Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A gripping and unique "in-the-cockpit" account of Charles Lindbergh s extraordinary first transatlantic flight from New York to Paris, by acclaimed aviation historian (Viper Pilot, Lords of the Sky) and former fighter pilot Dan Hampton "one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history" (New York Post).
America s finest aviation story in the hands of our finest aviation historian, The Flight is Dan Hampton s biggest, most dramatic book yet.
On the morning of May 20, 1927, a little known pilot named Charles Lindbergh waited to take off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island. He was determined to claim the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised to the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris a contest that had already claimed six men s lives. Just twenty-five years old, Lindbergh had never before flown over water. Yet thirty-three hours later, his single-engine monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, touched down in Paris. Overnight, Charles Lindbergh became the most famous aviator of all time.
The Flight is a long overdue, flyer s-eye-view look at Lindbergh s legendary journey. Decorated fighter pilot and bestselling author Dan Hampton offers a unique appreciation for Lindbergh s accomplishment: Hampton has flown the exact same route many times, knowledge that informs and shapes The Flight. Relying upon a trove of primary sources, including Lindbergh s own personal diary and writings, Hampton crafts a dramatic narrative of a challenging, death-defying feat that many had believed was impossible.
Moving hour by hour, Hampton recounts Lindbergh s uncertainty over his equipment and his courage as he traverses the vast darkness of the Atlantic with no radar. Moving between the sky and ground, Hampton intersperses the tale of the flight with Lindbergh s personal history as well as some of the stories of those waiting for him on the ground, praying he would make it safely across.
"
Synopsis
"OUTSTANDING. ... RIVETING."--Library Journal (STARRED REVIEW) - From "one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history"* comes a masterful account of Charles Lindbergh's death-defying nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in the Spirit of St. Louis--an inspiring achievement that brought the world to a halt in May 1927 and made Lindbergh the most celebrated man of his time
On the rainy morning of May 20, 1927, a little-known American pilot named Charles A. Lindbergh climbed into his single-engine monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and prepared to take off from a small airfield on Long Island, New York. Despite his inexperience--the twenty-five-year-old Lindbergh had never before flown over open water--he was determined to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised since 1919 to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris, a terrifying adventure that had already claimed six men's lives. Ahead of him lay a 3,600-mile solo journey across the vast north Atlantic and into the unknown; his survival rested on his skill, courage, and an unassuming little aircraft with no front window.
Only 500 people showed up to see him off. Thirty-three and a half hours later, a crowd of more than 100,000 mobbed the Spirit as the audacious young American touched down in Paris, having acheived the seemingly impossible. Overnight, as he navigated by the stars through storms across the featureless ocean, news of his attempt had circled the globe, making him an international celebrity by the time he reached Europe. He returned to the United States a national hero, feted with ticker-tape parades that drew millions, bestowed every possible award from the Medal of Honor to Time's "Man of the Year" (the first to be so named), commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp within months, and celebrated as the embodiment of the twentieth century and America's place in it.
Acclaimed aviation historian Dan Hampton's The Flight is a long-overdue, flyer's-eye narrative of Lindbergh's legendary journey. A decorated fighter pilot who flew more than 150 combat missions in an F-16 and made numerous transatlantic crossings, Hampton draws on his unique perspective to bring alive the danger, uncertainty, and heroic accomplishment of Lindbergh's crossing. Hampton's deeply researched telling also incorporates a trove of primary sources, including Lindbergh's own personal diary and writings, as well as family letters and untapped aviation archives that fill out this legendary story as never before.
*New York Post
Synopsis
"GRIPPING. ... AN HOUR-BY-HOUR ACCOUNT." -- WALL STREET JOURNAL - From "one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history"* comes a masterful account of Charles Lindbergh's death-defying nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in the Spirit of St. Louis--an inspiring achievement that brought the world to a halt in May 1927 and made Lindbergh the most celebrated man of his time
On the rainy morning of May 20, 1927, a little-known American pilot named Charles A. Lindbergh climbed into his single-engine monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and prepared to take off from a small airfield on Long Island, New York. Despite his inexperience--the twenty-five-year-old Lindbergh had never before flown over open water--he was determined to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised since 1919 to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris, a terrifying adventure that had already claimed six men's lives. Ahead of him lay a 3,600-mile solo journey across the vast north Atlantic and into the unknown; his survival rested on his skill, courage, and an unassuming little aircraft with no front window.
Only 500 people showed up to see him off. Thirty-three and a half hours later, a crowd of more than 100,000 mobbed the Spirit as the audacious young American touched down in Paris, having acheived the seemingly impossible. Overnight, as he navigated by the stars through storms across the featureless ocean, news of his attempt had circled the globe, making him an international celebrity by the time he reached Europe. He returned to the United States a national hero, feted with ticker-tape parades that drew millions, bestowed every possible award from the Medal of Honor to Time's "Man of the Year" (the first to be so named), commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp within months, and celebrated as the embodiment of the twentieth century and America's place in it.
Acclaimed aviation historian Dan Hampton's The Flight is a long-overdue, flyer's-eye narrative of Lindbergh's legendary journey. A decorated fighter pilot who flew more than 150 combat missions in an F-16 and made numerous transatlantic crossings, Hampton draws on his unique perspective to bring alive the danger, uncertainty, and heroic accomplishment of Lindbergh's crossing. Hampton's deeply researched telling also incorporates a trove of primary sources, including Lindbergh's own personal diary and writings, as well as family letters and untapped aviation archives that fill out this legendary story as never before.
*New York Post