Book excerpt: Originally published in 1928, this is a biography of Colonel Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974), an aviation pioneer and hero of the times. Nicknamed “Slim,” “Lucky Lindy,” and “The Lone Eagle,” Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902-1974) emerged from virtual obscurity in 1927, at the age of 25, as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame as the result of his Orteig Prize-winning solo nonstop flight from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France. He flew the distance of nearly 3,600 statute miles (5,800 km) in a single-seat, single-engine, purpose-built Ryan monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis and became the 19th person to make a Transatlantic flight, the first being the Transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown from Newfoundland in 1919; however, Lindbergh’s flight was almost twice the distance. The record-setting flight took 33 1⁄2 hours and resulted in Lindbergh, a U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve officer, being awarded the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his historic exploit. Considered one of the most admired figures of his time, author Donald E. Keyhoe presents a clear picture of the life and times of this fascinating man. This work will catapult the reader into a feeling of journeying across the country with Lindbergh himself.