Synopses & Reviews
Named to the New York Public Library's Best Books for the Teen Age 2006 As a tomboy growing up in Kansas, Amelia Earhart delighted in
trying new and risky things, once even building a roller-coaster in her
grandparents' backyard. In her 20s she fell in love with flight while
watching an aerobatics exhibition and grew even more enthralled when she
took her first airplane ride.
At age 24 she earned her pilot's wings and 1928 took part in the
transatlantic "Friendship" flight. Her willowy build, wholesome smile, and
tousled blonde hair invited comparison to the celebrated pilot Charles
Lindbergh, and "Lady Lindy" charmed the public with her unassuming manner.
In 1937, Earhart wed publisher George Putnam, who managed her career
and promoted her zealously, ensuring her status as the world's best-known
aviatrix. The next year, she soloed the Atlantic, afterward receiving the
Distinguished Flying Cross and began championing the efforts of women
throughout the world to explore careers -- especially in aviation --
traditionally held by men.Tragically, just days before her fortieth birthday, Earhart, her
navigator Fred Noonan, and their plane vanished en route to tiny Howland
Island in the Pacific Ocean as they neared the end of their round-the-world
journey. President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the greatest land and
ocean search ever undertaken but no trace of the missing flyers or their
craft were ever found.
To Amelia Earhart, even the sky was no limit to those with the
courage to test new boundaries.
Review
"Reminds us of just how brave America's 'Lady Lindy' was, how much she accomplished and how great were the risks she knowingly took." Col. Walter Boyne, (USAF, ret.), former director of the National Air and Space
Review
"
Amelia Earhart: The Sky's No Limit should be on everybody's reading list, for it reminds us of just how brave America's 'Lady Lindy' was, how much she accomplished and how great were the risks she knowingly took. Lori Van Pelt, succeeds in capturing Amelia's personality as well as those of the many celebrities who surrounded her. This exceedingly well-written tribute to Amelia Earhart portrays her as a true American Hero, one whose memory needs to be rekindled in these trying times."--
Col. Walter Boyne (USAF, ret.), former director of the National Air and Space Museum, New York Times bestselling author
Review
"Until now, none of the many books written about Amelia captures the breadth of her life."
Roundup Magazine
Synopsis
Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) earned her pilots wings in her early twenties and became the best-known female aviator of her time—probably of all time. During her two-decade career as a pilot, she set altitude records, speed records, and transcontinental flight records. She was the first person to solo the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to California, and to fly an autogiro (the predecessor to todays helicopter) across the country. Earhart championed the efforts of women in aviation, inspiring women throughout the world to explore careers traditionally held by men.
In 1937, Earhart attempted to fly around the world at the Equator. Just days before her fortieth birthday, she vanished in the Pacific, together with navigator Fred Noonan, while en route to tiny Howland Island.
The circumstances of Earharts disappearance have yet to be unraveled but searches by independent individuals and groups continue, and the new technologies being employed may eventually solve the mystery.
A major new film, starring Hillary Swank as the famous aviator, and featuring Ewan McGregor and Richard Gere, is expected to be released in October 2009.
Synopsis
Named to the New York Public Library's Best Books for the Teen Age 2006 As a tomboy growing up in Kansas, Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) delighted in trying new and risky things, once even building a working roller-coaster in her grandparents' backyard.
Her enchantment with aviation began in her twenties while she was volunteering as a war-time nurse in Toronto, Canada. She began taking flying lessons in California in 1921 and, to look more like a pilot, donned jodhpurs and boots before take-off and trimmed her blonde locks into the tousled bob that would become her signature style,.
In 1928, when sponsors of the transatlantic Friendship flight sought a "Lady
Lindy" to make the ocean crossing, they invited Earhart, whose willowy build, wholesome smile, and blue-grey eyes were similar to those of the famous Charles Lindbergh. Earhart received worldwide fame for this adventure.
For nine spectacular years thereafter Amelia Earhart was the world's best-known aviatrix, setting records and championing the efforts of women, especially in aviation, inspiring females throughout the world to explore careers traditionally held by men.
In 1937, she attempted to fly around the world at the Equator with navigator Fred Noonan. The two were lost en route to tiny Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean, just days before Earhart's fortieth birthday.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the greatest land/ocean search ever undertaken but Earhart, Noonan, and the Electra were never found.
About the Author
Lori Van Pelt is a former newspaperwoman whose nonfiction work has appeared in
Pilot Getaways,
Private Pilot, and numerous other magazines. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and she is author of books of regional history and she has recently completed a collection of historical short fiction, forthcoming from the University of New Mexico Press. She is a member of Western Writers of America and makes their home on her husband's ranch near Saratoga, Wyoming.