Customer Reviews

Skygods: The Fall Of Pan Am

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My Mom flew for Pan Am during the glorious 60's/beginning 70's and she was based in Berlin. As from my childhood on I was fascinated from Airlines/Aircrafts. So one day I thought that it would be nice to read more about 'the' american Airline my Mom worked for - and to learn a little bit more from the time which has passed. So I went into a bookstore and ordered this book. What shall I say - it was very impressive to read so many facts about the airline. I also questioned my mom and she told me that many things were the way as they are written in the book. The book is very easy to read (even for people that can't speak/read english that well) and written in a very interesting way. What I missed in the book is a map with all the destinations Pan Am was flying to on a regular base. It would also be interesting to know what happened to all the employees that stayed with Pan Am till the last day and so on. I can really recommend the book.

Captain Gandt has it all together in this one. Having been a United Captain at the time of the acquistion of the Pan Am Pacific routes; this book would have been a great help in my understanding the "Skygods" or @ the very least their own self image. After working with them for a few years I noticed that they did accept the fact that there were other qualified aviators on Planet Earth other then themselves. Frankly, these aviators taught me a lot about international flying which I am grateful for to this day. My last check ride before retirement was by one of the pilots Bob mentioned in his book. The flight was from Bangkok to Hong Kong to Tokyo My co-pilot was a Pam Amer as well as my flight engineer. I was the only United type in the cockpit-but it went well; after all it was a United airplane( B747) all paid for etc. I did have the opportunity to ride "jumpseat" on a Pan Am DC-6 from Hamburg to Berlin down the "Berlin Corridors" in the 60's; so I had a little exposure to the IGS or Internal German Service-even got to go to some of the Pan Amers Berlin Hangouts! Recommend this book highly to all airline types-too bad it is no longer in print. RLB

I am a pilot for American airlines and think this is a must read for anyone in the airline industry. If you think your company couldn't fold, you need to read what happened to Pan Am.

Its also an entertaining read. I highly recommend this book.

Robert Gandt provides an insightful account of the fall from grace of Pan American, the 'Imperial Airline.'

The decline of Pan American Airways, from the mid-1960s to its demise in 1991, illustrates some of the best and worst elements of American capitalism, in particular, the inherent tensions between private corporations and regulatory authorities.

Sadly, no heroes emerge from Gandt's account of the internal machinations of what was once the World's Greatest Airline. Instead, the romantic spirit of Juan Trippe's adventure into global aviation was lost amidst a torrent of managerial egotism, greed and poor judgement.

Nor is any sentimentality wasted on the 'Skygods' who constituted the captains of Pan Am's skies. If Gandt is to be believed, a more egregious bunch of aviation demons would be hard to find.

While Gandt peppers the unfolding tragedy with personal insights gleaned from 27 years service with Pan Am, some "poetic licence" appears in evidence; the apparent embellishment of several historical episodes to seduce the reader doesn't wash.

In some instances, names have been changed to mask the guilty. Frequent personal references to one Rob Martinside suggest this to be Gandt's own pseudonym.

Nevertheless, 'Skygods' serves as a vivid testimony to the fickle nature of corporate adventurism. A recommended read.

MARK B MALONEY, Sydney, Australia, 24 March, 1999.

While I don't read often enough to call myself an avid reader, this book (a gift from my wife) was an absolute page turner and I finished it within 36 hours of receipt. The book is full of blatant truths and humorous by-lines of the greatest, if not most egotistical, airline of all time. I especially enjoyed the story about the pilot who left his car running at the terminal... A must read and most worth while...

Captain Gandt, a former Pan Am pilot, is a gifted writer. Even for a non-aviation enthusiast, this book is a page-turner.

While this book is not, and does not claim to be, a comprehensive history of Pan Am, it recounts the rise and fall of the airline anecdotally from a pilot's perspective. Captain Gandt brings the personalities, quirks, and idiosyncrasies of what was once the "world's most experienced airline," to life. Pan Am is portrayed in colorful and often hilariously funny detail, from its clueless leaders who brought the airline to its knees through an ill-advised merger, to aging, absent-minded captains (or "Skygods" as they were known) who treated their younger co-pilots with contempt and sometimes flew their airplanes into mountains. Captain Gandt also sensitively recounts the tragedy of Pan Am flight 103, which was brought down by a terrorist's bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, spelling the beginning of the end for Pan Am.

A highly-recommended book!

Great book for aviation enthusiasts. Fascinating story of the demise of PanAm and the bad management decisions that led to the fall. Also full of stories and anecdotes about PanAm operations from the pilots viewpoint. Follows a group of newly hired pilots from the '60's until the end. I read this book in two days, could not put it down.

A nostalic look at one of the world's premier airlines. During my younger days, I flew Pan Am to several of its world wide destinations such as London, Frankfurt, West Berlin, Montivideo, Buenos Aires, Miami, and New York Kennedy. I always liked this airline because of its exotic destinations, but at that point the planes were really old.

The book is a great read detailing the early starting of Pan Am by Juan Trippe and others. It progresses with Trippe being a visionary in the fifties/sixties with the 707 and 747. These planes really revolutionized the way the public traveled. Along the way, the author tells the story of the Skygods, old flying boat pilots who flew their planes any way they wanted. Sometimes they crashed their planes, and after a series of accidents, Pan Am instituted safety procedures that resulted in the company becoming one of the safest. After Trippe retired,
Pan Am's CEOs became just plain bad, and flew the airline into the ground. The book does answer why Pan Am went Tango Uniform
(bankrupt). Some of the reasons detailed in the book:
1. Purchasing National Airlines at an inflated price and then
moving National's personnel up the pay level to Pan Am's
level.
2. Unfair advantages by foreign carriers for passengers
(landing rights, government assistance, and other fees).
3. No domestic network in the sixties and seventies, even
though the domestics were expanding with international
routes. This is where the Federal Government was
responsible by tying the hands of Pan Am.
4. Poor leadership

The last portion of the book details how Pan Am was sold piecemeal to satisfy the creditors, and then the failure in 1991 after the sale of the remaining European routes to Delta.

Gandt is a former pilot with Pan Am, and throughout the book, he details the fall of the Skygods. His story includes many personal ones which add interest to the story. Pan Am may not fly anymore, but it is not forgotten. This is a great read for anybody interested in the airline business.

A great book for anyone interested in commercial aviation...especially a pilot interested in airline history. What a company Pan Am was! As a military pilot looking to find an airline job, I wish they were still around.

This was a terrific look at (arguably) an icon - long gone from the skies. But, say what you will, Pan Am (and Juan Trippe) defined modern aviation.... This is an authoritative, incisive, and ultimately, poignant look at the history and corporate culture of Pan Am - and its "Sky Gods". Don't hesitate - buy it.