Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Amelia Earhart's Hard Bargain
She'll always be an true American darling and her country's First Lady of the Air. She may have been a mediocre pilot but she was as bold and determined an aviatrix as there's ever been. Now it turns out she was also something of a wild child. Here is a letter setting out her prenuptial terms to publisher and eventual husband, George Palmer Putnam.
Hey, as a huge Amelia fan, I hope no one is portraying this as new information? It's been known and published for many decades. I keep an excerpt of this letter on wall beside my computer monitor. It's a touchstone for me.
ReplyDeleteShe was not mediocre, by any means. She was way more skilled and talented than Lindbergh, among others.
To learn more about Earhart, I highly recommend the book "Still Missing," by Susan Ware.
I'm with you on everything, Laura, except for her flying skills. I've read quite a bit suggesting she wasn't a particularly good pilot and had a poor grasp of risk management. Brave, absolutely, and fiercely determined. I know from personal experience those are two qualities that can lead to radically different outcomes at any given time.
ReplyDeleteAmelia, it was just a false alarm.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6d2RG2Rl64
Well, I've read a lot that says otherwise. :) Many modern aviators believe she was one of the most talented and highly skilled of all time.
ReplyDeleteI also love the link with Joni. Too of my great idols.
Let's be frank here...or politically not correct as is want for some ...why is it people have to find a negative about people who were or are intelligent, adventurous and brave? Even if she wasn't a particularly good pilot, she showed other women what they can achieve regarding flying and other skills.
ReplyDeleteI guess what bothers me about Earhart is the role her publisher husband played in promoting her and how she eclipsed and consigned into obscurity a number of really amazing American female aviators. There's no arguing that Earhart was brave but she was also a showboat.
ReplyDeletewas brave but she was also a showboat. As are many arrogant people who have money enough.
ReplyDelete