Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The "demanding, sexist, exciting, glorious" golden age of air travel sets the spectacular stage for this sparkling account from former flight attendant and novelist Hood (Kitchen Yarns). Trained at Trans World Airlines' selective Breech Training Academy in 1978 at age 21, Hood's airline career began in the glitzy days of Ralph Lauren uniforms, high heels, and chateaubriand carving stations, and dramatically ended eight years later in a picket line, as the combined forces of deregulation, bankruptcies, and labor strikes sent the industry into a tailspin. Despite occasionally didactic forays into the history of air travel ("Qantas Airlines operated the world's first international passenger service in 1935 between Brisbane and Singapore"), Hood's companionable storytelling paired with her bold skewering an oft-glamorized world--riddled with surprise weight checks and aggressive male passengers--make for an enthralling account. Equally effective is her moving story of overcoming entrenched stereotypes--"glorified waitress, a sex kitten, an archaic symbol of women"--within the industry to become a writer, drafting stories late at night on long international flights "as passengers slept" and powering through jet lag in "hotel rooms in Zurich and Paris and Rome" to craft her first novel. From takeoff to landing, this entertains and inspires. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Award-winning author Hood (The Book That Matters Most) showcases her talents as both author and narrator in this breezy memoir that recounts her experiences as a TWA flight attendant during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Hood deftly keeps listeners beside her as she shares how her childhood dream of flying the world became reality. She reveals that while the training was grueling, the last golden years of air travel were remarkably lavish. Hood learned to make a perfect cocktail, deliver a baby, repair almost anything, and much more. Her tone varies as she reveals many fascinating historical facts about airplanes and the industry. She also covers the downside--women were weighed to maintain "perfect" weight, weren't allowed to marry, and were objectified by male bosses and passengers until they finally demanded their rights. An array of personal anecdotes, glittering descriptions about destinations, examples of her compassion, and snippets revealing her goal to become an author are compelling. VERDICT After experiencing this appealing and informative audiobook, listeners may never view air travel or flight crews in quite the same way.--Susan G. Baird
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An aspiring writer takes an unusual career path. Growing up in West Warwick, Rhode Island, novelist and memoirist Hood was enraptured by planes. Upon graduating from college in 1978, she had two goals: to become a writer and a flight attendant. "I was the most stereotypical type of girl who became an airline stewardess," she admits. "Small town. Love of travel. Big dreams. Craving excitement." In this lively memoir, the author recounts how she managed to fulfill both dreams, although writing took a back seat for most of the eight years that she flew. Getting hired was stressful: Multiple interviews weeded out most applicants--in 1978, over 14,000 people applied for 550 positions at TWA--and Hood was ecstatic to be accepted. During her training, she writes, "I learned to successfully evacuate seven kinds of aircraft, fix a broken coffeemaker, deliver a baby, mix proper cocktails, carve a chateaubriand, administer oxygen, demonstrate safety equipment, and make a baby's rattle out of two plastic cups and a couple of TWA propeller-shaped swizzle sticks." During her six-month probationary period, she and her classmates were stringently monitored for appearance, weight, and demeanor as well as competence. They could not weigh more than they did when they were hired, a requirement that had them taking diuretics and trying crazy weight-loss diets. Sometimes, she writes, "we just drank water until a pound or two came off." Hood, a naïve 21-year-old when she first started flying, grew into a sophisticated young woman undaunted by new cities and unfamiliar food; rude, unruly, or aggressive passengers; mishaps onboard; and some people's assumptions that she was merely a glorified waitress. Her love of flying made her tolerate the airline's total control of her life and time. Happily for her, as opportunities waned because of turmoil in the airline industry, her writing career began to take flight. Colorful anecdotes make for an entertaining memoir of travel and self-discovery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
