Skyjack

The Hunt for D. B. Cooper

By: Geoffrey Gray

Narrated by: Geoffrey Gray

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The true, unsolved story of D. B. Cooper’s 1971 airplane hijacking, one of the greatest cold cases of the twentieth century, by an author featured in D.B. Cooper: Where Are You?!, now streaming on Netflix

“Here is writing and storytelling that is vivid and fresh—a delectable adventure.”—Gay Talese

“I have a bomb here and I would like you to sit by me.”

That was the note handed to flight attendant Florence Schaffner by a mild-mannered passenger now known as D. B. Cooper on a Northwest Orient flight in 1971. It was also the start of one of the most astonishing aviation whodunits in the history of American true crime: how one man extorted $200,000 from an airline before parachuting into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, never to be seen again.

The case of D. B. Cooper is a modern legend that has obsessed and cursed his pursuers for generations with everything from bankruptcy to suicidal despair. Now, with Skyjack, Geoffrey Gray obtains a first-ever look at the FBI’s confidential Cooper file, uncovering new leads in the infamous case.

Starting with a crack tip from a private investigator, Gray plunges into the murky depths of the decades-old mystery to chase down new clues and explore secrets of the case’s most prominent suspects, including Ralph Himmelsbach, the most dogged of FBI agents, who watched with horror as a criminal became a counter-culture folk hero; Karl Fleming, a respected reporter whose career was destroyed by a D. B. Cooper scoop that was a scam; and Barbara Dayton, a transgender pilot who insisted she was Cooper herself. With explosive new information, Skyjack reopens one of the great cold cases of the twentieth century.

©2011 Geoffrey Gray (P)2011 Random House

Critic reviews

“Out of the wild blue yonder comes this pleasing tale of obsession and mystery. Geoffrey Gray has essentially parachuted into the early 1970s and found a nearly forgotten episode that elucidates a swath of our cultural history. The result is a clean, smart whodunit full of quirky characters, imaginative sleuthing, and thrilling surprises.” (Hampton Sides, author of Hellhound on His Trail)

“With verve and assurance worthy of his protagonist, Geoffrey Gray pulls readers along on a kaleidoscopic chase through the cult of Cooper. Both a masterful re-creation of the paranoid 1970s, and an exhilarating firsthand account of an erosive obsession, Skyjack takes us down the rabbit hole with Gray—and what a journey it is.” (James Swanson, author of Manhunt and Bloody Crimes)

“Who was D.B. Cooper? In Skyjack, Geoffrey Gray lures in the reader with this iconic unsolved mystery, and for the next 290 pages explores a story as attention-grabbing as a bag of hot money. D.B. Cooper emerges as the great McGuffin of 1970s America, a prism through which Gray exploits to the fullest with his propulsive writing style, mad commitment to detail, and explores everything from the early years of gender reassignment surgery to the birth of airline security culture to the ghostly legends of the Pacific Northwest's Dark Divide.” (Evan Wright, New York Times bestselling author of Generation Kill)

I Want the recipe!!!!!!

great book. great performance. kept me invested throughout. really really wanted more, but obviously that is the same with the DB Cooper case. The more you learn the further away from figuring it out you are. so I won't hold that against him. overall very entertaining read.

Meh. It was ok.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. The story moved very slowly and was hard to follow at times. This book is probably better spent reading on a Kindle.

Would you be willing to try another book from Geoffrey Gray? Why or why not?

Yes. I won't hold this against him. I will say his narrating was not the best.

Have you listened to any of Geoffrey Gray’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was Skyjack worth the listening time?

I wanted to listen to a DB Cooper account. If I had to do it over again I would probably pick a different book.

Jgio

I was expecting so much more out of this book. There were some interesting facts but I would not recommend it for purchase unless you are a huge DB Cooper fan. It just rambles on and on at times about potential suspects and seems to drift from the main plot.

Excellent!

Truly a great read start to finish. Felt like I was on a noir style detective assignment investigating one of the most fascinating cases of all time. Highly recommend!

Amazing🛩

I am obsessed with the DB Cooper case. I have been researching for 2 years. There was nothing I disliked about the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, wants to research DB Cooper, or needs a lengthy book.

Unsolved mystery with many layers...

Dan ("D.B.") Cooper was one of many individuals who hijacked a jetliner for ransom money or transportation to Cuba in the '60's and early '70's. Cooper's ransom demand included $200,000 and parachutes, and he apparently jumped out of the back stairs of the hijacked 727...and was never seen again (although a small number of the marked bills in his ransom payment were found). To this day, this remains the only unsolved airline hijacking in the US.

Geoffrey Gray's book relates 3 tales---the story of the actual D.B. Cooper hijacking and follow-up investigation...the stories of some of the leading suspects...and the story of Gray's personal search for Cooper, which brought him into contact with some, umm, interesting characters. I didn't realize this when I started this book, but apparently, like the JFK assassination, the D.B. Cooper hijacking remains fodder for speculation, conspiracy theory and some unusual ideas. Of course, the D.B. Cooper mystery remains a mystery and there are some oddities in the case, so speculation and conspiracy are not unlikely outcomes, and there is still almost $200K to find...maybe...

Skyjack is well written and seems to be a fairly balanced account of the D.B. Cooper story. The book is narrated by the author and he does a very good job with that as well.

PS - One reviewer complained that the audiobook seemed to have technical difficulties. I didn't find anything missing or hear any problems.

Great Book

Great book, author did a great job narrating. Bit confusing going back and forth between the different identities but overall very well done.

Surprisingly good

This was a surprisingly good audibook. It weaves an excellent first person narrative around the facts surrounding several of the prime suspects.

Huge disappointment.

OK... there isn't much known about D.B. Cooper. I understand how the author could find that a problem. He sets out to write a book, presumably THE book about the Cooper hijack. He finds the details of what happened. He finds details about the find of the ransom money. He talks to the flight crew and some of the people who investigated the case.

So far, so good. It's an exciting and fascinating story. I learned a lot from this part. Sadly, there isn't all that much to learn.
It seems likely , that D.B. survived the jump and buried (at least some) of the money near the river. It seems likely that that the Feds were searching to the east of where D.B. landed, which may explain why neither he nor his parachute were found. It is certain that D.B. meticulously planned this out; and if he had planned the skyjacking he MUST have had a plan for getting out of the woods and disappearing after he landed. It is not impossible that D.B. had someone waiting to pick him up.

That alone would have made for an interesting, but short, book.

Sadly, the author did not feel that way. This is NOT a book about D.B. Cooper. This is a book about Geoffrey Gray running around investigating, and falling for, ridiculous stores about D.B. Cooper. This is understandable, Mr. Cooper covered his tracks well. That being said, about 2/3 of this book is just long stories about... how do I put this nicely.... nut jobs that think they know who D.B. Cooper was... or think that they were related to D.B.

These nut job stories are a complete waste of time. NONE of these stories are credible, or even very interesting. After a while I was reminded of "Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album". One suspects that somebody had burned through all the advance money, didn't have much to show for it, and that this was the result. I skipped over a lot of chapters.

I"m not sure if it was worth what I paid for it... but I KNOW it wasn't worth the time I invested in it.

The author does a great job of reading his work. His voice is pleasing and the inflection and emotion conveyed is genuine. He was likable, and I do hope that someday he does find out who D.B. Cooper was, and what happened to him. In the unlikely event that ever happens, I'll be interested in picking up a book about it... THIS however, is not that book.

There Better Be a Sequel

Overall, this was a really well done book. It does not claim to know who D.B. Cooper is and fairly examines the strongest contenders, but it is left unfinished. I wish the Author would have added a few chapters narrowing down the suspects and finally picking one, even if it is only the Author's opinion. I will add this though, if there is not a sequel, the ending of the book is total bullshit. Also, I will add my opinion, that Joe, Duane's wife, if making her story up. I find it convenient that one: her husband cannot refute anything she says because he's dead; and two: he supposedly told her all of these things about D.B. Cooper which she claimed to know nothing about and didn't make the connection, then suddenly after his alleged confession, she becomes an expert on the case and sees connections everywhere. I personally find the transition suspicious and think it's her way to gain attention.