Jet Set
Product ID: 76177941
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Jet Set tells the story of the planes, the people and the places that made this first decade of international travel the stuff of legend. In October, 1958, Pan Am began its first regularly scheduled flights between New York and Paris, thanks to the newly-minted Boeing 707 jet plane. Almost overnight, the celebrities of the era the world's first "jet set" made Europe their playground, setting the trends the rest of us would follow for decades and the dream of international travel came true for thousands of Americans. Bestselling author and Vanity Fair contributor William Stadiem has written a wonderfully entertaining, gossipy, savvy memoir about the glamorous people who picked out the hot new places or often created them: Jackie Kennedy in Paris, Grace Kelly at the Prince's Palace in Monaco, a topless Brigitte Bardot on the beach at St Tropez, a mini-skirted Mary Quant in James Bond London, Frank Sinatra with his hit 1958 hit single, "Come Fly with Me" that became the theme song of the new jet age...But Jet Set isn't only about the Beautiful People. It's also about the powerful people, the "Lords of the Wings" who built the planes, the airlines, the images: Juan Trippe of Pan Am, William Allen of Boeing, Mary Wells Lawrence of Madison Avenue, Conrad Hilton of his hotels. These jet set pioneers turned travel into an inalienable right and even though the intimate 707 (seating 110) has long since been replaced by the knee-jamming 747 (420 seats), the people and events covered in this book stand as vibrant testimony to the exclusive early days of jet travel. Review: jet airliner history - very informative in an era I lived through Review: Five Stars - First rate history of a lost era.
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,602,659 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #6,722 in Transportation & Automotive (Books) #15,929 in Industries #19,598 in Language Learning & Teaching |
| Customer Reviews | 4.0 out of 5 stars 117 Reviews |
J**2
jet airliner history
very informative in an era I lived through
S**K
Five Stars
First rate history of a lost era.
K**N
An unexpected surprise between the covers
The title sort of said to me "fluff" -- who went where, the excesses of the wealthy, when air travel began to explode. The wonderful airline food, the outfits the stewardesses wore, the meet-ups in-flight, dates made, just sort of an extended "coffee, tea, or me." The book is NOTHING like that. It wasn't written by an airheaded gossip. This is a fascinating read of what the new mode of transportation after WWII did for the entire hospitality industry. The author delves into how American Express, Diners' Club, the idea of pre-approved hotels, and how it influenced luxury hotel expansion both in this country and abroad (primarily Europe). But he also presents the fascinating side of Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day and the whole bargain travel industry, how it got started, and where it is today. I haven't finished it but am at the portion about the finest restaurants in Paris, the people who owned them, and the people who made both the owners and their establishments famous. I find it hard to put down. When I have finished it I will amend my review.
B**O
The airplanes, the airlines and the jet setters that flew them and enticed us to fly away with them
it is a very engaging and entertaining book. Some may find it very gossipy, Or that it lacks details on the history and development of the airplanes that are in use today. However, Stadiem makes it more readable by making a correlation on the development of the airplanes with the rise of the jet setters who took advantage of the rise of jet-powered airplanes and the airlines that bought the jets, the companies that made them, the tycoons behind them and the high society passengers that flew on them. With glamour, it enticed millions of Americans to travel to foreign lands. If you a re looking for pure history of the airplanes and the airlines, skip this. If you are looking for the history of the airplanes, the airlines, the glamour, the jet setters that flew them and their life, then this is one delicious gossipy yarn that is engaging and readable.
B**Y
A wild trip
This tale starts out as being nominally about new jets, then turns into a history of gossip columnists. Weird, but enjoyable.
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
1 month ago