Lost: Amelia Earhart's Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life

“If the Electra is ever found at the bottom of the Pacific or if bones are discovered on Nikumaroro or anywhere else, what will that tell us? That Noonan and Earhart suffered fear and pain in their last moments, that they knew irrevocably that they would never reach home, that their flight had come to an end. The mystery of their deaths may be resolved, but the deaths themselves won’t. Sudden deaths never are, as survivors know to their sorrow…” Lost tells the story of Amelia Earhart’s life, careers, and flights. Interspersed with chapters about Earhart’s life, Hartigan takes readers over the various investigations into her disappearance and the people who have dedicated their time to searching. This is the best book about Amelia Earhart I have read so far! The previous books I have read have only wanted to discuss her last flight and the search for it, but this mainly focuses on Amelia, which I loved. I learned so much about her life from this. She fought for women's rights, she put off marriage until she found a man who accepted her for her, and she had so many other careers besides a pilot. She was such a fascinating woman and it’s sad that she is only really remembered for her last flight. This book was part biography and part investigation into her disappearance. Hartigan weaved Amelia’s life and flights with current investigations into what happened to her and Fred Noonan. The main focus is the three main theories (or deaths as the title calls them): they ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean, they landed on an island and died as castaways, and that they were captured by the Japanese and either executed or recruited as spies. Hartigan does a great job at explaining these three theories and the investigations they have spawned. Overall, this was a fantastic look at an amazing woman. I loved learning about Amelia’s life and flights. I also enjoyed learning about the investigations and how they work because there were a lot of techniques that I never would have thought about to search for evidence. I highly recommend this book if you want a book that centers on Amelia herself, not just her last flight.

Many of us grew up in the earlier period of space travel when astronauts were pioneers. This created an exciting taste for adventure and reaching beyond what was then possible. Amelia Earhart was one of those who bravely went where no woman had gone before; a pioneer not unlike modern space travelers. She dared to push boundaries that would help usher in the age of international airline travel. Of note is that, although this was a civilian undertaking, the government played several roles. It provided a Coast Guard ship to support navigation and communication for her planned stop at Howland Island before the final two legs to Hawaii then on to Oakland, CA. When she didn’t arrive at Howland, the Navy launched a massive search and rescue operation. Hartigan does a good job portraying three possible outcomes of Earhart’s final flight. The chapters alternate between these three scenarios and an enlightening biography of Earhart’s life. This is a fascinating account of Earhart’s life and what might have happened to her, which lets the reader imagine which outcome is the most likely. Thank you to National Geographic and NetGalley for providing this e-galley.