Choice Review
Finding Amelia is a new take on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart 70 years ago. Gillespie, an internationally recognized authority on the Earhart disappearance, bases his facts on new information uncovered by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery. It is a quick read, written in an informal style that manages to entertain and educate readers along the way about what is now thought to have happened, as well as refuting long-accepted facts and proving them false. The book is organized chronologically, going into detail about what led up to Earhart's flight and the flight itself, and then delving into the search and what has transpired since her disappearance. The author's opinions are very apparent in this narrative, and he goes off on many tangents while he tells his story. The best thing about this book is that the author makes no attempt to say that the mystery is now solved. He simply uses new information to clear up a few false perceptions and add some new "known" truths. For those interested in Earhart's disappearance and for history buffs, as well as for public libraries; the book is written at an undergraduate academic library level, and is well organized, well researched, and informative. ^BSumming Up: Optional. General readers; lower-division undergraduates. E. J. Barton Michigan State University
Library Journal Review
Unlike other, more speculative books on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, this premiere study by Gillespie (executive director, International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery) offers a mind-bogglingly detailed perspective on the 16-day attempt to save both the aviatrix and her navigator, Fred Noonan, following their downing near Howland Island in the Pacific. Despite the deployment of numerous auxiliary vessels, a battleship, and an aircraft carrier, the flight and resulting rescue effort were doomed, according to Gillespie, for numerous reasons. These include micromanaging by Earhart's husband as well as the White House, U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Department of Interior; Earhart's questionable airmanship; Earhart's and Noonan's inability to cope with Morse Code; and the loss of her plane's receiving antennae at takeoff on Lae, New Guinea. Gillespie suggests that Earhart may have set down on Gardner Island in the Pacific's Phoenix Group and lived well past her disappearance, but he offers no definitive evidence. Although this book is soundly researched, its highly technical style and scientific approach may be challenging to the casual reader. Recommended for aeronautical collections and large libraries. John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
