I was out flying gliders at 83J this spring, and was introduced to a visitor by the name of Kathleen Winters. As it turns out, she was in the middle of doing research for her second book, a history of women in naval aviation. It sounds like a very cool project and she got me excited to read it. I asked her about her first book and she said it is a biography entitled Anne Morrow Lindbergh, First Lady of the Air. She laughed when I asked her who that was, but explained that few people know as much about Anne as they do about her husband, Charles. I was intrigued, but when she started to explain more about Anne I decided I'd be looking for a copy of her book.

After I introduced myself and mentioned this website, she asked if I'd be willing to review her book. Believe it or not, she didn't even have to twist my arm to get me to agree to do so. Other than a copy of the book for the review, neither I nor AviationBull are receiveing any compensation for this. I'm writing this article because I feel like this book is great for anyone...whether you're looking for a fun collection of flying stories or you know someone who could use a good aviation hero. That said, I'd like to tell you a little about the content of the book and share some of my thoughts about it with you.

Most people know about Charles Lindbergh's record-breaking flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis, but few realize that this flight was only one of many flying adventures he had over the years. Fewer still realize that Anne and Charles were crewmates on most of those journies. It's important to note that I didn't say Anne was Charles' side-kick or passenger. She was a copilot, radio operator and flight planner. Together, the Lindberghs flew all over the Americas, the Pacific, the North Atlantic, Europe and Africa in their custom Lockheed Sirius scouting routes for the airlines. She also owned her own personal airplane (a Bruner Winkle Bird) and was the 10th licensed glider pilot in the United States. Every one of these facts has a story (or two or three) to go with it, and those stories are expertly related in Winters' book.

Reading Winters' account of these stories helped me remember what flying is all about. I am truly amazed and inspired by the things the Lindberghs did. Anne and Charles made their journies across oceans in a single engine plane back when radio operators (like Anne) only communicated in morse code. There were no ELTs, no GPS, no instrument approaches, no XM satellite weather, no cell phones.... Reading about their adventures made me want to find an old Champ with no electrical system and go enjoy some pure flying on the way to somewhere I've never been before. (Now all I have to do is save a few more pennies.)

In addition to all kinds of great flying stories, this book gives a great deal of background on the Lindbergh's families, paints a picture of what life was like for them, tells the tragic story of their baby son's murder and gives all kinds of details that let you start to feel like you Anne and Charles on a more personal level.

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