Pan Am Unbuckled: A Very Plane Diary

Fasten your designer uniform buttons while Ms Valentine takes you on an exciting, true-life, Pan Am flight into the world of Iranian caviar and Dom Pérignon Champagne. Serving the rich and famous in first class or hosting planes full of military servicemen on R&R out of Vietnam, the unexpected was often on board. From her first step onto a 707 in 1969, right through the final days of Pan Am in 1991, Ms Valentine is spot-on with her descriptions of people, places and events. It is like taking a first-class roller-coaster ride around the world that will make you smile, laugh and cry.

She ramps up the pace in London, Frankfurt, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beirut, Sydney, and ports between--taking you right there with her. Watch Ms Valentine mix hard work and jet lag with crew parties, romance, self-exploration, family, and "those dreaded weigh ins". On one hand, she is like Bridget Jones--trying to succeed in a male-dominated culture where the scales are constantly in front of her! And, on the other, she is more like Hawk Eye--balancing the dichotomy of a privileged job within a hierarchical military model, at the front of a war zone.