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A review by bioniclib
The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight by Winston Groom
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”.