A Review of Mary Lovell's "The Sound of Wings"

Paper Summary:

In this review of Mary S. Lovell's book, "The Sound of Wings", the writer suggests that Lovell is not so much interested in Amelia Earhart's aviation career and accomplishments, but rather in the developing cult of personality in America of the 1920s. The reviewer describes Lovell's treatment of Earhart's relationship with her husband, George Palmer Putman, and his impact on her career. Furthermore, the writer suggests that by concentrating on Earhart's relationship with her husband and his attempts to promote her for commercial reasons, and by not examining her contributions to the development of aviation, Lovell denigrates Earhart's legacy.

From the Paper:

"Lovell's work chronicles the evolving implications of Amelia Earhart's husband George Palmer Putnam on her career. Putnam emerges in the text as a pure showman, eventually divorcing his first wife, heir to the Crayola empire, to pursue a more lucrative career exploiting Earhart's supposed technical prowess at an aircraft's controls. In fact, Lovell suggests that even before Earhart became an aviatrix, Lovell had already begun to pen the supposed autobiography of Amelia's first flight, which would propel her to world fame. After gaining fame as a pioneer of women's liberation, Earhart was called to speak to countless audiences, and became a tireless endorser of everything from cigarettes to clothes."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Lovell, Mary S. The Sound of Wings. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989

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