Come Fly the World

The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am

By: Julia Cooke

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

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.

©2021 Julia Cooke (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

X-Flight Attendant

I worked for World Airways beginning in 1966 and continued to work in this profession for the next 17 years, left the job in 1982. This book brought back memories of Vietnam flights, wounded soldiers, and the places we flew. I had so many adventures, some good, some not so good, but all part of the experience. When I took my first flight we were weighed in, had to remain within 5pounds of our hiring weight, if we were not we were sent home until the weight was lost, had to be single with no children, you were forced to retire at age 30, then the union came in and everything changed for the better. This book covered a lot of what we went through in those early days, well done! Overall it was a wonderful experience and I am a different and better person because of it, I totally enjoyed the book as it mirror’s my own experience. I was also an RN and worked in that profession until I retired 2 years ago, thanks for the interesting read!

Rather dull

The history especially women’s history was very interesting. Many of the stories seemed like filler and made the book tedious and dull to me

A little bit dry.

A lot less history of the PNM corporation and more experiences of the flight attendants who flew for the airline. It’s a nice insightful view. It’s really pretty dry listening to. A little bit disjointed, but in the end it all kind of comes together. It’s OK.

Good Read

So much fun!! Very interesting great story!!! Love the 70s vibes........ Fun to hear about how. Glamorous life use to be!!!!

Fantastic!

I cannot recommend this enough! A absolute must read. I Loved every minute of it

I Flew the World

As the daughter of a travel agent and a National/Pan Am agent, I did fly the world as a child. This book took me back to some of those experiences and destinations, as well as opening my eyes to the social issues through the decades. Not fathoming sexism at all, my sister and I would go from gate to gate trying to see the girls' names on the National planes in the 1970's. I enjoyed hearing the different life stories of each stewardess, too. Now, please buckle your seat belts, put your seats and tray tables in the upright and locked positions, and prepare for takeoff!

What a surprisingly great book!

I was expecting a slightly more sophisticated version of "Coffee, Tea. or Me". What I got was lessons in history, feminism, world culture, and aviation. Pan Am was different. This book explains how very different and intergral to the history and culture of the last half of the 20th century it was. Highly recommend!

Brilliant!

That was entertaining & educational, well done! A good reader, too. It made me realize how dizzyingly quickly chance has happened socially.

Interesting and informative

I enjoyed the easy storytelling but was a bit challenged by the timeline that jumped back and forth. I learned a lot about the era and enjoyed the book.

Wish it were longer

I wish the book were longer, featuring more stories from at least two other women. The story is tremendously interesting, and feels way too short.
I enjoyed it very much.