On May 21, 1927, in Paris, Charles Lindbergh alighted from his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and entered history as the first person to complete a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic. Now, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Lindbergh's New York–Paris flight and the 100th anniversary of his birth, comes a fascinating new look at Lindbergh's life and the feat that made him an instant legend the world over. The authors, both curators at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, stress the degree to which Lindbergh's achievement was grounded in his sophisticated grasp of aviation technology and his superb skills as a pilot. Illustrated with newly taken color photographs of the airplane—one of the most precious artifacts in the entire museum—and archival photographs of Lindbergh throughout his life, this gripping account bursts with the excitement of the early, pioneering days of aviation.