This month marks the 20th anniversary of A. Scott Berg's Lindbergh; this definitive account of Charles Lindbergh's life, career and controversial activism won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998. Berg was the first biographer to gain access to the famous aviator's archives and he includes interviews with Lindbergh's widow and children. Among literally millions of papers in the archives, Berg discovered previous biographies written during Lindbergh's life that were annotated for accuracy by the man himself. With so much new source material available, it took Berg four years to research his book and another four years to write it.
The subject of Charles Lindbergh's anti-Semitism is dealt with just as forthrightly as his flying career. Lindbergh's legacy may be one of aviation advances and personal tragedy, but it is forever stained by his public views against Jews and in favor of Nazism. Lindbergh was an advocate for Hitler's Germany and opposed even giving Britain aid, much less sending soldiers to Europe. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Lindbergh flew in the Pacific as a civilian consultant (FDR refused to reinstate his U.S. Army Air Corps commission after their public feuding). A. Scott Berg is the author of several other momentous biographies, including Max Perkins: Editor of Genius. Lindbergh is available from Berkley ($22, 9780425170410). --Tobias Mutter
