in crashes and so it reverted to civilians again but people who delivered mail before couldn’t this time.
In the beginning Rickenbacker seems to be more of a car guy than a plane guy, his stunt flying in WWI excluded.
I didn’t know that the Treaty of Versailles after WWI put Northern Poland between two halves of Germany, this was referred to as the “Polish Corridor”.
dtab62's review against another edition
5.0
I knew more about Lindbergh than Rickenbacher or Doolittle, but I learned much about all three. Well worth the read. Highly recommended.
willerniekid's review against another edition
5.0
A well written, engaging book about three pioneers of American aviation and their involvement in the aviation industry and two world wars.
The only criticism I have is that the author clearly admires these men a lot and forgives them their sins a bit too easily.
The only criticism I have is that the author clearly admires these men a lot and forgives them their sins a bit too easily.
teal2wine's review against another edition
5.0
Having someone read to me about history wasn't appealing. This audiobook 'sat on my shelf' for a while on that thought alone. But heck, I caught a bit of THE SPIRIT OF AT LOUIS movie on TCM and decided to learn more.
Boy did I. And I enjoyed every minute. Laughed, got nervous, and shocked at tidbits I learned in this book. Then I found out it was written with collaboration with NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. Definitely explains the fact finding style. In the end, no graphics or such needed. Good book.
Boy did I. And I enjoyed every minute. Laughed, got nervous, and shocked at tidbits I learned in this book. Then I found out it was written with collaboration with NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. Definitely explains the fact finding style. In the end, no graphics or such needed. Good book.
davidcalhoun's review against another edition
4.0
Great fun book that's an easy read. To the author's credit, my one complaint is the author used a metaphor I didn't like twice in this book - "a smile beaming as bright as the harvest moon", which is just more than a bit petty on my part.
Admittedly, the book gets slow midway through, but it soon picks up around the time of the Doolittle raid, where I got hooked and zoomed through to the end of the book (also because the library book was due today).
I picked this up originally because I'm interested in all things WWI aviation, so I was interested mostly in hearing about Eddie Rickenbacker. I got more than I signed up for. What I got out of it was three biographies in one, as the book also interweaves the life stories of Jimmy Doolittle and Charles Lindbergh, with the men's lives sometimes overlapping directly and indirectly. An example of the latter was all three meeting with Ernst Udet, the WWI ace who loved to invite guests to shooting competitions inside his apartment (his poor neighbors...), strewn with signed photos of Hollywood silent film celebrities. And how all three visited post-WWI Germany, with various personalities (Udet, Göring) building up its arsenal, and subsequently all warning the US about their fears about Germany's plans.
Really inspiring in the end - like an inspiring movie, it's a book that makes you think about doing something great with your life, just like these men did.
Admittedly, the book gets slow midway through, but it soon picks up around the time of the Doolittle raid, where I got hooked and zoomed through to the end of the book (also because the library book was due today).
I picked this up originally because I'm interested in all things WWI aviation, so I was interested mostly in hearing about Eddie Rickenbacker. I got more than I signed up for. What I got out of it was three biographies in one, as the book also interweaves the life stories of Jimmy Doolittle and Charles Lindbergh, with the men's lives sometimes overlapping directly and indirectly. An example of the latter was all three meeting with Ernst Udet, the WWI ace who loved to invite guests to shooting competitions inside his apartment (his poor neighbors...), strewn with signed photos of Hollywood silent film celebrities. And how all three visited post-WWI Germany, with various personalities (Udet, Göring) building up its arsenal, and subsequently all warning the US about their fears about Germany's plans.
Really inspiring in the end - like an inspiring movie, it's a book that makes you think about doing something great with your life, just like these men did.
hidingzeus's review against another edition
4.0
This was an exploration of a very interesting period of time starting when flight was just beginning to take off (no pun intended:) through to WWII and beyond when it was firmly established as an industry.
Definitely enjoyed it.
Definitely enjoyed it.
nilrups's review against another edition
3.0
Doolittle and Rickenbacker story lines had the most appeal to me.