The Spirit of St. Louis
Lindbergh, Charles A. 1902-1974
Adult Nonfiction TL540.L5 A3 1993

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American aviator Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit but grew up primarily in Minnesota with his mother. After working as an airmail pilot, he achieved world fame by making the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in May 1927. On the eve of World War II, Lindbergh advocated a policy of neutrality and opposed the entry of the United States into the war. Critical of U.S. foreign policy, some Americans accused him of being a Nazi sympathizer. After Pearl Harbor, he stopped his noninvolvement activity and served as a civilian adviser to the U.S. Army and Navy. Although a civilian, he also flew numerous combat missions in the Pacific. After the war, Lindbergh worked with Pan American Airways and the National Medical Center. According to some critics, Lindbergh's autobiography, "The Spirit of St. Louis" (1953), is a magnificent book, an important historic document that reveals both a fascinating individual and a remarkable look at the nation and the fledgling aviation industry that would eventually become a great source of national strength and power. The book is the contemplative, almost hour-by-hour account of Lindbergh's famed transatlantic flight. In 1967, the New York Times celebrated the fortieth anniversary of Lindbergh's transatlantic flight by reprinting his original account as it appeared in that newspaper on May 23, 1927. In the late 1960's, Lindbergh became involved in the conservation movement and campaigned for the protection of various endangered species. He also opposed the development of supersonic transport planes, because he believed that they would have a harmful effect on the earth's atmosphere. During his last years, Lindbergh was afflicted with incurable cancer, and he chose to spend his last days at his retreat on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. He died there and was buried with private ceremonies in an unmarked grave.