A Love Story Plus The History of Skyjacking Equals a FascinatinglyUn-put-down-able Read

As someone with a lifelong fear of flying, it always surprises people that I am fascinated by books, movies and documentaries about airplane hijacking. It's almost a question of "which came first?" the fear or was the fear a result of all the skyjacking media consumed at a slightly overdone rate?

In any case, The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking by Brendan I. Koerner was a wild ride of a book. Half the book serves as a primer about the beginnings of airplane hijacking in the United States, circa early 1960s through the 1970s. A time when air travel had just become a viable option on par with trains and automobiles. A time when the word "lax" didn't quite pin the atmosphere of what the experience of traveling was like in domestic airports. The rampant freedom of anyone wandering anywhere in an airport, nobody asking you to remove your shoes and all metal objects from your person. This was absolutely fascinating to me, to imagine a time where there was no screening process to board a flight and the worst that could happen was that you happened to find yourself on a hijacked plane making a detour to Cuba. When all was said and done, no one was worse for the wear. Hijackings in the early days of air travel were such a frequent occurrences (with days when there was multiple hijackings happening simultaneously!). It baffled me to read how hijacking went from being an almost harmless crime (mild, legal prosecution, no harm to passengers/crew), to being the nightmare that it is today.

Koerner manages to intertwine the fascinating history of skyjacking along an even more fascinating recount of infamous hijacking couple, Roger Holder and Cathy Kerkow. Holder represented the most common and potentially dangerous kind of hijacker: one who was disillusioned by the government (in Holder's case, the military) and desires to become a man to right all the social injustices he perceives. His method of changing the world? Hijacking a domestic plane and taking refuge in Algiers. Unheard of in 1972, sadly a common fact of life in our post 9/11 world.

While the story of Holder and Kerkow was interesting, I found the historical context of the book much more enjoyable. A fast read that leaves you nostalgic for a time when air travel was innocent.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

Photo Courtesy of: Random House