Lindbergh (book): Difference between revisions
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*[[Benjamin Schwarz (writer)|Benjamin Schwarz]], Los Angeles Time Book Review - "''One of the most important biographies of the decade.''"<ref name="Amazon Editorial Reviews"/> |
*[[Benjamin Schwarz (writer)|Benjamin Schwarz]], Los Angeles Time Book Review - "''One of the most important biographies of the decade.''"<ref name="Amazon Editorial Reviews"/> |
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*[[Kirkus Reviews]] - "''With Berg’s free access to previously unavailable documentation, this is sure to be the definitive biography of Lindbergh.''"<ref name="Kirkus">{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a-scott-berg/lindbergh-2/|title=Kirkus Reviews|publisher=kirkusreviews.com|accessdate=19 September 2013}}</ref> |
*[[Kirkus Reviews]] - "''With Berg’s free access to previously unavailable documentation, this is sure to be the definitive biography of Lindbergh.''"<ref name="Kirkus">{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a-scott-berg/lindbergh-2/|title=Kirkus Reviews|publisher=kirkusreviews.com|accessdate=19 September 2013}}</ref> |
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*[[Doris Kearns Goodwin]] - "''This is a magisterial work; one of the most penetrating and fascinating biographies I have ever read. It deserves the highest praise from scholars, critics and readers alike.''"<ref>{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.ca/Lindbergh-Scott-Berg/dp/product-description/0399144498/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=916520&s=books|publisher=amazon.ca|title=Product Description|accessdate=21 September 2013}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 14:48, 21 September 2013
.JPG) | |
| Author | A. Scott Berg |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Biography |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Putnam Publishing Group |
Publication date | September 21, 1998 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 640 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0399144498, ISBN 978-0399144493 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | Goldwyn: A Biography |
| Followed by | Kate Remembered |
Lindbergh is a 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Charles Lindbergh by A. Scott Berg, also winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography.
Production
"I felt it was one of the great untold stories of the 20th century..." - A. Scott Berg[1]
Once he had completed his second book, Goldwyn: A Biography (about film producer Samuel Goldwyn, Jr.) in 1989, Berg began the search for his next subject. He wanted it to be "another great American cultural figure but—because I had written about Perkins and Goldwyn—not somebody from the worlds of publishing or film".[2] After briefly considering Tennessee Williams, Berg chose the aviator Charles Lindbergh, attracted by what he described as "the dramatic possibilities of the story of the great hero who became a great victim and a great villain".[2]
Berg had been interested earlier by the idea of writing a book on the life of Lindbergh but "had scratched Lindbergh off my list" when he heard that Lindbergh's papers were locked up and inaccessible.[3]. A few years later he was approached by Phyllis Grann, who ran Putnam at the time, about a biography of Lindbergh. Berg told her "I'd love to write it, but it can't be done. The papers are locked up. Mrs. Lindbergh is locked up. The children are locked up."[3] Grann suggested he pursue the subject anyway, although she told him "You will never get to Mrs. Lindbergh."[4] Berg took this as a challenge and spent the next nine months trying to get in touch with her.[4] Berg's friend Katharine Hepburn offered to write Mrs. Lindbergh a letter, even though the two women did not know each other.[3] Not long after, Berg heard from Mrs. Lindbergh.[3]
Berg convinced Lindbergh's widow, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who considered him "trustworthy,"[5] to grant him unprecedented access to the man's archives, which he was surprised to find totaled "1,300 boxes, or several million papers".[6]In addition to his research in the archives, Berg also spoke with Mrs. Lindbergh, their five children and Lindbergh family friends.[1] "You can't write about Charles without writing about me," the widow told Berg.[7]
"The good news is that Lindbergh saved everything; the bad news is that Lindbergh saved everything." - A. Scott Berg[8]
Berg found Lindbergh's papers "in a miraculous order."[7] Lindbergh retained copies of all his correspondence, including carbon copies of all letters and notes he wrote. Amongst the archives Berg found the tie Lindbergh wore on his famous flight.[4]Lindbergh annotated books that had been written about him, leaving abundant notes for future biographers.[7] It took the author two years to go through the voluminous archives.[4]
Putnam, Berg's publisher, was rumored to have paid the author a seven-figure advance in 1990 to allow him to write the book.[9]With the advance in hand, the author spent four years researching his subject and another four years writing.[10]
Cover photo
The previously unpublished photo of Lindbergh, taken a matter of days before his transatlantic flight, was found at the publishing deadline amongst hundreds of photos from the Lindbergh archives.[3]
Reaction
The biography was highly-anticipated; prior to its publication the book's film rights were bought, sight unseen, by Steven Spielberg, who planned to direct a movie of it.[11] Published in 1998, Lindbergh sold about 250,000 copies in hardcover,[12] and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. Berg was noted for his exhaustive research,[11] as well as his sympathetic, but by no means uncritical, approach to Lindbergh, whose alleged anti-Semitism he addressed "in a straightforward, unblinking manner,"[13] although some[14][15] criticized Berg's reluctance to deal more strongly with it. The author did bring to light the alteration of Lindbergh's "supposedly candid World War II era diaries," reporting that the diaries published in 1970 had anti-Semitic entries removed.[16]
Reviews
- Geoffrey Ward - "In Lindbergh, A. Scott Berg brings us about as close as I suspect we will ever get to the man himself."[14]
- People - "A brilliant biography of a fabulous but flawed American hero."[17]
- Benjamin Schwarz, Los Angeles Time Book Review - "One of the most important biographies of the decade."[17]
- Kirkus Reviews - "With Berg’s free access to previously unavailable documentation, this is sure to be the definitive biography of Lindbergh."[18]
- Doris Kearns Goodwin - "This is a magisterial work; one of the most penetrating and fascinating biographies I have ever read. It deserves the highest praise from scholars, critics and readers alike."[19]
References
- ^ a b "A Pulitzer Biography". pbs.org. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ a b Berg (2003.) Kate Remembered. p. 179-182.
- ^ a b c d e "Book Notes". booknotes.org. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Book Discussion on Lindbergh". c-spanvideo.org. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "Lindbergh family bashes biographer". salon.com. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ Weinraub, Bernard. "At the Movies: Lindbergh Flies, Author Learns", The New York Times, 1998-04-10. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ a b c "Berg Does Lindbergh". princeton.edu. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "A. Scott Berg interview". ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu.
- ^ "Lindbergh". publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ "CNN Book News". cnn.com. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ a b Hindes, Andrew. "Spielberg eyes sky", Variety, 1998-04-03. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ Arnold, Martin. "MAKING BOOKS: They're Bigger. But Better?", The New York Times, 1999-10-28. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
- ^ "All American Speakers". allamericanspeakers.com. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Fallen Eagle". nytimes.com. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ "THE HERO WHO FELL TO EARTH". businessweek.com. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ Guyotte, Roland L. (Fall 1998), "Lindbergh - NIU Digital Projects",
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b "Amazon Editorial Reviews". amazon.com. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ "Kirkus Reviews". kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
- ^ {cite web|url=http://www.amazon.ca/Lindbergh-Scott-Berg/dp/product-description/0399144498/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=916520&s=books%7Cpublisher=amazon.ca%7Ctitle=Product Description|accessdate=21 September 2013}}