Laurie Gwen Shapiro
From the publisher
The riveting and cinematic story of a partnership that would change the world forever
In 1928, a young social worker and hobby pilot named Amelia Earhart arrived in the office of George Putnam, heir to the Putnam & Sons throne and hitmaker, on the hunt for the right woman for a secret flying mission across the Atlantic. A partnership—professional and soon otherwise—was born.
The Aviator and the Showman unveils the untold story of Amelia’s decade-long marriage to George Putnam, offering an intimate exploration of their relationship and the pivotal role it played in her enduring legacy. Despite her outwardly modest and humble image, Amelia was fiercely driven and impossibly brave, a lifelong feminist and trailblazer in her personal and professional life. Putnam, the so-called “PT Barnum of publishing” was a bookselling visionary—but often pushed his authors to extreme lengths in the name of publicity, and no one bore that weight more than Amelia. Their ahead-of-its time partnership supported her grand ambitions—but also pressed her into more and more treacherous stunts to promote her books, influencing a certain recklessness up to and including her final flight.
Earhart is a captivating figure to many, but the truth about her life is often overshadowed by myth and legend. In this cinematic new account, Laurie Gwen Shapiro emphasizes Earhart’s multifaceted human side, her struggles, and her authentic aspirations, the truths behind her brave pursuits and the compromises she made to fit into societal expectations. Drawing from a trove of new sources including undiscovered audio interviews, The Aviator and the Showman is a gripping and passionate tale of adventure, colorful characters, hubris, and a complex and a vivid portrait of a marriage that shaped the trajectory of an iconic life.
Reviews
“The Aviator and the Showman is a lavish, layered narrative, a primer on early aviation and the transition of publishing from genteel carriage trade to an industry increasingly reliant on blockbusters…[the book] reveals the magnitude of our celebrity worship, the wonder of what we don’t understand. Shapiro captures the thrill of a leap into the unknown, recalling the works of Jon Krakauer and Sebastian Junger.” —Hamilton Cain, LA Times
“[A]n eye-opening look into the lives of a Jazz Age power couple and their dangerous flirtation with fame. She exposes all sides of their interlocking personalities, virtues and failings. This is an exciting, well-written account that offers new insight into a historical figure many people think they know, but really don’t.” —The Washington Post
“Offers an account of the famous pilot’s marriage to George Putnam . . . both a romantic and mutually beneficial professional relationship in the six years leading up to her death.” —People
“Shapiro reveals in painstaking detail that Earhart’s storied career did indeed involve many reckless and publicity-seeking adventures, largely thanks to the near-depraved ambitions of her husband and Pygmalion-like manager, the publisher George P. Putnam.” —The New York Times Book Review
“This biography of Amelia Earhart was complex, scintillating and delicious. Loved it!” —Raquel Laneri
“As Laurie Gwen Shapiro, a journalist and filmmaker, shows . . . this free spirit owed much of her success to the complicated ministrations of a man.” —Wall Street Journal
“As Laurie Gwen Shapiro reveals in a new biography, there’s a lot about [Earhart] that we don’t know . . . Shapiro’s 450-page tome paints a more complicated portrait of the pilot — specifically through the lens of her controversial relationship with her manager, publisher and (eventual) husband, George Putnam. “ —New York Post
“An exciting new book . . . that has already created a buzz.” —Chicago Tribune
“The book isn’t a dry biography or a rote retelling of history. It’s a narrative in full, one alive with character and tension. A story with stakes… That is what Shapiro has so masterfully done in this book.” —Molly Cotner, Pueblo Star Journal
“Shapiro’s meticulous research and gripping storytelling make this not just a biography, but a revelation—an entirely new understanding of how Earhart constructed her own myth and why, nearly a century later, her name still resonates as powerfully as ever.” —The Atchison Globe
“Laurie Gwen Shapiro has dug deep into the archives, and emerged with an exhilarating tale of the adventurous life of Amelia Earhart and the remarkable relationship that helped to forge her legend. Yet Shapiro goes even further–stripping away the myths and revealing something far more profound and intricate and true. The Aviator and the Showman is one terrific book.” —David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon
“This profoundly researched, gripping journey is a must read. Filled with stunning details of the courageous life of feminist adventurer, politically radical, and generous social worker Amelia Earhart, as well as her self-serving promoter husband, and their networks of friends and allies, The Aviator and the Showman is captivating and heartening.” —Blanche Wiesen Cook, New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1-3
“I thought I understood the story of Amelia Earhart. I could not have been more wrong. As Shapiro proves in this irresistible book, the full tale is so much more thrilling, inspiring, and outrageous than even the most ardent fan might imagine. Read it. It is a wild ride!” —Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of River of the Gods
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[Broadcast on July 31, 2025; recorded earlier.]