This is not a 'coffee, tea or me' expose Ms. Granted, it wasn't all roses but these young women had more freedom than their friends at home. They traveled alone, wore pants, and cashed their own paychecks.

While the role might seem quite sexist, the women featured in Come Fly the World viewed the job as their way out of the limited life offered to them during the 1950-1970 eras.

From girdles to world politics, author Julia Cooke presents the life of a stewardess through the experiences of a handful of women who helped people 'take the world by the tail' or 'fly the friendly skies'. This was an entertaining and eye-opening book. I had no idea of the language and education requirements nor of the training rigor beyond standard service and safety. 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.Įye-Opening, Informative and EntertainingĬome Fly the World is a fascinating read about the early days of flight attendants, and in particular, Pan Am 'stewardesses'. 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. 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 19 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.Ĭooke’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. 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

Come fly with me julia cooke