The Lindbergh Syndrome

by Mills, Robert Lockwood

• ISBN13: 9781587364730
• ISBN10: 1587364735
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-30
• Publisher: Fenestra Books

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	9	(2)
Preface	11	(6)
Introduction	17	(6)
PART ONE: THE POLITICAL FACTOR
History Abhors a Vacuum	23	(12)
You Are There (CBS TV, 1953-57)
Lindbergh's flight not included among great moments of history
was his past media treatment the reason?
Introduction of French aviators Nungesser and Coli, who competed with Lindbergh in trans-Atlantic race
We're Number One	35	(10)
Political background to race for the Orteig Prize
Franco-American tensions, a hangover from World War I
Harding's 1920 call for ``not heroes, but healing''
American emphasis on ``winning'' and how it affected Lindbergh-the-celebrity, as distinct from Lindbergh-the-hero
The Lone-Wolf Pack	45	(18)
Solitary heroes more likely to become celebrities, paradoxically
Lindbergh's life as lone wolf analyzed
He directs investigation of son's kidnapping, thereby compromising justice
Nazi period, America First, feud with FDR
PART TWO: THE MEDIA FACTOR
From Salem to San Simeon	63	(24)
History of newspapers since 1690
Press creates heroes but reflects editor's bias
Exegesis of ``media event,'' an overused but misunderstood term
Study of press tactics and effect on history
Hearst/Spanish-American War, tabloid media/Lindbergh, Citizen Kane/Patty Hearst
From Versailles to V-J Day	87	(8)
Radio in the 1920s, a visual decade to which it was ill suited
FDR's fireside chats make radio, and make FDR a hero
Effect of radio on isolationistic United States pre-World War II (Lindbergh/America First vs. Edward R. Murrow) radio exaggerates Lindbergh's image as disloyal American
From McCarthy to Murdoch	95	(18)
Would Lindbergh's flight have been the same if TV had been around?
20 biggest TV stories in history and how TV creates celebrities from some heroes but not others
The consumer virus and why TV prefers bad news (and TV's impact on study of history)
Nixon/Kennedy debates
McLuhan (``We are what we behold''; ``Medium is message'')
PART THREE: THE CYCLICAL FACTOR
Tom Sawyer Saw It Coming	113	(12)
Gilded Age concept introduced
Mark Twain and the (First) Gilded Age (1865--1877)
Common threads between all Gilded Ages listed
First illustration of how heroes (and anti-heroes) become celebrities in a Gilded Age
U. S. Grant, George A. Custer, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok
Anti-intellectualism, tolerance for financial scandals
No Heroes Need Apply	125	(12)
Roaring Twenties (Second Gilded Age)
Effect of Harding's`` ...not heroes, but healing'' and `` ...return to normalcy'' (but what is normal?)
Post-World War I mistreatment of Reds/immigrants/anarchists compared to post-Civil War mistreatment of Rebel ``traitors'' (Palmer/Stanton)
``Monkey Trial''
Era of mindless frivolity, escapism
Lindbergh's flight proves aviation not a science in 1920s, only entertainment
A Different Kind of Gilded Age	137	(22)
Post-World War II (Third Gilded Age)
Communists again targeted even though Germany had been the enemy in world war
War heroes honored, lead family values paradigm of ``hear no evil'' combined with TV escapism
McCarthyism and intolerance for dissent
Sheppared case proves press' obsession with sex and tabloid mentality in a Gilded Age
Quiz shows scandals demonstrate Gilded Age gullibility and tolerance for financial excess (Charles Lindbergh/Charles Van Doren)
A New, Improved Gilded Age	159	(34)
1982--2001 (Fourth Gilded Age)
Reaganomics
Effect of post-Vietnam, post-Watergate cynicism on politics
Wall Street secrecy prevails in 1980s in ways never explained before, enabling bubble market of late '90s
Who was the hero between Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill?
CNBC-TV's contribution to the bubble market
Bear market, 9/11, terrorism
PART FOUR: TWENTIETH-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES
A Sometimes Grand Canyon	193	(14)
Ticker-tape parades in New York since 1899
Politics impacts selection process of honorees, distorts heroism as it had been understood before twentieth century
Celebrities, not real heroes, have dominated Canyon of Heroes
Lindy and Lady Lindy	207	(14)
Lindbergh/Amelia Earhart
Aviation purist vs. hobbyist
Media impact upon public acceptance of each as hero or celebrity (Earhart married to publisher, Lindbergh hates media)
Theories of Amelia's demise
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery's search for both Amelia and Nungesser/Coli
Epilogue: An Un-gilded Future?	221	(4)
Index	225