Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart (2011) by Candace Fleming is both a biography of Amelia Earhart and an investigation into her mysterious disappearance. The book alternates between two timelines: one tracing Earhart’s life from her childhood to her rise as a global aviation icon and the other following the hours and days after her final radio transmission during her flight over the Pacific in 1937.

This guide refers to the 2011 Schwartz & Wade print edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, addiction, substance use, and gender discrimination.

Summary

In Amelia Lost, Fleming recounts the life of Amelia Earhart while unraveling the mystery of her final flight. The book opens with Earhart’s last known radio transmissions in July 1937, setting the stage for a story that moves between past and present. These opening chapters highlight the technical challenges of her final journey and the confusion, missed signals, and rising fear as her plane vanished over the Pacific.

The narrative shifts to Earhart’s early life. Fleming shows how Earhart, even as a young girl, resisted expectations placed on women. Whether climbing trees or building backyard roller coasters, she chased freedom and adventure from an early age. Her home life was often unstable because of her father’s alcoholism and financial trouble. These experiences shaped her independence and self-reliance.

From the start of her flying career, Earhart understood the power of image. With George Putnam as her publicist and later her husband, Earhart navigated the press, endorsements, and public appearances with calculated effort. She was not always the most skilled pilot, but she knew how to make herself visible in a male-dominated field. Together, she and Putnam made choices that helped build her fame, even if it meant pushing others aside.

Fleming traces Earhart’s rise through key milestones. Earhart’s transatlantic flight in 1928 made her a household name, despite the fact that she was a passenger, not a pilot. Determined to earn the praise she received, she pursued more ambitious goals. Her solo flight across the Atlantic in 1932 cemented her place in history. She became the first woman to complete the crossing alone.

As the 1930s progressed, Earhart kept flying. She broke records, crossed oceans, and took on flights that others considered too dangerous. However, the pressure to stay relevant was constant. Her most ambitious project, a flight around the world along the equator, came at a time when the public had started to lose interest in stunt flying. With funding from Purdue University and help from government and corporate supporters, Earhart acquired a new plane and began planning what would be her final journey.

Earhart had little time to train with her radio equipment, and her understanding of the technology was incomplete. Her first attempt in March 1937 ended in a crash during takeoff. After repairing the plane, she launched a second attempt that summer. The trip progressed smoothly through South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. She and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were nearing the final stretch when they vanished over the Pacific on July 2.

The book closes with the search efforts that followed. Naval ships and aircraft scoured the ocean, while radio operators and ordinary people reported faint signals that were never confirmed. One teenage girl in Florida claimed to hear Earhart’s voice on her family’s radio, but officials dismissed her notes. As days passed and no trace of the plane was found, the search was eventually called off.