Come Fly the World

Glamour, danger, liberation: in a Mad Menera ofcommercial flight, Pan AmWorldAirways attractedthekind of young woman who wanted out, and wanted up Required to have a college education, speak two languages, and possessthepolitical savvy of a Foreign Service officer,ajet-age stewardessserving on iconic Pan Am between 1966 and 1975 also had to be between 53 and 59, between 105 and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of ageatthetime of hire.Cooke's intimate storytelling weaves togetherthereal-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 oftherelatively few Black stewardesses oftheera, asthey embracedtheliberation oftheir new jet-set life. Cooke brings to lightthestory of Pan Am stewardesses' role intheVietnam War, astheairline added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for planeloads of weary young soldiers straight fromthebattlefields, who were off for five days of R&R, andthen flownback to war. Finally, with Operation Babyliftthedramatic evacuation of 2,000 children duringthefall of Saigonthebook's special cast of stewardesses unites to play an extraordinary role ontheworldstage.