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I gave this only four stars because you should definitely read other books first, most notably Flight to Arras, written during the period covered by this book. But, and I hate to say this, I really did find his words on war, personal security, and what it means to be human to be very relevant after the terrorist attacks on the US. That part comes out more strongly here than in Flight to Arras.
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It is a common place by this point in our history that Anne Morrow Lindbergh was a victim of colossal proportions, not only in terms of the controversial and shocking kidnapping and death of her infant son in the early 1930s, but also by her domination for decades by "Lucky Lindy", and she was trapped by convention and circumstance into an incredibly difficult life with this brilliant but strangely detached human being she was married to. From the moment they met her life was destined to trail in the shadow of his, both by virtue of tradition and her own desire to have a predominantly private life. Yet, curiously, she ironically married the man most singularly unable to give her all that she wanted and needed. Their life together is a somber and complicated modern American tragedy on the scale of "Death of a Salesman".
Yet Anne Morrow Lindbergh rose above her situation and their personal life of tragedy and disappointment. Lindbergh was a peripatetic traveler, and while she often accompanied him (indeed, he insisted in order to keep her primary focus exclusively on him rather than on their children or anything else), in their later years they came to live increasingly more separate and distinct lives, even while together. To say Lindbergh was a bizarre man and a strange soul is to be kind to a man described in pitiless terms by his widow herself and his adult child. It is easy for younger readers ignorant of how difficult and scandalous divorce or separation would have been for her, it may seem difficult to understand why she stayed with him despite his cruelty, indifference, and prejudices all those years. But for older readers more familiar with the older and more common character virtues people of Mrs. Lindbergh's generation, social background, and time subscribed to, it is a tragic set of circumstances that only she can understand in all its tragic overtones.
This is a close up portrait of a woman tragically trapped by fame, marriage, and social convention into a life of limitless advantages but cruelly wasted opportunities. That she was as successful as an author, humanitarian, social activist and early feminist later in her life is a tribute to a remarkable woman, and yet a bittersweet reminder of how much more she might have been had she never met her future husband. This is a interesting, well written, and captivating study of a woman and her times, and is one I recommend to people interested in a most fascinating yet offbeat biography. Enjoy!
Susan Hertog's book is the best and most comprehensive analysis of AML that I have read so far. She was also able to print a few photos that were not in any of the previous books, showing AML to be a great beauty throughout her life, particularly directly after her marriage. While Scott Berg's captured the essence of Charles Lindbergh, I think he felt so loyal to AML because she was the one who granted him access to all of the Lindbergh papers, so his portrait of her was through rose colored glasses.
Susan Hertog has done neither a hatchet job nor puff piece. She truly understands this complex woman and after being an admirer of AML for many years I finally had a sense of satisfaction that I really understood her after reading this book.
While I know that it is often hard to separate a person from their family, I believe that the author could have concentrated more on Ms. Morrow Lindbergh and less on the dynasty that she was born or married into. Ms. Morrow Linbergh's family did not make her great. Her quiet determination and creativity did.
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