Books – The Pietist Schoolman

Lindbergh Updates: Reader Reviews, First Podcasts, and a Sept. 14 Book Talk

September 6, 2021

It’s been almost three weeks now since my biography of Charles Lindbergh hit shelves, and it’s been a pleasure to read the first reader reviews — all of which have been stellar. I was particularly tickled to find this plaudit from historian-journalist Daniel Silliman, who is currently writing a religious biography of Richard Nixon for … More Lindbergh Updates: Reader Reviews, First Podcasts, and a Sept. 14 Book Talk

The Impostor: Why I Wrote a Biography of Charles Lindbergh

August 16, 2021

Advance and preordered copies of the book have been circulating for a few weeks now, but tomorrow is still a big day for me: the official release of my spiritual biography of Charles Lindbergh. Five years after I first started toying with that idea, it’s beyond exciting to see the book come widely available. I’ve … More The Impostor: Why I Wrote a Biography of Charles Lindbergh

Why I Dedicated a Charles Lindbergh Biography to Dick Peterson

August 11, 2021

Last week I shared the acknowledgments section from my biography of Charles Lindbergh. Today, a few words about the dedication: In honor of another descendant of Swedish immigrants:Dick Peterson—for whom physics is an act of worship,whose career confirms Anne Lindbergh’s instinct that“the true scientist [is] akin to the artist and the saint,”whose life demonstrates that … More Why I Dedicated a Charles Lindbergh Biography to Dick Peterson

Acknowledgments from My Biography of Charles Lindbergh

August 2, 2021

As I did with my last two books on Pietism, I’m posting here the Acknowledgments section of my Charles Lindbergh biography. I suspect that many of those mentioned here have ordered the book anyway, but I never want people to have to spend money in order to receive thanks. I usually end this part of … More Acknowledgments from My Biography of Charles Lindbergh

Looking for a Lindbergh Launch Team

July 12, 2021

T-36 days until Charles Lindbergh: A Religious Biography of America’s Most Infamous Pilot hits shelves! If that excites you almost as much as it does me, to the extent that you want to help me get the word out about the book before and after it drops… I’m looking for some people to serve as … More Looking for a Lindbergh Launch Team

The First Lindbergh Review Is In…

June 10, 2021

We’re still two months away from publication, but Charles Lindbergh: A Religious Biography of America’s Most Infamous Pilot has its first review — and it’s a good one. Publishers Weekly calls the book “very convincing”: Using Lindbergh’s journals, writings, and public statements, Gehrz builds a thorough portrait of the aviator’s inner life, and the inclusion … More The First Lindbergh Review Is In…

What I’m Hoping to Read This Summer

June 3, 2021

Even as we start to get back to something like a pre-COVID normal, this summer I want to do even more of one of my chief pandemic hobbies: reading books. Here’s some of what’s on my reading list for the next three months. History Most of my more academic reading will be devoted to boning … More What I’m Hoping to Read This Summer

The Liberal Arts as “Breaking Bread with the Dead”

April 30, 2021

This week in our Intro to History class, my students and I read through the first half of Alan Jacobs’ Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind. He has at least four other books I’d rather teach — I spent a good ten minutes on Wednesday just reading aloud from … More The Liberal Arts as “Breaking Bread with the Dead”

Some Early Praise for My Lindbergh Biography…

April 22, 2021

I’ve read Charles Lindbergh: A Religious Biography of America’s Most Infamous Pilot several times now. Each pass through the manuscript leaves me with two, deeply Midwestern thoughts: “I think this turned out okay,” and “I wonder if anyone will like it.” So it’s always a relief and a terror to hear back from the first … More Some Early Praise for My Lindbergh Biography…

screen shot of my YouTube talk at Colonial Church on Charles Lindbergh

Watch My First Lindbergh Talk on YouTube

March 22, 2021

Thanks again to Christian Winn and the people of Colonial Church for hosting me last Thursday night as part of their Faith and Humanities series. It was my first time giving a talk on my spiritual biography of Charles Lindbergh, and I’m not sure it could have gone any better! The lecture itself took about … More Watch My First Lindbergh Talk on YouTube

The Pietist Schoolman

The website and blog of historian Chris Gehrz

Category: Books