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Atlantic Fever

Lindbergh, His Competitors, and the Race to Cross the Atlantic
Feb 06, 2018CraigRuane rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Curiously unsatisfying book. Written in a breezy style, at odds with the topic. Non fiction, with that annoying method of not really end noting things. By that I mean, there are no end notes noted in the text, but there are several pages of notes at the end, which are referenced by a brief quote from the page. If it's worth noting, tell your reader! Marred by sloppy proof reading (I very much doubt a rate of climb of several hundred feet a second, claimed for one heavily laden aircraft. Per minute perhaps). Despite claiming to be an account of Lindbergh and his competitors in the race for the Orteig prize, there is a distinct lack of photographs of the aircraft themselves (and there must be plenty of photographs in the public domain). The mention of previous Atlantic crossings is sketchy. The US Navy expedition (first to cross, albeit with several stops) is mentioned but with little details, and a reference to the aircraft as "Nancy's" appears to be a reference to the nickname given to the Curtis NC-4 flying boats. Alcock and Brown (first to cross non stop) are mentioned only in passing. The R-34 airship (the first aircraft to cross east to west, and the first to make a return trip is not mentioned at all, yet all these crossing preceded that of Lindbergh. More space is given to subsequent successful and unsuccessful crossings.