BOOK REVIEW
Welcome aboard and buckle up … This book is a fantastic ride
By Terri Schlichenmeyer Syndicated Book Reviewer
Table trays in the upright position .
You aren ’ t getting off the tarmac until that happens . Also , pay attention : there are lights down the aisle along the floor , and exits above each wing . Masks will drop down , in case of loss of oxygen ; put your mask on before assisting others . In “ Come Fly the World ” by Julia Cooke , you ’ re in for a trip back in time .
Lynne Totten had a biology degree , but she saw the future and it wasn ’ t good .
It was the mid-1960s and women with a degree like hers might work as an assistant or a teacher , but never as someone in charge of a laboratory . As a voracious newspaper reader , though , Lynne eventually realized that there was “ a whole world out there ” that she could explore and get paid for it . She set aside biology and became a stewardess . Karen Walker was an experienced traveler when she signed up to work at Pan Am at the advanced age of 26 , which was at the top of the age-limit for stewardesses ; they also had height limits and regular weigh-ins , regulation hair styles , and mandatory attendance at make-up classes in stewardess school in Miami . Foremost , stewardesses at Pan Am and most other airlines then were required to be unmarried .
Hazel Bowie of Mankato , Minnesota , took advantage of new airline rules : as a Black woman , Pan Am ’ s reach for diversity fit her career goals . Clare Christiansen had volunteered for duty on a shuttle service to and from Vietnam that Pan Am offered through the U . S . Government ; such assignments were another step on a carefully-planned career ladder . Torild “ Tori ” Werner , who grew up in Oslo , Norway , likewise set her sights on management but first , she also volunteered for similar shuttle duty for U . S . soldiers arriving and departing from Vietnam .
And in the spring of 1975 , three of these women went to Vietnam for one final time ...
If you separate “ Come Fly the World ” into two different camps – which may be difficult , since the book as a whole is pretty excellent – you ’ ll see that there really are two parts to it : the story of five women at Pan Am , and the story of women in the 1960s .
On one hand , author Julia Cooke tells the tales of Lynne , Karen , Clare , Tori , and Hazel , why they decided to become stewardesses ( a word that fits the timeframe ) and what their experiences were on the job . In addition to those anecdotes , most of Cooke ’ s subjects seized adventure and cheap off-duty travel , which also gives this book a hint of travelogue but with less romance and more practicality . Then there ’ s the trip back to the years 1965 to 1975 , the crazy music ; the wild clothes ; and the lawsuits brought to give women the right to get a credit card , hold a job while married , and to work while pregnant .
Be aware that there ’ s no Coffee , Tea , or Me ? in this book ; instead , it ’ s Mad Men meets a glass ceiling , and destroys it . So grab “ Come Fly the World ” and buckle in .
“ Come Fly the World : The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am ” by Julia Cooke , 288 pages , c . 2021 , HMH Books , $ 28 .
• Terri Schlichenmeyer of The Bookworm Sez is a self-syndicated book review columnist . Schlichenmeyer ’ s reviews include adult and children books of every genre . You may contact her at bookwormsez @ yahoo . com www . meridianstar . com
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