Rating: 
Summary: You should have read the diaries
Review: After reading the book I feel sad that this author never had access to AnneMorrow Lindbergh's diaries and papers, for if she would have she might have written something closer to the truth.I say to those who have read Anne Morrow Lindbergh's diaries and letters: You will be shocked to find that this book follows the same media sensationalism that the Lindberghs tried to flee from in the 1930's. It is sad to see that these lies are still haunting them today. Anne Morrow Lindbergh is a hero for women everywhere. Because she often sat in her husband's shadow not many people are aware of the incredible accomplishments she achieved
Rating: 
Summary: 10 Stars For Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Review: Anne Morrow Lindbergh was and still is a remarkable woman. This is the third book I have recently read that she was a major part of; firstly it was A. Scott Berg's Pulitzer Prize Winning "Lindbergh", next was "Under A Wing" by the youngest of the Lindbergh children Reeve Lindbergh, and now this volume by Susan Hertog. While unique understandings of parts of this book may be interpreted differently by a woman than a man, you do not have to be female to read this book. Being a Parent is not required nor is being married. Any combination of these may bring a different perspective, but none would be definitive. Anne Morrow Lindbergh is amazing for all her accomplishments as a writer, a pilot, a Mother, and the list goes on. She also is amazing for having had the ability to spend a life with Charles Lindbergh, or having only one relationship with another man. Lindbergh's first crossing of the Atlantic was lucky timing. There were literally other pilots from France that were lost en route as he was preparing to leave. Had he never attempted the flight, and the accomplishment had gone to another man/woman, Anne Morrow may or may not have married, but after reading these books I believe she would have been a great deal happier as would her children. She arguably could have achieved all she did and more. When a Daughter says that when her Father was away she and the Family felt "relief", doesn't say much for the man. When the same word is used to describe her feelings at his death, what kind of "Father" are we talking about? Question the quote? read the book by Reeve Lindbergh. A Wife who states that had he not made the first flight he would probably have "pumped gas at an airport", hardly had stars in her eyes all her life. As Susan Hertog describes in this book, visitors to the Lindbergh's home in England characterized Lindbergh's method of Fathering as "a certain sort of sadism". His first Son was kidnapped. Good Old Looser Lindy constructed an enclosure for the 18 month old, and directed he be placed in it, during the winter, and forbid that he be helped or attended to so he could "fend for himself". A little early for survivalist training? Does not everyone put their next son in a pen with a "butting Ram" and let him learn to defend himself? These digressions are needed to show that in spite of, and not because of, "The Hero Lindbergh" Anne Morrow Lindbergh not only survived him, but also managed to flourish despite him. Charles was a man of science, you bet! As long as he was with his racist buddy Alexis Carrel, creating what the press termed "modern Frankensteins" on their island. Carrel was thrown out of The Rockefeller institute because he was a Doctor only a Nazi could love. I believe the authoress did a good job, but there were inconsistencies with police photographs regarding the trial (the plank of wood in reference to the ladder, Susan Hertog claimed matched "perfectly", was the wrong length and thickness) that tend to undermine what I am confident is a 95% accurate book. There is a huge difference between "pardoning" a convicted murderer, and "commuting" a death sentence to life in prison in exchange for an admission of guilt. Hauptman would not admit his guilt to save his life, only he knows why. The authoress either has information other writers did not have or was careless with her words. There is no footnote for the statement in the book. Mrs. Lindbergh dealt with this man who was an anti-Semite to everyone who was not a member of "America First", it was she who pronounced his award from Hitler "an Albatross", while he was clueless as to the fool's role he was playing, and she had long periods of self doubt and self worth because of how she measured up to him? Lindbergh the "Hero" is narrow to be kind, and blatant revisionist history if accurately described. Anne Morrow was her Father and Mother's Daughter, and had all that was necessary to be her own success. We will never know how great, as she had the misfortune to marry, and the loyalty to stay with this severely flawed, morally impaired individual. There should be a statue to her, in the place of his.
Rating: 
Summary: Author As Judge And Jury
Review: Anyone who has read Anne Morrow Lindbergh's books and was impressed by her courage in accompanying her husband in flight, her perceptive written observations as she searched for more depth and meaning in life, her strength in emotionally surviving the horrible kidnapping death of her baby will NOT find the fleshed-out person you seek in the laborious biography by Susan Hertog. The author writes with the amateur footnoted patchwork of a fledgling college English major. Denied access to Anne's private papers and only having gained ten interviews, she presents voluminous scraps of information which come across as piecemeal and conflicting. Where a true insight into Anne fails her, the author returns again and again to Charles, reiterating his faults in what the public has always done in vilifying its heroes. Her extensive coverage and criticism of Charles' nonintervention WWII stance before Pearl Harbor was attacked is judgmental and strident in tone. Over and over again throughout the book, the author falls prey to being judge and jury, drawing conclusions and making generalizations, apparently limited by the filter of her own narrow life experiences. As she alternately condemns and praises the Lindberghs, you are aware of Hertog's own ambivalence. Yet the mark of a true biographer would be one who remains invisible while presenting the person in all of his/her vicissitudes. When will we ever have the pleasure of meeting Anne in the pages of a biography? Maybe never - since she has refused to name a biographer or write one herself. Maybe her refusal is her final statement: The press never had the right to dissect our lives - and they still don't. Each person is entitled to a private journey as he/she struggles down the various paths of enlightenment. At least Anne attempted the journey and perhaps already understood that each person must do so individually; for the answers to life's mysteries could not be revealed in the tidy summations of a biographer.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing treatment of a fascinating subject
Review: By reading the notes in the back of the book, it's obvious that Susan Hertog painstakingly researched her subject, and presented her story sincerely. Unfortunately, Ms. Hertog was unable to craft a narrative that carries the reader through Anne Morrow Lindbergh's life. The book lacks narrative--it's more of a dreamy account of significant events in Mrs. Lindbergh's life. There are lots of gaps; lots of unanswered questions. And throughout, Ms. Hertog tries to make the reader sympathetic to Mrs. Lindbergh's fate. In the end, I tired of reading about the poor little rich girl who married a hero and couldn't enjoy the wonderful life given her.
Rating:
Summary: A crashing disappointment
Review: Having read Anne Morrow Lindbergh's diaries, her daughter Reeve's first memoir, Berg's biography of Charles, and Gift from the Sea, I was truly looking forward to this biography. Knowing that the author had interviewed Mrs. Lindbergh, I was expecting new insights into someone who, I believe, was one of the 20th century's most remarkable women. What I found instead was a rehash of all the material I had previously read linked together with lame "psychological insights" and platitudes. Another thing that bothered me was her considerable reliance on the published diaries without taking into account that they were edited for publication, and by Charles at that, who saw them as a way to refurbish his public image, using his wife's popularity following the publication of Gift from the Sea. In short, there is no depth to this book at all.
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: I accepted this book gladly from a friend, anxious to get to know Anne Morrow Lindbergh on a more intimate level. What I found was a maddening conglomeration of observations and facts, none of which seemed to get to the heart of the subject. Far from an intimate portrait, this book dances around the lives of the Lindberghs, painting Charles as a distant and self-absorbed companion and Anne as the ever-suffering wife. Not what I expected, and a frustrating read at best.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent analysis of Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Review: I have read all of AML's books, as well as the recent biographies by F. Scott Berg, Joyce Milton, Dorothy Hermann, and Reeve Lindbergh. Susan Hertog was able to uncover subtleties in AML's character that the other authors missed. She rightly praises AML's gifted, lyrical method of writing, but also very gently exposes her life-long "victim complex" that would have been healthy for a certain amount of time after the kidnapping, but unfortunately lasted for the rest of her life. The best example is a quote by her friend Ernestine Stodelle on page 426. Susan Hertog's book is the best and most comprehensive analysis of AML that I have read so far. She was also able to print a few photos that were not in any of the previous books, showing AML to be a great beauty throughout her life, particularly directly after her marriage. While Scott Berg's captured the essence of Charles Lindbergh, I think he felt so loyal to AML because she was the one who granted him access to all of the Lindbergh papers, so his portrait of her was through rose colored glasses. Susan Hertog has done neither a hatchet job nor puff piece. She truly understands this complex woman and after being an admirer of AML for many years I finally had a sense of satisfaction that I really understood her after reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: A LIFE GUIDEBOOK
Review: I just finished this book. Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an amazing and inspiring lady and this book gives the reader a detailed account of her life. My tastes in reading material usually are geared more towards contemporary fiction but I picked up this book on a recomendation from a friend. And if you are like me, you probably have a stack of books on your bedside table that you are systematically reading. Well, Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life, came to the top of that pile and dutifully I started reading. I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book (seeing as how the 'biography' has not been my first choice in reading material). The content (AML's life) is just so interesting that it is better then most of the fiction I have read as of late. Anne Morrow Lindbergh is just such a remarkable lady and the author has gone to great length to "know" her subject. You will find the depth of the research Ms. Hertog did on AML to be nothing short of phenomanal. The chapters on the Lindbergh Baby kidknapping literally took my breath away and kept me up until three o'clock in the morning. The writing was that fresh and intense, I felt as if I was experiencing it all first hand.
Rating:
Summary: Her Extraordinary Life
Review: I just finished this book. Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an amazing and inspiring lady and this book gives the reader a detailed account of her life. My tastes in reading material usually are geared more towards contemporary fiction but I picked up this book on a recomendation from a friend. And if you are like me, you probably have a stack of books on your bedside table that you are systematically reading. Well, Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Her Life, came to the top of that pile and dutifully I started reading. I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book (seeing as how the 'biography' has not been my first choice in reading material). The content (AML's life) is just so interesting that it is better then most of the fiction I have read as of late. Anne Morrow Lindbergh is just such a remarkable lady and the author has gone to great length to "know" her subject. You will find the depth of the research Ms. Hertog did on AML to be nothing short of phenomanal. The chapters on the Lindbergh Baby kidknapping literally took my breath away and kept me up until three o'clock in the morning. The writing was that fresh and intense, I felt as if I was experiencing it all first hand.
Rating:
Summary: A LIFE GUIDEBOOK
Review: I loved this book. We used it in book club and it became the foundation for an incredible discussion. I am adding this to my best friend's wedding shower gift and I'm getting a copy for my mother-in-law who is going through the "I'm getting older - what now?" phase. It's one of those books people should read at every new life stage: marriage, kids, empty nest... It's truly a guide book, or a "logical reinforcement" book that tells you what you already know - that people need private time to nourish their soul. This is NOT new agey - it is more a woman revealing intimate discoveries.
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