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mbenzz's review
5.0
I can count on one hand the number of Non-Fiction books I read in a year. They tend to bore me, and I prefer to escape to another time and place, not read about someone's life, so I avoid them.
However, even though I'm terrified of airplanes and have to be heavily drugged to fly without making the local news, I have a fascination with flight attendants from the '60s and '70s, when flying was glamorous and exciting. I wasn't sure Mrs. Hood's story would interest me, given that she was a flight attendant in the early '80s, but I absolutely loved this book.
From dreaming of flying as a young girl to her stressful job search looking for the perfect airline to the thrill of finally achieving her dream and flying the friendly skies, I was completely enthralled. What an exciting journey to be on! She had so many cool experiences, and while it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, those 8 years shaped her into the person she is today.
It was kind of sad to read about how it all came to an end, though. Instead of retiring on her own terms and planning her final flight, she, along with so many other hard-working flight attendants, were unceremoniously dumped after going on strike in 1986 after TWA threatened to cut their wages by 22%. TWA hired young women straight out of high school to replace the veterans on strike and refused to do what was right in a bid to save money for the floundering airline. In the end, many flight attendants never went back to the job they so loved, and their time in the air was cut short by misogyny and mismanagement.
Overall, if you have an interest in flight attendants and the 'good 'ol days' of flying, then I absolutely recommend this book. It was so well done, and not once was I bored!
However, even though I'm terrified of airplanes and have to be heavily drugged to fly without making the local news, I have a fascination with flight attendants from the '60s and '70s, when flying was glamorous and exciting. I wasn't sure Mrs. Hood's story would interest me, given that she was a flight attendant in the early '80s, but I absolutely loved this book.
From dreaming of flying as a young girl to her stressful job search looking for the perfect airline to the thrill of finally achieving her dream and flying the friendly skies, I was completely enthralled. What an exciting journey to be on! She had so many cool experiences, and while it wasn't all sunshine and lollipops, those 8 years shaped her into the person she is today.
It was kind of sad to read about how it all came to an end, though. Instead of retiring on her own terms and planning her final flight, she, along with so many other hard-working flight attendants, were unceremoniously dumped after going on strike in 1986 after TWA threatened to cut their wages by 22%. TWA hired young women straight out of high school to replace the veterans on strike and refused to do what was right in a bid to save money for the floundering airline. In the end, many flight attendants never went back to the job they so loved, and their time in the air was cut short by misogyny and mismanagement.
Overall, if you have an interest in flight attendants and the 'good 'ol days' of flying, then I absolutely recommend this book. It was so well done, and not once was I bored!
ellenclibrarian's review
3.0
An insider’s dive into her decade and a half of service in the airline industry, she reveals how difficult and rewarding public service can be, while providing an interesting history of a rapidly changing industry and the misogyny that skewed the previous narrative of the flight attendant’s world.
heidieli's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0