Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
This was an interesting book about a Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of Charles Lindbergh, who was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, a feat he accomplished in 1927 to world-wide acclaim. Anne Morrow's meeting of Charles Lindbergh, through her father (the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico), changed her life forever. Anne Morrow was an accomplished aviatrix in her own right as well as an acclaimed literary figure, who published numerous books including non-fiction accounts of her's and Charles' flights, books on fiction, and even poetry. Most of her books were best sellers, the most famous of which is "Gift from the Sea."She devoted her entire life to Charles and stayed loyal to him even while he was an outspoken critic of FDR and his defense policies leading up to WWII. Charles Lindbergh's biggest scar was his unwillingness to speak out against the pre-war German aggression and the Nazi oppression of the Jews prior to and even during WWII. He advocated letting the European powers resolve their own problems, knowing full well that without American help, the democracies of Europe would succumb to the power of the German war machine, which Lindbergh felt was invincible. Even after Anne eventually realized that Charles was wrong, she stayed with him but was completely incapable of confronting him on issues that were morally and ethically incorrect.Both the Lindberghs were permanently scarred (and who wouldn't be) by the kidnapping and murder of their infant son in 1932. She never forgave herself for this event. While I could sympathize with them over this tragedy, still, I found the descriptions of hers' and Charles' parenting practices odd, to put it kindly.Anne was complex: brilliant and accomplished, while human and flawed. This book was Susan Hertog's first and only (that I can tell) book. This is a shame because it was very well written. Hertog treated Anne Morrow Lindbergh as a subject with expertise and respect, but was also not afraid to describe her warts and failings.
I picked this book because I didn't know much about the Lindbergh's other then their son's kidnapping. I thought this was extremely well written. The author had obviously done her homework well, including poetry and essays that Anne had written.I thought that it was very in-depth and also depicted a very honest picture of her life, struggles, and successes. On a personal level, I feel that Anne had a lot of mental struggles with trying to figure out her identity. During her childhood, she tried to figure out her place among her siblings and meet the expectations of her parents. And while she loved Charles Lindbergh, marrying him thrust her into the limelight and she had a hard time being "Mrs. Lindbergh".The book is lengthy and some of her internal struggles seem to drag on and never get resolved and you wish she would just get some prozac, but for the most part I really enjoyed it and I liked the pictures.
What do You think about Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life (2000)?
I finished this book feeling depressed for the life Anne had. Hertog describes a woman that truly loved her husband, but was often conflicted by his thoughts and actions. It seemed to me that Anne was in an emotionally abusive relationship that lasted for the largest part of her long life. I found myself not forgiving Anne - or Charles- for their appalling WWII views. Joseph P Kennedy held similar views, but Rose did not (to my knowledge) publish support for Hitler's ascent. It would be interesting to compare Anne and Rose's similar life experiences. I am very impressed how Anne and Charles survived the violent loss of their first child. That would have broken me. Anne did leave a legacy of strength and survival. She did have remorse for her mistakes and I think Hertog gives us readers an interesting- but careful- picture of this extra-ordinary person.
—Dana
I'm in the middle of reading this book about one of my favorite authors, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, finding myself really frustrated about the author's distraction over Anne's sister Elizabeth. She makes wildly speculative assumptions about a character who isn't even the focus of the book! Whoever Elizabeth Morrow was, she shouldn't be used as a comparative tool for the author. I have 3 sisters and I would hate to have my life compared with theirs in any way- I'm only at the beginning- hopefully I'll enjoy the rest of the book but really don't enjoy the author's style that much.Really lost interest so I never got past the death of the Lindberghs' first child.
—Ronda
I read the fictionalized account of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's life, "The Aviator's Wife". I wanted to read about the real Anne Morrow Lindbergh so I picked this book up. She seemed like an interesting person: an aviator, poet and published author and wife of the famous Charles Lindbergh. Unfortunately, I didn't learn anything more about Mrs. Lindbergh from Susan Hertog's account. There is a lot of information about Charles Lindbergh that makes him seem like a first class jerk. This wasn't a surprise since I already knew about his sympathies toward Hitler and Nazi Germany. I was disappointed to learn that Anne Lindbergh shared or at least went along with her husband's beliefs. Anne Morrow Lindbergh comes across as spoiled and whiny in this account. She wants to find her center and her artistic self and resents having to care for her own children. The female angst portrayed in this book seems ridiculous when you realize that Mrs. Lindbergh was an extremely wealthy woman with servants and nannies always at her disposal. The Lindberghs changed houses the way the rest of us change shoes.I am saddened about the suspicious kidnapping and killing of her oldest son. This is the only aspect of Mrs. Lindbergh's life that engenders sympathy in this reading. Susan Hertog portrays her as being shallow and silly.
—Debbie
