Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am

This book is both entertaining and educational. I learned many details about Pan Am, where I previously only knew some of the barest general stories. It is written in a style that makes this fact-laden book easy to read. Obviously, it was thoroughly researched, even to what Scripture was read at Juan Tripp's funeral. These details hold the book together and prove it was not just the author's opinion of what befell that airline, it was as if you were right there. It was also clear the author used interviews of the rank and file who were there at the time, to paint the details of the picture of Pan Am. He did not dwell on the positive or negative, but often presented both side, allowing the reader the luxury of rooting for either side, even when the ultimate outcome was known. I personally saw its Clippers of the 1930's, loaded on its troop carriers of WWII and Korea, and road its 707's and 747's on many business trips to Europe during the 1970's and 1980's. But I was busy with my own career and didn't pay much attention to the business side of Pan Am, until it was gone. Reading this book was a refreshing expose of some history I should have been paying attention to at the time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history, who has a love of aviation, or is just interested in big business and the details of the royalty who make it work -- or not. And a Bravo to the author!

I didn't realize the Author was a 26 year Pan Am veteran until after I finished the book. He definitely did not over-romanticize the corporation. It seems to be told in an objective manner. Hat's off to the author for writing it in this way. This book offers much more insight than just a look at an airline. It offers insight into crowd psychology. Like how the majority of Pan Am employees reacted to company circumstances and how those emotions could reach a fever pitch - even though what they (the employees) were promoting was dead wrong (e.g. Acker Backers). It offers insight into the classic Labor / Management conflict. Although nothing new here, it is interesting to see how the dynamic played out in one of the world's largest mega-corporations. It offers insight into the dynamic between a board of directors and the management of a corporation (I'm sure most corporations don't act in this manner, if they did America would not have an economy). Not only does the Author not romanticize Pan Am, he makes it look like the management, including the original President Juan Trippe and all the directors, made a hell of a lot of very bad decisions. It almost reads like The Emperor's New Clothes when it comes to the Board of Directors and their dealings with their choices for leadership. These Presidents and CEOs were losing hundreds of millions of dollars and no one could even say where the money was going, THEY WEREN'T PRACTICING BASIC ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES (according to the book), yet the Board seemed helpless to do anything. It really looks like a joke in that respect. The story of Pan Am management's decisions is mind-boggling. Talk about an epic failure. If one takes the accounts of this book as factual, one will walk away after reading it with no doubt that the reason Pan Am is not with us today is due to one reason and one reason only: inept management. Yes, there were bad circumstances that were out of Pan Am's control as well (recessions, other things I won't spoil), but solid management would have brought them through the stormy times. It's a sad read, sad to see what could today be an American Icon, one of the world's top airlines if some different decisions had been made-but alas there's hindsight with the 20/20. It's sad to see what looked like a beast that was getting cut up, a little bit at a time, until it had nothing left to give. As the author says in one point near the end, "it was like a dog that chewed three of its legs off to escape but was still stuck in the cage." I see a lot of the reviewers here suggest the book to other people who are related to aviation. I'd also say it's a great read for students of business or executives as a cautionary tale of what not to do to succeed. 4 stars just for the fact that it's awesome that we've got this story in print. It's very cool to see the inner-workings of this iconic corporation. I deducted 1 star due to some editing issues (misspelled words, typos (maybe a bad port to the kindle, but errors nonetheless)) and due to a tad bit of repetitiveness and some long-windedness. Very minor issues Overall though in my opinion this is a very well written book, very easy to read and peppered with a few 3 dollar words (like "avuncular" I love the Kindle's built in dictionary).

This book captured the granduer of this history making global airline from the early days of it's visionary leader, Juan Trippe, to it's slow financial death spiral of many years. The author tells the story of how Mr. Trippe was able to negotiate and play the airline manufacterers against one another to design and build the type of aircraft that he would need for his Pan American Airline to fly the vast stretches of open ocean around the world before WWII. The book is filled with aircraft and individual piloting stories. The Skygods is the term the author uses to describe the captains of these giant seaplanes who would leave the safety of the USA and be gone for extremely long flights with passengers and crew, island hoping their way to eventually turn around in the Philipines or South America or England. In the early 60s Pan Am ushered the way into the jet era with the Boeing 707 and eventually the Boeing 747. With increased capacity the airline needed to hire new pilots in large numbers for the first time in many years. During their training period Pan Am filled training pilot's minds with a vision of the future where they would be flying supersonic transports and maybe even trips to the moon for civilian passengers! Pan Am had several fatal flaws which despite great effort, it's leadership (weak and strong CEOs) could not overcome. The airline eventually had a huge debt problem, no political sponsorship from the White House or Congress to allow PAA to carry passengers inside the shores of the United States to connect with their international operations. However, at the time of airline deregulation, all of the domestic carriers were suddenly allowed to fly Pan Am's lucrative international money making routes. PAA developed labor issues as employees were asked to cut salaries over and over when the business cycle was weak. The story of the terrorist bombing crash in Lockerbie, Scotland was recounted in some detail. Other crashes over the airlines's history were explored. Eventually there was a last day for Pan Am and a last flight and then they turned out the lights and went home with no careers but lots of memories. A sad day for these employees and an American aviation icon.

My first recollection of airplanes was, when, as a callow youth, old enough to wander aimlessly about town, I saw fighter aircraft and torpedo bombers roar above me in formation in their camouflage war paint. The unfamiliar noise and their speed and their sudden appearance over me: can you imagine how I responded to that!? I was lucky enough to live in a city in New Jersey where these fantastic aircraft were assembled and tested before being shipped to the battlefronts. Of course, all of us urchins at that time were building model planes, some depressingly of better quality than mine. Years later, on one of my first business trips I flew in a old rattletrap of a "Connie", a Lockheed Constellation, from Newark to Chicago and I still remember setting my coffee cup on the window ledge next to me and how I had to hold on to it before it vibrated from its perch about to spill on my lap. I was still clueless until a saw a few images on TV of "Flying Boats", those mysterious aircraft one never saw in my life environment; and then the gnawing question grew inside me to learn more about these fascinating craft. With an Amazon search I came upon this book which answered all my questions and opened new frontiers; plus the heartbreaking story of how our bureaucracy caused the destruction of our premier pioneering airline, Pan Am. They took the financial risks to start passenger routes over the oceans, now read how they did it and how our government destroyed them and why. The book is one you won't put down in spite of its unhappy ending and is a fascinating window on the flying boat age; why they were necessary, and what caused them to become obsolete. Buy it, you'll like it; it's a "keeper".

For many years, I have been collecting books of airline histories. More than several are about Pan Am, once commonly referred to as America's Chosen Instrument because of its reach and influence around the world. While not strictly a history of the airline from gestation to expiration, Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am by Robert Gandt is nevertheless the best of the bunch in focusing on and explaining the slow and tortuous disappearance of this once proud and ubiquitous US-based global carrier. Of course, what goes down must also go up, especially in aviation. And Gandt also gives readers enough information about the airline's rise to appreciate its historical significance in the development of commercial aviation. By book's end, readers should feel as if they know Pan Am intimately - from the legendary founder, Juan Trippe; to Pan Am's near demise before it ever took off; to its pioneering of transoceanic travel via the flying boat; to its part in the development of revolutionary aircraft like the 707 and the 747 and the engines that powered them. The heart of the book - Pan Am's downfall - is told from the perspective of its Skygods and goddesses, the pilots who made the airline their lives. Like any success or failure, ego plays a big part. It was no different with Pan Am. Trippe manipulated and bullied people, including politicians across the globe, to make the carrier what it was, but it was hubris that brought it down, starting with his purchase of so many 747s that couldn't be filled. And after Trippe reluctantly relinquished control of Pan Am, a revolving door of CEOs was set in motion. Unfortunately, most of them had little business (or experience) running an airline, including William T. Seawell whose purchase of National Airlines (better known as "Seawell's Folly") only furthered Pan Am's descent. Then there was the government's and unions' considerable culpability in bringing down the airline. The government because of politics, its tortoise-like operation, and disregard for business; unions because of their quest for power and turf rather than concern for workers. While terrorism played a part in Pan Am's demise, it certainly can't be considered a primary cause. Nevertheless, the chapter on the 1988 Lockerbie disaster, "A Village in Scotland", is perhaps the most riveting and poignant in the book. The murder of 270 people - 259 passengers and crew and 11 people on the ground - by Libyan terrorists, in the words of one pilot, "was the day the heart of Pan American died." Gandt's description of the emotional and physical impact is overwhelming. Skygods is a fascinating, spellbinding read that is well researched and written.

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.

As a former airline executive (I was manager of Publicity at Continental Airlines when our HQ was in Los Angeles) I am an aviation aficionado. Growing up in London, America WAS Pan-Am and TWA. I flew Pan-Am on my Honeymoon to Rio and we were in First Class. I loved what airline folks called "The Blue Meatball." I was devastated when Pan-Am 103 was blown up over Scotland. I had to read this book. Even if you are NOT into aviation, you should read it. What a great insight it gives as regards management screw ups. SKYGODS gives the reader an inside look at business power play, personal egos, and greed of top airline executives. When innovative aviation genius types like Juan Trippe, or Bob Six of Continental pass into that BIG airline hangar in the sky, aviation loses - forever - human beings who ARE true airline visionaries. This brilliant, well written book (one might even call it an airline Bible!) sometimes brings tears to individual's like me, as it shows how the world will probably never again see aviation innovators like Trippe or Bob Six. If you're into the mesmerizing world of airlines, I'd love to hear from you - [email protected]

Well done, engaging writing. Very enjoyable read. I wanted to learn more about Pan Am which was before my time, and also learn about business. You can learn a lot about how not to run a business in here, and that one of my intentions. I was surprised on how well written it was, going into it with little expectations.

Very interesting about the raise and fall of PAN AM for the insiders as well for all interested in a piece of history of the 20th century.

Leider existiert diese Fluglinie seit den 1990er Jahre nicht mehr, trotzdem aber ist der Name immer noch extrem bekannt und in vielen sozialen Medien gibt es Foren, wo man sich über PanAm unterhalten kann. Dieses Buch zeigt auf, mit welchen Problemen man konfrontiert war, untersucht auch die Fehlinvestitionen und bindet den Konkurrenten TWA immer wieder mal mit ein, genau so wie Delta Air Lines, Northwest, Eastern und American Airlines. Wäre man damals schlauer vorgegangen, gäbe es die Fluglinie heute bestimmt noch. Pionier der Lüfte, würde man heute sagen. Buch ist sehr zu empfehlen.

Factual, engaging and interesting. Covers the smallest flying anecdotes to the largest of corporate bungles. Must read for pilots and airline managers alike, or for those just interested in the history.

This book is wonderful if you like aviation. It combines anecdotal stories with history of PanAm. Sometimes, it reads like a thriller or mystery…a real page turner.

An excellent book. It should be a must-read for anyone who flies an airplane or is interested in aviation history. It is within my top three books.