Are you traveling for the holidays? Read this book before you do. It's a perfect lead-in to a flight, especially if you hadn't flown in a while (thanks COVID), like me.

Not a broad spectrum look at flight attendants (nee stewardesses), this book is specifically about PanAm, the first (and only) international-only airline. The only domestic flights it had were between the West Coast and Hawaii. The glamour of the early days, with the sharp uniforms and the lounge area on the airplane, was well before my time, but even in hindsight it does sound nice (albeit super sexist). And from there the book goes on to the 1960s, integration, and the Vietnam war. The war was particularly important and interesting as PanAm was commissioned to fly soldiers to and from Vietnam, both to and from home (the United States) and also other cities for R&R. The soldiers were often injured, drugged out, exhausted, and young. Some flight attendants had a hard time handling it, but most did their job, as crazy as it sometimes was, to the best they could--and they never got any hazard pay! They could have been shot down and they were issued ID that said they were military so they'd be treated according to the Geneva Convention, although they weren't sure it would be honored.

After the war was over, a lot of the flight attendants were burnt out, and didn't see the point of ferrying around tourists and families anymore. A new crop of mostly women joined up, although the book does follow about 10 women in particular. My favorite story was about a man spotting one of the stewardesses reading a scientific journal and questioned why she wasn't reading a fashion magazine. Well, she had a Master's degree in science, and she pointed out to him that the majority of that crew had advanced degrees. As a whole, flight attendants in general were much more highly educated than the general public, and PanAm's in particular, where a second or even third or fourth language was critical, were the most educated of all.

The book follows through to the end of PanAm, so it stops well shy of the present day. But I certainly paid extra attention to the flight crew on my next flights--to their uniforms and what they did, and I made a point to say "thank you" when I left. I will never take them for granted again. A great read, especially for people who travel and fly a lot.

I borrowed this digital audiobook from Libby/Overdrive through my local library.

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