Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am

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.

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 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!

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.