Synopses & Reviews
The remarkable story of one woman’s search for a new life in Africa in the wake of World War II — a life that sparked a heroic career, but also hid a secret past.
Dr. Anne Spoerry treated hundreds of thousands of people across rural Kenya over the span of 50 years. A member of the renowned Flying Doctors Service, the French-born Spoerry learned how to fly a plane at the age of 45 and earned herself the cherished nickname, “Mama Daktari” — “Mother Doctor” — from the people of Kenya. Yet few knew what drove her from post-World War II Europe to Africa. Now, in the first comprehensive account of her life, Dr. Spoerry’s revered selflessness gives way to a past marked by rebellion, submission, and personal decisions that earned her another nickname — this one sinister — working as a “doctor” in a Nazi concentration camp.
In Full Flight explores the question of whether it is possible to rewrite one’s troubled past simply by doing good in the present. Informed by Spoerry’s own journals, a trove of previously untapped files, and numerous interviews with those who knew her in Europe or Africa, John Heminway takes readers on a remarkable journey across a haunting African landscape and into a dramatic life punctuated by both courage and weakness and driven by a powerful need to atone.
Review
“An amazing illustration of how complicated a human life can be. Anne Spoerry, the subject of this almost unbelievable tale, was a woman of incredible self-discipline. Most of her friends, myself included, never really knew much about her to the end. An extraordinary, well-written story.”
Dr. Richard Leakey
Review
“A book that movingly celebrates the indomitable human spirit… John Heminway has turned his remarkable investigative skills to unraveling the incredible history of Africa’s famed Dr. Anne Spoerry. Reading more like a novel than a biography, In Full Flight paints a portrait of a courageous woman, haunted by a dark past, who looks to Africa to heal.” Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, and Founder of The Jane Goodall Institute
Review
“There are no easy answers to glean from this tale of tragedy and atonement…Drawing on journals, long-buried files, and interviews with Spoerry and her friends, Heminway uncovers not only the doctor’s heroism and humanitarian efforts in Kenya but also the darker past that led to her emigration from Europe….[In Full Flight] is an important work that is sure to provoke discussion about wartime choices, moral courage, and whether it is possible to make amends.” Barrie Olmstead, Library Journal
Review
“Incredible…An exceptionally compelling contemplation on life’s meaning, the nature of humanity, and whether atonement is achievable…This biography features dramatic elements: a reckoning with Africa, an individual who spent 50 years defying social conventions to save lives, and a secret past. Even so, the primary pleasure of this book is Heminway’s interrogations of his own motives as well as Spoerry’s.” Emily Dziuban, Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
“Vivid, often riveting….Heminway captures his subject’s staggeringly complex past as well as the vitality of the continent that became her home in this unflinching and evocative work.” Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
As a member of the renowned Flying Doctors Service, Dr. Anne Spoerry treated hundreds of thousands of people across rural Kenya over the span of fifty years, earning herself the cherished nickname "Mama Daktari"--"Mother Doctor." Yet few knew that what drove her from post-World War II Europe to Africa was a past marked by rebellion, submission, and personal decisions that earned her another nickname--this one sinister--while working as a "doctor" in a Nazi concentration camp.
In Full Flight explores the question of whether it is possible to rewrite one's past by doing good in the present, and takes readers on an extraordinary journey into a dramatic life punctuated by both courage and weakness and driven by a powerful need to atone.
About the Author
John Heminway is an author and award-winning filmmaker who has produced and written more than 200 documentaries on subjects as varied as travel, brain science, evolution, and natural history. He has won two Emmys, two Peabody Awards, and a duPont-Columbia Award. Most recently, he is known for his exposés of the illicit ivory trade. In Full Flight is his sixth book. Heminway lives in Montana.
John Heminway on PowellsBooks.Blog
While I keep reminding myself that
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement is my sixth book, I view this one in a category all its own. Notably, it has taken more time to write than all the others combined — almost 18 years from the first day of research to its publication in February 2018. Admittedly, I was also engaged in other assignments...
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