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"Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart" by Candace Fleming

Author:

Candace Fleming

Publisher:

Schwartz and Wade Books

Reviewed by:

Sandy Brehl

Fleming, Candace.Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Schwartz and Wade Books (Random House Books), 2011

Fleming leads readers on a surprising path to the truth behind Amelia’s winning smile and curly bob despite the iconic cover photo and unsurprising title of her new book. Including the fact that Amelia’s curls were not natural, as she often claimed, we find countless examples of Earhart’s efforts to develop and maintain a public persona as heroine/aviatrix, “otherwise flying opportunities will stop rolling in,” (her own words). Fleming plumbs reliable sources to correct misconceptions and shed new light on one of our brightest stars of the twentieth century while maintaining an objective tone.

Revealed through intriguing specifics, from her birth to her disappearance, Amelia becomes much more than a mythologized cardboard figure. Aspects of self-promotion and some “not very nice” decisions on the part of Amelia and her promoter/husband George Putnam enrich our understanding of her many passions: for flight, breaking barriers, risk-taking, and reaching her full potential. Exploring her many dimensions allows readers a broader perspective of the role Amelia played in the advance of aviation and women in American society. Fatal flaws leading to her disappearance (impulsivity, over-confidence, and tunnel vision among them) serve to humanize Earhart.

Amelia’s experiences as a social worker, advertiser, competitor, and clothing designer will come as a surprise to most readers. Other worthy players in the development and popularizing of aviation are given due credit, their points of view providing insight to Amelia’s choices. The intense efforts to locate her lost plane are revealed with enough suspense to engender a sense of possibility for success despite our knowledge of history.

Fleming’s thoughtfully structured depiction of Amelia’s life and disappearance is artfully interwoven with photographic images and artifacts in a book design that effectively balances the story of Amelia’s life with the story of the mystery. Opening in 1937 on the Coast Guard cutter Itaska in the middle of the Pacific, the reader waits on board with the crew for a call from Amelia indicating she is nearing a landing at tiny Howland Island on a runway constructed just for her. Chapters concerning the hours and days of waiting, hoping, and ultimate failure are described in detail on gray-toned paper in alternating chapters. As Amelia’s complex life unfolds in anecdotes, photos, quotations, and richly documented details on traditional white pages, the reader is repeatedly returned in time to the gray pages, revealing the tantalizing and intricate aspects of Amelia’s disappearance.

From the cautionary forward (Don’t believe everything you read- dig for the truth) to the annotated bibliography, source notes by chapter, reliable web sources, and index, Fleming has created a profile built on solid research, primary sources, and a healthy dose of accuracy. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart is a clear-eyed and compellingly suspenseful presentation of a remarkable American woman. Candace Fleming’s well-earned reputation for meticulous detail, exhaustive research, and superb storytelling continues unblemished in this blend of biography and true-life mystery.For an interesting comparison/contrast you might want to also see Burleigh, Robert. Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic. Simon & Schuster: New York, 2011.

Readers: age 10 and up.

Sandy Brehl, UWM Education Outreach

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