ARCHIVE- MARCH 2017 - LINDBERGH (Extended to the end of MAY 2017)

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

This is the thread for the discussion of the March Book of the Month - Lindbergh by A. Scott Berg.

by A. Scott Berg (no photo)

Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography (1999), Los Angeles Times Book Prize (1998)

About the Author:



A. Scott Berg graduated from Princeton University in 1971. He is the author of the bestselling books Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, which won the National Book Award and Goldwyn: A Biography, for which he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. He lives in Los Angeles.

by A. Scott Berg (no photo)

by A. Scott Berg (no photo)

Note: A special spoiler GLOSSARY thread has been set up for all articles, web pages, videos, interviews which relate to this book that are not already featured videos. This way we can keep this non spoiler discussion thread relatively free of sundry postings related to Lindbergh or his family or the trial so we can focus on the discussion of this book which deals with the life of Lindbergh. There is so much here that we need the spoiler thread to not impact the topic questions and conversation. However, if you do not like spoilers - then do not visit the glossary spoiler thread until after you finish the book - it is up to you.

Here is the link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Lindbergh

by A. Scott Berg (no photo)

Synopsis:

Few American icons provoke more enduring fascination than Charles Lindbergh—renowned for his one-man transatlantic flight in 1927, remembered for the sorrow surrounding the kidnapping and death of his firstborn son in 1932, and reviled by many for his opposition to America’s entry into World War II. Lindbergh’s is “a dramatic and disturbing American story,” says the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and this biography—the first to be written with unrestricted access to the Lindbergh archives and extensive interviews of his friends, colleagues, and close family members—is “the definitive account.”

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part One
1. Karma
2. Northern Lights
3. No Place Like Home
4. Under a Wing
5. Spirit
6. Perchance to Dream

Part Two
7. Only a Man
8. Unicorns
9. “We”
10. Sourland
11. Apprehension
12. Circus Maximus

Part Three
13. Rising Tides
14. The Great Debate
15. Clipped Wings

Part Four
16. Phoenix
17. Double Sunrise
18. Alone Together
19. Aloha


Acknowledgments
Notes and Sources
Permissions
Index

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review

In 1927, Charles Augustus Lindbergh made the world smaller when, at 25, he completed his fabled flight from New York to Paris.

He spent the rest of his life watching the world close in around him. Actor Eric Stoltz smoothly captures A. Scott Berg's erudite prose, impressive narrative drive, and fascinating minutiae, and by doing so earns an intense sympathy for and understanding of Lindbergh's relentless need for privacy and his frustration at losing it to his worldwide fame. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes) --Lou Schuler

From Publishers Weekly
Lindbergh, writes Berg, was "the most celebrated living person ever to walk the earth." It's a brash statement for a biography that makes its points through a wealth of fact rather than editorial (or psychological) surmise, but after the 1927 solo flight to Paris and the 1932 kidnapping of his infant son, most readers will agree. Berg (Max Perkins) writes with the cooperation, although not necessarily the approval, of the Lindbergh family, having been granted full access to the unpublished diaries and papers of both Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The result is a solidly written book that while revealing few new secrets (there are discoveries about Lindbergh's father's illegitimacy and Mrs. Lindbergh's 1956 affair with her doctor, Dana Atchley) instructs and fascinates through the richness of detail. There are no new insights into the boy flier, no new theories about the kidnapping, but there is a chilling portrait of a man who did not seem to enjoy many of the most basic human emotions. Perhaps more attention to Lindbergh's near-worship of the Nobel Prize-winning doctor, Alexis Carrel, would have explained more about his enigmatic character.

Berg details Lindbergh's prewar trips to Nazi Germany at the request of the U.S. government; his leadership in the America First movement; his role in first promoting commercial aviation; and, during WWII, improving the efficiency of the Army Air Corps.

As the book reaches its conclusion, however, it's the sympathetic portrait of Mrs. Lindbergh creating a life of her own while her husband chooses to be elsewhere that gives the biography the emotional scaffolding it lacked.

The writing is workmanlike and efficient, and the story, familiar as it may be, encapsulates the history of the century. Photos. (Sept.) FYI: Putnam was said to have paid a seven-figure advance for Lindbergh in 1990.

Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Berg, whose biographies of Max Perkins and Sam Goldwyn are central texts in their fields, restores some luster to complicated aviator hero Charles Lindbergh by presenting his very full life from his lonely rural childhood to the enormity of his Spirit of St. Louis accomplishment; the kidnapping of his baby son, which led to the "Trial of the Century"; his enthusiastic state visits to Hitler's Germany; and his Pulitzer Prize and later conservation work.

For the generation that has mostly known Lindbergh through his child's murder and a profoundly stupid speech he later made, this big, thoroughly researched book is a fine work of restorative storytelling.

Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A magisterial work chronicling the life of a great American hero, from a National Book Award - winning author. If you're writing a biography, choosing a subject involved in both one of the century's great adventures and one of its great tragedies is a good start.

If you go beyond a barrier-breaking flight to Paris and a baby's kidnapping and can still draw upon controversial opposition to entering WWII and major contributions to the development of commercial aviation, so much the better. That this figure was also constantly in the media spotlight, regularly met with leading luminaries throughout the world, and had a wife whose life and accomplishments are fascinating in their own right, you have the substantive ingredients for a great biography.

Fortunately for all of us, Berg (Goldwyn: A Biography, 1989; Max Perkins: Editor of Genius, 1978.) does a superb job with this material. His account of Lindbergh's life is detailed without plodding, and extensive without seeming long; the pace is excellent throughout, with the reader continually drawn forward by the prose, even though one already knows what is going to happen.

Berg's perspective on Lindbergh is admiring but not fawning or unbalanced. Despite the appropriate respect accorded a man who genuinely did great things, Berg does not shy away from Lindbergh's apparent anti-Semitism, his rigidity as a parent, regular absences as a husband, and lifelong restlessness.

There's an evenhanded look at Lindbergh's trips to Germany and politics prior to WWII, and the insights into Lindbergh's relations with the press are particularly interesting. As the first real media star, Lindbergh had an extreme reaction to the constant hounding by reporters and photographers - unprecedented in his day - that becomes understandable. Imagine coverage of Michael Jordan after the NBA finals, the O.J. Simpson trial, and the British royal family all rolled into one.

Who, faced with this barrage, wouldn't become uncommunicative and flee the country? With Berg's free access to previously unavailable documentation, this is sure to be the definitive biography of Lindbergh. (First serial to Vanity Fair; film rights to DreamWorks) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"Berg's biography [is] sure to renew interest in this unique American hero". -- People

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

SYLLABUS

Part One - Week One - MARCH 1ST THROUGH MARCH 12TH - pages 3 - 134
1. Karma
2. Northern Lights
3. No Place Like Home
4. Under a Wing
5. Spirit
6. Perchance to Dream

Part Two - Week Two - MARCH 13TH THROUGH MARCH 19TH - pages 135 - 344
7. Only a Man
8. Unicorns
9. “We”
10. Sourland
11. Apprehension
12. Circus Maximus

Part Three - Week Three -MARCH 20TH THROUGH MARCH 26TH - 345 - 461
13. Rising Tides
14. The Great Debate
15. Clipped Wings

Part Four - Week Four - MARCH 26TH THROUGH APRIL 1ST - pages 462 - 544
16. Phoenix
17. Double Sunrise
18. Alone Together
19. Aloha


Acknowledgments
Notes and Sources
Permissions
Index

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Folks who are signed up to discuss Lindbergh - we look forward to your participation - do not be a silent observer - be an active participant - we have great discussions that way.

Updated: January 19th, 2017

Yes
1. Glynn - Melbourne, Florida
2. Cheryl Kinkaid - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
3. Joyce Himmel - Columbia, South Carolina
4. Doug Phillips - Eugene, Oregon
5. Janis Mills - Peoria, Arizona
6. Debra - PRIVATE PROFILE
7. Helga Cohen - Columbia, South Carolina
8. Zachariah
9. Nick Imrie - Cambridge, The United Kingdom
10. Alessia Grammy Lisbeth - Bentivoglio, 05, Italy
11. Jayme Macleish - PRIVATE PROFILE
12. Kelby Adams - Bowling Green, Kentucky
13. Kavita Rao - Alpharetta, Georgia
14. Billy "D" - Riverton, New Jersey
15. Rho
16. Rachel - Springfield, Ohio
17. Dora - Temecula, California
18. Sharon Stone - USA
19. Tara Taylor - Carterville, Illinois
20. Chloe - London, The United Kingdom
21. Florence Millo - Richmond, Texas
22. Marouane LA - Casablanca, 45, Morocco
23. Christine Y - Williston Park, New York
24. Liz Sullivan - Newark, California
25. Jim Kaigler - Gonzales , Louisiana
26. Deborah Hollier - Cool, California
27. Linda Bennett - Palm Desert, California
28. Jenny - Mundelein, Illinois
29. Bentley - Metro NYC - Moderator
66. Betty Bell - Orlando, Florida
67. Michelle
68. Cary Kostka
69. Revdarcy Borden
70. mgreenej167 - Dunstable, Massachusetts
71. April H.
72. Yasara Kumanayake
73. Elizabeth
74. Casey
75. Liliya Bachinskaya - Portland, Oregon

Maybe
30. John Pieper - Ruther Glen, Virginia
32. Meg Capelli - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
33. Andrea Wright
34. Jackie Freeman - Liberty, North Carolina
35. Ellen Marcolongo - Saint Petersburg, Florida
36. Bryan Craig - Charlottesville, Virginia
37. Martha Benavente - Indianapolis, Indiana
38. Megan Wunderlich - PRIVATE PROFILE
39. Robyn Plouse - Corrales, New Mexico
40. Brian Lokker - Bethesda, Maryland
41. Elise Sadegh - (litteflowernice) - PRIVATE PROFILE
42. Kim Wegener - Valley Falls, New York
43. J.D.R. Hawkins - Sioux City
44. Lin Rhys - USA
45. Joel - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
46. O'Rissa Gill
47. Amanda B - Phoenix, Arizona
48. Staci Paley
49. Pamela - Valley Center, California
50. Em - India
51. Janet Walsted - Fort Worth, Texas
52. Adventure Awaits
53. Marvin's Universe - Tomsk, Tomsk Region, Russian Federation
54. Kacy Ellis - Silsbee, Texas
55. J Boyd - Giddings, Texas
56. Shannon - San Diego, California
57. Eric Susee
58. Laura Kosloff - NYC
59. Michele
60. Starbubbles - Concord, New Hampshire
61. Tyler Ciokiewicz - Portland, Oregon
62. Jasmin - USA
63. Christopher Moffatt - Highland, California
64. Janet Hewitt - Sherwood, Oregon
65. Hend - Egypt
76. David Sanders - Lincoln, Nebraska
77. Daniel Hristov - Sofia, Bulgaria
78. Sophie Witter - Netherlands
79. Paula S. - Netherlands
80. Lesley Finney

Discussion begins March 1st, 2017
As folks join I will update the list - the numbering will reflect the order that folks signed up and will most likely not be consecutive.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

All - we will kick off Lindbergh on March 1st.

This is the first week's assignment:

Part One - Week One - MARCH 1ST THROUGH MARCH 12TH - (pages 3 - 134)

1. Karma
2. Northern Lights
3. No Place Like Home
4. Under a Wing
5. Spirit
6. Perchance to Dream

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

All, I am opening this thread so that we can begin the Lindbergh discussion - remember this is a single thread discussion so you have to use the spoiler html.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Remember the following:

Everyone is welcome but make sure to use the goodreads spoiler function.

If you come to the discussion after folks have finished reading it, please feel free to post your comments as we will always come back to the thread to discuss the book.

The rules

You must follow the rules of the History Book Club and also:

First rule of Book of the Month discussions:
Respect other people's opinions, no matter how controversial you think they may be.

Second rule of Book of the Month discussions:
Always, always Chapter/page mark and spoiler alert your posts if you are discussing parts of the book.

To do these spoilers, follows these easy steps:

Step 1. enclose the word spoiler in forward and back arrows; < >

Step 2. write your spoiler comments in

Step 3. enclose the word /spoiler in arrows as above, BUT NOTE the forward slash in front of the word. You must put that forward slash in.

Your spoiler should appear like this:
(view spoiler)

And please mark your spoiler clearly like this:

State a Chapter and page if you can.
EG: Chapter 24, page 154

Or say Up to Chapter *___ (*insert chapter number) if your comment is more broad and not from a single chapter.

Chapter 1, p. 23
(view spoiler)[I know everything now about chapter one and I am going to post it here - oops I better place this in a spoiler alert so I do not ruin the book for others (hide spoiler)]

If you are raising a question/issue for the group about the book, you don't need to put that in a spoiler, but if you are citing something specific, it might be good to use a spoiler.

By using spoilers, you don't ruin the experience of someone who is reading slower or started later.

Thanks.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

You can copy and paste below to get your spoiler right:

<spoiler>Put Text Here</spoiler>

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Those of you who are going to read Lindbergh. Use the spoiler html because this is a single thread discussion.

1. Read messages nine and ten and those messages shows you the rules for the buddy read discussion and how to do the spoiler html.

2. Message ten actually shows you the spoiler html code. Use it on this thread.

3. Where is the Table of Contents and the reading syllabus? - Message(s) three and five.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

All, we do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Epigram

Far or forgot to me is near;
Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
And one to me are shame and fame.

They reckon ill who leave me out;
When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
And I the hymn the Brahmin sings.
--Emerson, "Brahma"

Discussion Questions:

a) In the poem, Emerson assumes the persona of the creator god, Brahma. He states that he contains the nature of everything in the universe. That he is both the shadow and the sunlight, the doubter and the doubt. Emerson indicated that what appeared to be opposites are really the same. That anyone who does not believe this truth lives in error, for all these things are part of the essence of Brahma. Emerson felt this eternal, god was beyond human understanding and all gods wanted to live in his presence. How does this epigram fit for a biography of Lindbergh?
b) What are the myths surrounding Lindbergh - was he as a man and folk hero difficult to fathom?
c) How does Lindbergh's life reflect the idea of compensation - which shows that there is a principle of balance in the universe, since for everything that is given, something is taken away and vice versa. What virtues, ideals, gifts were given to Lindbergh and what was taken away?

Audio of Brahma by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlWHx...



Respond and post using the spoiler html:

a) Place at the top the title of the segment of the book you are discussing - in this case Epigram in bold.

b) Then using spoiler html place your response underneath in spoiler html.

Here is an example:

Epigram

(view spoiler)[The Epigram reflects on the essence of Lindbergh - etc. and so on..... (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter 1 - Karma

The chapter opens - "For more than a day the world held its breath...and then the small plane was sighted over Ireland.

Twenty-seven hours after he had left Roosevelt Field in New York -alone, in the Spirit of St. Louis--word quickly spread from continent to continent that Charles A. Lindbergh had survived the most perilous leg of his journey--the fifteen-hour crossing of the Atlantic. He had to endure but a few more hours before reaching his destination, Paris. Anxiety yielded to anticipation

Discussion Questions for Karma:
(view spoiler)[a) What journey had Lindbergh survived and why was it important to the world?
b) The year was 1927 - why did the flow of traffic outside the airfield come to a standstill? What was so important to the Parisians?
c) Why was the plane called the Spirit of St Louis?
d) What are your first thoughts and feelings about this first chapter? And what were your initial impressions?
e) How did Lindbergh change the world with his flight?

You may want to watch movie The Spirit of St Louis starring the legendary Jimmy Stewart - here is a clip - https://youtu.be/LvUAY7MOe-c (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

This is the first week's assignment:

Part One - Week One - MARCH 1ST THROUGH MARCH 12TH - (pages 3 - 134)

1. Karma
2. Northern Lights
3. No Place Like Home
4. Under a Wing
5. Spirit
6. Perchance to Dream

Chapter Overview and Summaries

1. Karma

This chapter discusses the Spirit of St Louis's eventful journey and successful landing.

2. Northern Lights

Discussion of Charles Lindbergh's grandfather, grandparents, father, and mother and their journey from Sweden.

3. No Place Like Home

Though Lindbergh always remembered his early days on the farm. Many of his memories went up in smoke alongwith the home in a major fire. From that point on, it appeared that Lindbergh's childhood was one of constant moves due to the vagaries of his parents and the deterioration of their relationship. This chapter tells the story of the young Lindbergh's childhood culminating with his motorcycle ride which he takes to college.

4. Under A Wing

Chapter Four discusses Lindbergh's college days, his mother's arrival on campus, his developing an interest in aviation, his days at the Air Service Advanced Flying School, his father's illness and passing

5. Spirit

Chapter Five describes young Lindbergh's military career and early flying endeavors and his dreams of crossing the Atlantic.

6. Perchance to Dream

Chapter Six describes the days leading up to the flight across the Atlantic and preparations as well as the talk of Lindbergh regarding his iconic journey with his St. Christopher medal in his flying suit pocket. And then success.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Folks who are beginning this journey reading Lindbergh - let us kickoff this book of the month read wth everybody posting a brief hello indicating who you are, where you are from and why this book interested you.

The History Book Club welcomes you to this book discussion and read - the more you post about the book and what you found interesting as well as responding to the discussion questions - the better the discussion will be and the more fun for all of you. We are open for discussion and I look forward to reading and discussing the book with all of you.

Participation is key. Let us hear from you.

Regards,
Bentley - Group Leader

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Some quotes from Karma for discussion

(view spoiler)[Quote One:
"Not since the armistice of 1918, observed one reporter, "has Paris witnessed a downright demonstration of popular enthusiasm and excitement equal to that displayed by the throngs flocking to the boulevards for news of the American flier, whose personality has captured the hearts of the Parisian multitude."

Quote Two:
"Periodically, whispers rustled through the crowd, rumors that Lindbergh had been forced down. After a long silence, a Frenchwoman, dressed in mourning and sitting in a big limousine, wiped away tears of worry. Another woman, selling newspapers, approached her, fighting back her own tears. "You're right to feel so, madame," she said. "In such things there is no nationality-- he's some mother's son."

Quote Three
"On May 21, 1927, at 10:24PM, the Spirit of St. Louis landed--having flown 3,614 miles from New York, nonstop, in thirty-three hours, thirty minutes and thirty seconds. And in that instant, everything changed--for both the pilot and the planet."

Quote Four
"There was no holding the one hundred fifty thousand people back. Looking out the side of his plane and into the glare of lights, Lindbergh could see only that the entire field ahead was "covered with running figures!" With decades of hindsight, the woman Lindbergh would marry came to understand what that melee actually signified. "Fame--Opprtunity--Wealth--and also tragedy and loneliness and frustration rushed at him in those running figures on the field at Le Bourget," she would later write. "And he is so innocent and unaware."

Quote Five
"The reception in Paris was only a harbinger of the unprecedented worship people would pay Lindbergh for years. Without either belittling or aggrandizing the importance of his flight, he considered it part of the continuum of human endeavor, and that he was, after all, only a man. The public saw more than that. Indeed, Harry Crosby felt that the stampeded at Le Bourget that night represented nothing less than the start of a new religious movement--"as if all the hands in the world are--trying to touch the new Christ and that the new Cross is the Plane." Universally admired, Charles Lindbergh became the most celebrated living person ever to walk the earth." (hide spoiler)]

Please discuss any one or all of the quotes here on this thread. It is interesting reading this chapter and the specific quotes above - how vastly different things were in 1927 than they are today - less than a century ago.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Folks you can begin posting.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

1927 was quite a year

Aside from the Lindbergh flight, the Holland Tunnel opened, carvings on Mount Rushmore began, Stalin took control and that was the year of the Great Mississippi flood! An electric washing machine (if you had electricity cost $79.00). Take a look at the other events going on and the fashions, etc.

Link:
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1927....

Source: The People History

[Candace]

Hi, I'm Candace. I'm from Arizona, a desert state in the Southwest United States.

I actually responded that I would not be attending because I have two sets of family members coming to stay during two different weeks this month but Bentley said I could chip in whenever, and I had already bought the book and was looking forward to this discussion. So I am going to participate as often as I can.

I hear a lot about Lindbergh (yes, still today!) and yet I don't know anything but the very basic info. I've heard information that I want to know more about, for example, his work for the government during WWII. I don't know anything about this. I'm interested in learning more about his relationship with his wife in general and how they coped as a couple with the abduction and the trial. So I'm very glad that I can participate when able. Looking forward to it.

[Candace]

Epigram

(view spoiler)[a. When I read this epigram, I thought of LIndbergh flying and I thought - flying is one place (activity) where I bet one would feel closest to their God and all of Creation. And little differences or problems might seem not to matter anymore, as everything comes into focus, or perspective. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Candace wrote: "Hi, I'm Candace. I'm from Arizona, a desert state in the Southwest United States.

I actually responded that I would not be attending because I have two sets of family members coming to stay dura..."


Well I am delighted that I changed your mind - I think this will be a great discussion about Lindbergh and so many different events that took place during this time frame.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Response to Candace regarding Epigram:

(view spoiler)[Very true Candace - maybe while he was in the air - he had peace, tranquility and normalcy from the crowds below or the problems he faced by becoming iconic. And thank you right off the bat - using the spoiler html for this single thread discussion. We want everybody coming along no matter when to not encounter spoilers but know when they launch a spoiler what it is about and what section of the book we are referencing. You are doing great right out of the gate. (hide spoiler)]

[Candace]

Epigram

(view spoiler)[ I was just thinking while washing dishes -while flying in this early stage, doing something no one had done, one might even think of themselves as God...maybe even the creator God of this marvelous thing that no one had ever done before. "I am the Wings." I'm afraid I don't know enough about Lindbergh. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Candace - very interesting comment - we shall all find out more (smile).

[Helga]

Hi I'm Helga from South carolina and am excited about reading this book. I know some things about Lindbergh like his flight from the US across the ocean. His marriage and the abduction of his child. I also know just a little about his government work and WWII feelings. I know I have adverse feelings about him about his anti-semitism and want to know more about that time period. I want to know if I will change my mind about him when I understand more about him. He is a fascinating person. This book is very good so far.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

We are excited to have you join us Helga - recently last year I went to a wonderful exhibit that Morven had in Princeton, New Jersey and it was chock full of all of the multimedia from that period regarding Lindbergh and historical events of that time period which influenced him and the folks in 1927 and the years after. It was fascinating.

http://morven.org/lindbergh/

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter 2 - Northern Lights - Introduction and Discussion Questions

(view spoiler)[Chapter Two begins - "In the late summer, the sky over Sweden sometimes casts a striking color, an extremely pale but radiant blue. By fall the currents of the surrounding winds and waters shift, producing a quilt of clouds that go unturned most of the winter.

In 1859, even with the arrival of spring, dark clouds persisted in hanging over one Swede in particular in Skane, the country's southernmost province.

Ola Mansson had been born fifty-one years earlier in the village of Gardlosa in the parish of Smedstorp. Educated in the local grammar school and raised a Lutheran, he had bought a farm in the village of his birth. The Baltic Sea lay but twelve miles from his two hundred acres of flat prairie land, which boasted numerous lakes and a trickling river. At twenty-five he had married a girl from the neighboring parish of Onslunda, Ingar Jonsdotter, eight years his junior. Over the next twenty-two years, they produced eight children.


August Lindbergh about 1850 (then still Ola Mansson)

Discussion Questions

1) What was odd about the story of Ola Mansson and why the name change to August Lindbergh? How was his story influential to his descendant aviator Charles Lindbergh? Do you think that August's past had any influence on his descendants - why or why not? See spoiler thread for other details.
2. Considering the criticism of Lindbergh the aviator - do you think it might have been misplaced considering that Ola his ancestor argued for tax relief and a loosening of the Lutheran's hold over Swedish society but also advocated laws protecting children, the elderly, women and Jews. It appeared that he stood on the right side of many social reforms and minority rights. What went wrong for Ola from your viewpoint?
3. Did the liberal press plant "fake news with innuendo" or was Ola guilty of certain indiscretions - what do you believe were the circumstances? Was the press just reporting on the obvious and reporting the truth?
4. Was Ola conducting a double life and did he do the honorable thing by offering to take Ingar? Do you think that Ingar's untimely passing had anything to do with Ola's choices - why or why not?
5. In what ways was immigration easier in 1859 than it is today. Were you surprised that Ola could just show up at the Minnesota District Court and declare his intention to become a Citizen of the United States - just like that? What were Ola's positive qualities as a man - were you impressed with his industriousness - what about Ola did not impress you? Were you struck by the way both Lindbergh and his wife wanted to learn English as quickly as possible and insisted that it be spoken at home. Should America and other countries around the world insist that new immigrants learn the language of the specific country and assimilate?
6. What are you impressions of Charles August (CA) - who would become Lindbergh the aviator's father? Do you think the circumstances of his birth affected Lindbergh the aviator in any way? What do you make of the author describing Ola and his son CA as "stubborn, earnest, and even a little angry"? In what ways were you impressed while reading about CA and how he was able to matriculate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to study law and about his personal characteristics? What are your impressions?

Lindbergh with his son (the aviator) Charles c. 1910
(hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Northern Lights continued - Discussion Questions

(view spoiler)[One quote which really impressed me about CA was the following:
"What first drew my attention to the man," said his friend Thomas Peterson, "was the very evident respect with which his name was mentioned and the confidence and trust everyone seemed to have in him."

1. What does that one quote say about the man that CA (the aviator's father) had become?

Another quote that was interesting:

"Even in private practice, which included a great deal of corporation work, "a poor man was never turned down because he had no money," noted his brother Frank. "His sympathies were for the "underdog."

1. Do you think that CA's approach to life and to those less fortunate than he was - influenced these actions and choices as he was more successful - why or why not? (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Photo of Evangeline Lodge (Land) Lindbergh - Lindbergh - the aviator's mother




Charles Lindbergh (aviator) with his mother Evangeline Lodge (Land) Lindbergh


Evangeline Lindbergh with her son Charles Augustus Lindbergh

[Michele]

Some other events in 1927:

January 7 – The first transatlantic telephone call is made from New York City to London.
May 18 – Bath School disaster: Bombings result in 45 deaths, mostly children, in Bath Township, Michigan.
September 29 – 79 are killed and 550 are injured in the East St. Louis Tornado, the 2nd costliest and at least 24th deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
October 28 – Pan American Airways' first flight takes off from Key West, bound for Havana.

Lots going on in 1927!

[Michele]

Chap. 2 - Response

(view spoiler)[ 5. In what ways was immigration easier in 1859 than it is today. Were you surprised that Ola could just show up at the Minnesota District Court and declare his intention to become a Citizen of the United States - just like that? What were Ola's positive qualities as a man - were you impressed with his industriousness - what about Ola did not impress you?

So different from today! Back then you just got on a ship and got off in NYC or another harbor and that was it. No quotas. I have several immigrant ancestors who took a path close to what Ola did. Two Wagner brothers brought their Dad and fiance's with them and started farming in PA. Another ancestor came from Wales and started coal mining, He married the daughter of one of the Wagner brothers. I have the Cert. of Naturalization for another ancestor who came over from Cornwall as a 3 year old.

As for Ola, he worked hard though I have to question his morals to a certain extent. Leaving his wife for another woman, moving to US with the other woman and having two families? Yikes.
(hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Michele wrote: "Some other events in 1927:

January 7 – The first transatlantic telephone call is made from New York City to London.
May 18 – Bath School disaster: Bombings result in 45 deaths, mostly children, in..."

Michelle if you look at the link - they were all in there and more (smile) - It was a major year in history. Glad to have you join us - just do a brief intro and say hello to your fellow BOTMers (lol).

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Response to Michelle:

(view spoiler)[Yes, if you got off the boat - you just went down and applied - just show up and we will take you. So so different now and then when folks actually made the hellish trip - they appreciated the opportunities here and made sure to learn the native language and assimilate. That is what is creating problems for refugees and other immigrants who do not do that. Everybody was so happy to be here even if they lived in a tenement. They saw upward mobility and the opportunity to thrive with hard work. Vastly different. I have to wonder if he wasn't a polygamist - did I miss where he got the divorce from his first wife - no wonder his first wife passed away after five years - that was such a blow to her. Have to agree with you on that one. Eventually he married his mistress - but I will have to go back and reread that section.

Try your hand at the epigram questions and Chapter One too. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

General Question:

(view spoiler)[1. How do you like the book so far - anything that has surprised you? (hide spoiler)]

[jingles]

Hi, I'm jingles from the southern part of the US. I have really been looking forward to reading and discussing this book. I know very little about Charles Lindbergh or this time frame in history. Hopefully I will learn a lot!

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

I am sure you will jingles - we will all learn from each other - welcome.

Thank you for posting that you are reading with us. Please continue to post and try your hand at the Epigram, Chapter One and Chapter Two questions that were put up yesterday.

[jingles]

Chapter 1 - Karma, Page 3

(view spoiler)[Crossing the Atlantic - imagine flying for 15 solid hours over water. Nothing but water as far as the eye could see...for hours on end. How quickly one could become disoriented and lost.

For some reason this brought to mind the tragedy of JFK, Jr.'s flight in 1999. I don't know anything about airplanes, but certainly he would have had a plane with much better instruments and navigational systems, yet he still quickly became disoriented and lost flying over the water - to a tragic end.

Bentley, I hope I wasn't in error of mentioning JFK, Jr's flight, but if so, I will remove it.

(hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

@jingle regarding - Chapter 1 - Karma - page 3

(view spoiler)[Yes, it is very disorienting folks say - especially in a small plane and they did not have the instrumentation that they have today and flying at night - can you imagine.

I thought of him too. Such a tragedy.

No you were not - that came to my mind as well.

Also I really like the you also took the time to add the page number. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter 5 - Spirit - Introduction and Discussion Questions

And so Chapter Five begins:

In late March 1925, Lieutenant Lindbergh's train crossed into Missouri. Surrounded by eight states - whose borders all but connect the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and the Alleghanies to the Rockies--Missouri combined qualities found in the country at large. Not unlike its recent arrival, it was a mixture of northern industriousness with southern courtesy, eastern diplomacy and western rusticity. Its principal city, on the western bank of the Mississippi, was in other ways even more like Lindbergh.

St. Louis was named for Louis IX of France, a king so worshipped he was canonized just twenty-five years after his death. Louis has been a Crusader--a beacon in the Dark Ages, a pious traveler renowned for his self assuredness. Maintaining his faith and vision, he withstood intense physical discomfort in order to reach his holy destination. His spirit would take hold of the Mississippi's River's centralist city that bears his name, becoming a point of departure for adventurers of unusual zeal. Since 1804, when Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark from St. Louis to survey the Louisiana territory, the city became more than a gateway to the west. It came to symbolize the portal to the future."

(view spoiler)[
Louis IX (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter 6 - Perchance to Dream - Introduction and Discussion Questions

And so Chapter Six begins:

All he wanted was to sleep, but when Lindbergh returned to the Garden City Hotel just before midnight, he found it bustling with activity. An army of reporters clattering away at typewriters had appropriated the lobby, and they were all eager to interview him. Lindbergh politely excused himself from their questions, insisting that he had to go to bed. Even a long nap, he felt, would sustain him for the thirty-six hour ordeal that lay ahead.

The journalists let him retire in peace, as even the hardest-boiled members of the press no longer attempted to hide their admiration. Lindbergh's modest manner "won the hearts of every one who came near him"--as Russell Owens phrased it in his next front - page piece for the Times--partly because he stood in such sharp contrast to the rest of the current newsmakers--bootleggers. racketeers, and millionaire playboys. That very day the press carried a story about oilman Harry Sinclair's jail sentence for his role in the Teapot Dome scandal and another about an anarchistic maniac who dynamited a school, killing forty-two children. Charles Augustus Lindbergh seemed the perfect antidote to toxic times."

(view spoiler)[

(hide spoiler)]

[Candace]

Chapter 1 Karma

(view spoiler)[ Discussion of Question 2b What did this mean to Paris? And Quote 1
In Ch 1, p. 4 we learn in Quote One how excited Paris is "for news of the American flier, whose personality has captured the hearts of the Parisian multitude." In the next sentence, we learn that two French fliers have recently disappeared in this transatlantic crossing. Paris is excited but Paris is also mourning. As we have learned when tragedy strikes a country, competition becomes less important and our neighborly/sympathetic/friendly instincts move to the forefront. Paris does not want to lose another flier - no matter where he is from. They have felt two losses. Although, if Lindbergh makes it, it might somehow bring some meaning to these losses. Everyone knows the saying that "we build on the shoulders of those who come before us." (It's something like that.). Lindbergh would not be able to succeed without all the attempts of those who went before him. The two lost fliers will be recognized as the heroes they were. As I was thinking this I read Ch. 1 p. 8 " In few people were the souls of one's forbears so apparent as they were in Charles Lindbergh." (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Very good analysis Candace.

[Candace]

Chapter 1 Karma

(view spoiler)[Question 5 How did Lindbergh change the world with his flight?
This is the interesting question. The world was changed and Lindbergh was changed. The world was changed because of the timing in which it happened. Michele wrote about the first transatlantic phone call. In Ch. 1, p. 6 we read about other things that are transmitting around the world, including radio and cable. And motion pictures now have sound. All of this new technology found a face, the first superstar.
With a superstar, the press is acting in ways it never has. Ch 1, p. 7 "The press broke every rule of professional ethics in covering Lindbergh." They were so aggressive , it almost became fatal a few times. (I wondered how that could happen until I remembered Princess Diana)
Trial coverage was changed after the "Trial of the Century" .
So we now have a superstar who is being constantly stalked, a press who has given up all boundaries to cover him and his family, he loses all privacy which may contribute to the death of his firstborn (don't know the facts of case); Is it difficult to believe that Lindbergh believed the effects of his flight were more harmful than good? (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Response to Candace - Chapter 1 - Karma

(view spoiler)[Yes, the paparazzi and I do think his fame contributed immensely to what happened to his first born (sad) - it is almost as if the crowd and his fame stole something from him that could never be replaced or refilled. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

The following is not a spoiler for the book because on the first page of the book - they discuss this flight and the frenzy related to it:

Lindbergh Honored for New York-Paris Flight (3 min) TV-14

On June 11, 1927, President Calvin Coolidge presented Col. Charles Lindbergh with the first Distinguished Flying Cross medal for his solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. At the presentation ceremony, President Coolidge gives opening remarks before Lindbergh's acceptance speech.

Link: http://www.history.com/topics/charles...

Source: History.com

Note: Nice to hear Calvin Coolidge and the voice of the young Lindbergh himself who was quite humorous.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Folks I panicked myself thinking I was behind (lol) but the first week's assignment goes through the 12th - (relax) so we are all OK (smile):

Part One - Week One - MARCH 1ST THROUGH MARCH 12TH - pages 3 - 134
1. Karma
2. Northern Lights
3. No Place Like Home
4. Under a Wing
5. Spirit
6. Perchance to Dream

[Michele]

Late into - Michele from Ca here.... I am reading a bit ahead, but will post according to the schedule!

General Question (post #35) Response

(view spoiler)[ How do I like the book so far? I am liking it. Berg seems to have done though job with his research. (hide spoiler)]

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

That is fine Michelle - yes his research is superb and he is doing a great job.

My response is not a spoiler so it is not in the spoiler html.

Glad to have you with us.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Chapter Three - No Place Like Home and Self Reliance

(view spoiler)[In Chapter Three in one of the quotes that I cited above Berg talks about self reliance and immediately I saw the connection between his use of Emerson in his epigram and how he might be viewing Lindbergh or Lindbergh's fate. I am not sure how many of you caught this but I think it is important to note. Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a powerful essay written by this famous Concord Transcendentalist - here is an excerpt from that essay which resonates with me when thinking about Lindbergh.

"There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.

Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him, and another none. This sculpture in the memory is not without preestablished harmony. The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be safely trusted as proportionate and of good issues, so it be faithfully imparted, but God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.

A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope.

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events.

Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark."

--Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson - an excerpt

Another excerpt from the same work:

"So use all that is called Fortune. Most men gamble with her, and gain all, and lose all, as her wheel rolls. But do thou leave as unlawful these winnings, and deal with Cause and Effect, the chancellors of God. In the Will work and acquire, and thou hast chained the wheel of Chance, and shalt sit hereafter out of fear from her rotations. A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick, or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event, raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here is the entire text of Self Reliance:
http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfrel...



Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think that Berg was channeling Emerson when thinking about the character of Lindbergh or do you think he was commenting on the environment that created a Charles Lindbergh and how he was part and parcel a creation of the Lindberghs, Lodges and Lands? What part do you think environment plays in your upbringing and what part DNA? Do you see Lindbergh in the Self Reliance essay by Emerson? In what ways if so?

2. Lindbergh never examined his family history the author said so he was unaware of any familial connection of the past to his future. Do you think there was one? Or did the young Lindbergh just chart his own course based upon the principles he was raised by? (hide spoiler)]