Review: East To The Dawn: The Life Of Amelia Earhart

East To The Dawn: The Life Of Amelia Earhart East To The Dawn: The Life Of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book two two reasons: Secondly, I was tasked with a biography for the 2016 Goodreads Read Harder Challenge; Firstly, I own "The Sound of Wings" by Mary Lovell but haven't been able to convince myself to continue it, though I really liked it when I started it in May 2014.

"East to Dawn" is interesting, providing a wide view lens on Amelia and her life, motivations, and background. Some of the technical details made the reading dry at times, and I was thankful to be reading it by audiobook, though the calm and not-quite-monotone voice of the narrator didn't help in those dry spots. (She did have good enthusiasm at times, but what altogether reserved.)

This book has me curious to read Eleanor Roosevelt's autobiography (due to their relationship in the book). I also wonder if the The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR)'s 2015-2016 work on what they think is the remains of Earhart and her plane, will make it into any revised edition in the future. I found some of the speculations on her disappearance, presented at the end of the book, to be very interesting, as the world seems to as well. The narrator white-knuckles the reader through the play-by-play of disappearance and search, and swoops perfectly into these speculations. A good job on her part.

So, while it might be a bit of a challenge in pacing, I do recommend this book. I can't say it would have been better or worse than "Sound of Wings", but it was the one I was able to find on audiobook (a Must for me, at this time in my life).

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