Mighty Talks | A Convenient Villain

The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force’s monthly Mighty Talk series continue with A Convenient Villain: Charles A. Lindbergh’s remarkable and controversial legacy preparing the U.S. for war, with author Dr. Jonathan Reich, M.D. This program will take place on October 25th at 2:00 pm at the museum.

The program is free to the public, but please register at https://forms.gle/3Bccw7F3QCoipusD8

About the Book
Between 1936 and 1938, Charles Lindbergh made 3 public trips to Nazi Germany. The military intelligence he collected was not only provided to the U.S. military but also to U.S. manufacturers of airplanes and their components. Lindbergh’s consultation with U.S. airplane manufacturers was entirely at his own initiative and expense. This book is the first to document the specific intelligence he acquired and how this information won the war.

This book re-evaluates the life and legacy of one of the most enigmatic and important political figures of the 20th Century: Charles Lindbergh. Much of Lindbergh’s contribution to American preparatory air power prior to World War II and medicine of the 1930s is unknown. Using his aerospace engineering background, Dr. Reich combed through various archives to document these achievements. He also reviewed Lindbergh’s record opposing American entry into another European War to provide a new Jewish generational perspective on his advocacy and his conflict with American Jews.

About the Author
Jonathan D. Reich, M.D., is a cardiologist and faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine whose career has long been rooted in research. The author of numerous articles for medical journals, Reich turned his attention to historical research during the COVID-19 pandemic after reading A. Scott Berg’s Lindbergh.

Drawing on his research background and lifelong interest in aviation, Reich began an in-depth study of Charles Lindbergh, exploring the famed aviator’s complex legacy and contributions to aviation, medicine and American preparedness for World War II. His research culminated in A Convenient Villain: Charles A. Lindbergh’s Remarkable and Controversial Legacy Preparing the U.S. for War.