"GRIPPING. ... AN HOUR-BY-HOUR ACCOUNT." — WALL STREET JOURNAL • From one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history comes a masterful account of Lindbergh’s death-defying nonstop transatlantic flight in Spirit of St. Louis
On the rainy morning of May 20, 1927, a little-known American pilot named Charles A. Lindbergh climbed into his single-engine monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, and prepared to take off from a small airfield on Long Island, New York. Despite his inexperience—the twenty-five-year-old Lindbergh had never before flown over open water—he was determined to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize promised since 1919 to the first pilot to fly nonstop between New York and Paris, a terrifying adventure that had already claimed six men’s lives. Ahead of him lay a 3,600-mile solo journey across the vast north Atlantic and into the unknown; his survival rested on his skill, courage, and an unassuming little aircraft with no front window.
Only 500 people showed up to see him off. Thirty-three and a half hours later, a crowd of more than 100,000 mobbed Spirit as the audacious young American touched down in Paris, having acheived the seemingly impossible. Overnight, as he navigated by the stars through storms across the featureless ocean, news of his attempt had circled the globe, making him an international celebrity by the time he reached Europe. He returned to the United States a national hero, feted with ticker-tape parades that drew millions, bestowed every possible award from the Medal of Honor to Time’s "Man of the Year" (the first to be so named), commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp within months, and celebrated as the embodiment of the twentieth century and America’s place in it.
Acclaimed aviation historian Dan Hampton’s The Flight is a long-overdue, flyer’s-eye narrative of Lindbergh’s legendary journey. A decorated fighter pilot who flew more than 150 combat missions in an F-16 and made numerous transatlantic crossings, Hampton draws on his unique perspective to bring alive the danger, uncertainty, and heroic accomplishment of Lindbergh’s crossing. Hampton’s deeply researched telling also incorporates a trove of primary sources, including Lindbergh’s own personal diary and writings, as well as family letters and untapped aviation archives that fill out this legendary story as never before.
Author Info
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986–2006) in the United States Air Force. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School, USN Top Gun School (TOGS), and USAF Special Operations School. A frequent guest analyst on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC discussing foreign affairs, military, aviation, and intelligence issues, he has published in Aviation History, the Journal of Electronic Defense, Air Force Magazine, Vietnam magazine, and Airpower magazine, and written several classified tactical works for the USAF Weapons Review. He is the author of the national bestsellers Viper Pilot and Lords of the Sky, as well as a novel, The Mercenary.
Reviews
“Hampton’s soaring Flight goes in the cockpit with Lindbergh. ... An engrossing account. ... Hampton is a voice of expertise in the air. ... [A] well-crafted tale of adventure.” — USA Today
“Outstanding. ... Riveting. ... Recommended. ... A painstaking account [that] succeeds in placing readers in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis. .” — Library Journal (starred review)
“Often referred to as the deadliest F-16 pilot, outspoken bestselling author Dan Hampton is back ... with his upcoming book about Charles Lindbergh’s historic voyage—aptly titled The Flight. ... Hampton wrote one of the best air-combat memoirs of all time, Viper Pilot.” — Tyler Rogoway, TheDrive.com
“Gripping. ... An hour-by-hour account of the Lone Eagle’s grueling passage through the thunderstorms and ice clouds of the North Atlantic. ... Hampton is just the talent to rescue Lindbergh from neglect.” — Rinker Buck, Wall Street Journal
“Vivid. … Offer[s] a cockpit’s-eye view of the flight. This you-are-there perspective effectively evokes the tension, risk, and skill involved, from the moment Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field, crosses the coast of Newfoundland, and soars alone into the night above the roiling sea.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Delivers an ‘in-the-cockpit’ account of Charles Lindbergh’s first transatlantic flight from New York to Paris.” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“For those wanting to read about the legendary journey in the style of an expertly crafted modern suspense thriller, Hampton’s book delivers.” — Aviation History
