by Dan Hampton
First published 2017
Charles Lindbergh stands on Roosevelt Field at dawn on May 20, 1927. The twenty-five-year-old pilot has never flown over water, yet he prepares to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone in his single-engine monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis. Six men have already died attempting to claim the $25,000 Orteig Prize for the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Lindbergh faces thirty-three hours of uncertainty over the dark Atlantic with no radar to guide him. Former fighter pilot Dan Hampton reconstructs this death-defying journey hour by hour, drawing from Lindbergh's personal diary and writings. Hampton has flown this same route multiple times, bringing firsthand aviation knowledge to his account. The narrative moves between Lindbergh's cockpit and the ground below, weaving together the pilot's personal history with the stories of those waiting anxiously for news of his survival. This flight will either kill an unknown aviator or transform him overnight into the most famous pilot in history.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, aviation
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: based-on-true-events, death-defying, underdog
Setting: Atlantic Ocean, New York, Paris, Roosevelt Field
Period: 1927, 20th-century
Audio CD · HarperAudio