A Convenient Villain: Charles A. Lindbergh’s remarkable and controversial legacy preparing the U.S. for war Paperback – January 9, 2024

How does a medical man write a book like this? Jon Reich is an incredible author and historian. What a terrific read and quite the eye opener.

Starting this book, all I knew about Charles Lindberg was that he flew a plan across the Atlantic and lost a son to a kidnap-murder. While true, these trite facts say nothing about who he was or what he did. This eye-opening, fascinating, and heavily-researched book reveals far more about a true American hero.This book shows how Lindberg made huge contributions to the Allied cause in World War 2-- a war he desperately wanted to keep the US out of, but nonetheless made a huge contribution as a pilot and war consultant. He invented an artificial heart pump, made countless contributions to aviation engineering, and essentially invented the science of high-altitude medicine. His efforts directly saved countless lives and shortened the war.Like all heros, Lindberg had his flaws. His outspoken criticism of people he perceived as drawing us into war earned him the enmity of President Roosevelt. Although his overall legacy shows a great respect for Jews, he clung to a moral false equivalency that supports some people's belief that he was a Nazi sympathizer. But was he really? Read the book, and you can decide for yourself.I was unexpectedly drawn into the life and thinking of Charles Lindberg by reading this fascinating book. But there's more, here, too -- tangential excursions into the engineering of military planes, a thoughtful exposition on what it means to be an anti-semite, and new historical context about American attitudes heading into World War 2. There's a lot here for any history buff to enjoy, and some new ideas to challenge what you think you know.