Come Fly The World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am

Glamour, danger, liberation: in a Mad Men–era of commercial flight, Pan Am World Airways attracted the kind of young woman who wanted out, and wanted up Required to have a college education, speak two languages, and possess the political savvy of a Foreign Service officer, a jet-age stewardess serving on iconic Pan Am between 1966 and 1975 also had to be between 5′3″ and 5′9″, between 105 and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of age at the time of hire.Cooke’s intimate storytelling weaves together the real-life stories of a memorable cast of characters, from small-town girl Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few Black stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of their new jet-set life. Cooke brings to light the story of Pan Am stewardesses’ role in the Vietnam War, as the airline added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for planeloads of weary young soldiers straight from the battlefields, who were off for five days of R&R, and then flown back to war. Finally, with Operation Babylift—the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon—the book’s special cast of stewardesses unites to play an extraordinary role on the world stage. 

This is an affiliate website. A small portion of the proceeds from purchases made through these links go toward Literary Aviatrix at no additional cost to you.

About the Author

Author Image

Related Books

B615147A-CF60-4610-90CA-17E81AEDFE10
35E4F9DC-282E-4333-B546-C188EE9F80B7_4_5005_c
6EDE56E2-97AF-4656-A05D-2FABD67F80FF
EBD6D780-E227-4FB3-BFC1-BFFF1E0317E2
632245AA-1781-4D95-9133-45C2D91371C2
41htp9ndxoL-2