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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
An interesting history, though not terribly well written
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
It’s non-fiction but can get pretty graphic talking about terrorism or violence.
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A book in three parts: [1] The birth and rise of Pan Am, [2] Pan Am in trouble [3] the fall and death of Pan Am.
The first part covered the brinksmanship-like deal-making of Pan Am founder Juan Trippe and the huge influence Pan Am had on the initial development of both the Boeing 707 and the Boeing 747. Interesting to me. And uplifting. Perhaps author Robert Gandt should have expanded this section and titled the book “Skygods: The rise and fall of Pan Am” instead. But he didn’t.
The other two sections detail the Pan Am slow-motion train-wreck. Economic downturns, political favoritism, Mid East oil prices, terrorism and the two military operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm all contribute to the troubles of Pan Am (and many other airlines). There is a lot of focus on Pan Am’s top leadership since their responses to these troubles (and how they raised capital to weather the tough times) would determine whether Pan Am could survive the troubles or not.
There is also a lot of focus on the pilots. They are the Pan Am elite – especially the haughty senior pilots (the Skygods), who typically are guaranteed a job while the junior pilots may face the prospect of indefinitely-long furlough. Indeed, the airline pilot’s inflexible seniority system permeates their lives. And the complexities of two merging airlines trying to merge their two sets of pilots into a single seniority system caused hard feelings (and possible unemployment) for many pilots.
Bottom line: The majority of the book is about the slow disintegration of Pan Am. Informative but depressing.
The first part covered the brinksmanship-like deal-making of Pan Am founder Juan Trippe and the huge influence Pan Am had on the initial development of both the Boeing 707 and the Boeing 747. Interesting to me. And uplifting. Perhaps author Robert Gandt should have expanded this section and titled the book “Skygods: The rise and fall of Pan Am” instead. But he didn’t.
The other two sections detail the Pan Am slow-motion train-wreck. Economic downturns, political favoritism, Mid East oil prices, terrorism and the two military operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm all contribute to the troubles of Pan Am (and many other airlines). There is a lot of focus on Pan Am’s top leadership since their responses to these troubles (and how they raised capital to weather the tough times) would determine whether Pan Am could survive the troubles or not.
There is also a lot of focus on the pilots. They are the Pan Am elite – especially the haughty senior pilots (the Skygods), who typically are guaranteed a job while the junior pilots may face the prospect of indefinitely-long furlough. Indeed, the airline pilot’s inflexible seniority system permeates their lives. And the complexities of two merging airlines trying to merge their two sets of pilots into a single seniority system caused hard feelings (and possible unemployment) for many pilots.
Bottom line: The majority of the book is about the slow disintegration of Pan Am. Informative but depressing.
Entertaining writing style and narration, story itself only somewhat interesting
informative
slow-paced
informative
fast-paced
It's a fascinating read not only for aviation geeks but for anyone interested in the birth of modern air travel, the politics behind it as well as the role war played in the story. Obviously, Juan Trippe, one of the most influential CEOs of the 20th century, features prominently in the book, but he's just one of many visionaries who can track their lineage, directly or strategically, to the rise and fall of Pan American.
Enjoyable and informative, if every Skygods other Skygods word Skygods wasn't Skygods "Skygods".
Skygods.
Skygods.
Although I was unfortunately born too late to have even seen a 747-200 in Pan am's colours, after reading Skygods I feel I have some sort of connection to the "Imperial Airline".
Gandt did an excellent job describing the highs and lows of Pan Am, as well as the individuals involved throughout the airline's history. I found the narrations in the perspective of pilots and others particularly engaging.
This book is great for anyone looking to learn about a once-glamorous American company, not just aviation enthusiasts (even though I'm sure aviation enthusiasts will love this book).
Gandt did an excellent job describing the highs and lows of Pan Am, as well as the individuals involved throughout the airline's history. I found the narrations in the perspective of pilots and others particularly engaging.
This book is great for anyone looking to learn about a once-glamorous American company, not just aviation enthusiasts (even though I'm sure aviation enthusiasts will love this book).