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23rd out of 24 books
—
24 voters
The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska
by
Colleen Mondor (Goodreads Author)
Northern Exposure meets Air America in this expose of the daily life and death insanity of commercial flying in Alaska.
The Map of My Dead Pilots is about flying, pilots, and Alaska,and, more specifically, about those pilots who take death-defying risks in the Last Frontier and sometimes pay the price. Colleen Mondor spent four years running dispatch operations for a Fairba...more
The Map of My Dead Pilots is about flying, pilots, and Alaska,and, more specifically, about those pilots who take death-defying risks in the Last Frontier and sometimes pay the price. Colleen Mondor spent four years running dispatch operations for a Fairba...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
November 22nd 2011
by Lyons Press
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I wanted to read this book because my father had been a bush pilot in Alaska during the late-1940s and early-1950s. The book is not a blow by blow history of aviation in Alaska, and in some ways that was a bit of a disappointment. However, I found myself drawn in chapter by chapter to what really amounts to a sort of The Things We Carried for Alaskan bush pilots. Instead of a straight-forward narrative, the book is more a memoir of the author's time spent working in the operations office for an...more
I've been reading Colleen Mondor's blog for awhile and her book sounded interesting. Then I saw that one of my libraries had bought it, so I put it on hold. And here we are.
The Map of My Dead Pilots is an account of the author's years working at an Alaskan aviation company. It's a fascinating book, lying somewhere between a nonfiction essay--which is to say an fact-based narrative about Alaskan flying--and a memoir. Mondor places herself in the middle of the group, but she herself worked in Ops,...more
The Map of My Dead Pilots is an account of the author's years working at an Alaskan aviation company. It's a fascinating book, lying somewhere between a nonfiction essay--which is to say an fact-based narrative about Alaskan flying--and a memoir. Mondor places herself in the middle of the group, but she herself worked in Ops,...more
This book started off really well, but I wouldn't have missed anything if I'd stopped reading halfway through, because so much of the rest of the book just droned on repeting information we'd already learned in the first half.
The actual subject matter of this book is important and of great interest. And the author's voice in the first half of the story is well-crafted and appropriate.
But she ruined things as the story went on by adopting an affected literary style that she couldn't pull off. T...more
The actual subject matter of this book is important and of great interest. And the author's voice in the first half of the story is well-crafted and appropriate.
But she ruined things as the story went on by adopting an affected literary style that she couldn't pull off. T...more
Wow, I could not put down this book. It reminded me of the book, "The Things they carried" in that it has many of the same themes. But instead of war, this was bush flying in Alaska. Like war, there was the death of too many friends. And the death was always close at hand and almost random. It is also how tragic experiences still victimize those that had no physical wounds. But it also celebrates the friendships and black comedy from those experiences. I thought back to a time when I worked over...more
Living as I do in a village accessible only by air and water and in a winter of weather as vicious as this, I am finding a deep desire to also add to this review the tag "horror." Or maybe "thriller." Because this is the world we here live in, dependent upon these pilots and companies, and it's damned scary. Don't believe for a moment that the author is exaggerating. Anything. Because just as the pilots make a (sometimes unfounded) leap of faith that they'll complete any given trip, so do we as...more
My cousin wrote this book. I can't wait to read it!!!
I don’t remember where I heard about this book – maybe from Goodreads? Maybe from an article somewhere else on the internet. But I am so glad I read this because it really resonated with me – it’s about aviation in Alaska, superficially, but more importantly it’s about life. I, for one, am not familiar with aviation in the slightest, but it didn’t matter, reading this.
I loved the writing in this book. I think the essay format was perfect for telling these stories.
I also loved the stories – the...more
I loved the writing in this book. I think the essay format was perfect for telling these stories.
I also loved the stories – the...more
I live in a world that revolves around aviation, so I was very excited to read this memoir. Piloting a charter plane in Alaska means you are flying in what can be harsh conditions. It also means flying by sight, unusual cargo (everything from dogs to dead bodies) and it can mean some pretty risky situations for the pilot and the crew. I was immediately drawn into the book by Colleen Mondor's writing style; it is straightforward but the feelings she had for the people and the place really came th...more
It was obvious by the 2nd chapter that this book was a compilation of articles the author had written for various magazines, and newspapers. She repeated the same stories over and over. Although her sentiments were admirable, her writing was awkward--dialogue where narrative would have been better. Contrived attempt to close each chapter with a catchy sentence. Interesting for a quick look into the world of bush air service and the pilots who fly for them in Alaska.
This is very interesting, maybe a little scary if you have to fly in Alaska.
When we were in Alaska we flew in a small plane from Talkeetna and landed on a glacier. It was lots of fun. We almost didn't get to go because of the weather. They kept saying maybe, and keep checking back.
It snowed a foot of snow on the mountain the night before and they said we couldn't land because if it was too soft we might not be able to take off from the glacier. They were so sure we weren't going to land that t...more
When we were in Alaska we flew in a small plane from Talkeetna and landed on a glacier. It was lots of fun. We almost didn't get to go because of the weather. They kept saying maybe, and keep checking back.
It snowed a foot of snow on the mountain the night before and they said we couldn't land because if it was too soft we might not be able to take off from the glacier. They were so sure we weren't going to land that t...more
This memoir is deceptively simple at first, but through a lyrical, searching voice, circling at various heights over the same themes and events, Mondor builds to a powerful impact. You think this book is about the dangers of Alaskan flying when it's actually about story-telling and the elusive nature of truth and memories. The structure and tone of the book feel refreshingly original, and I'm grateful for Mondor's reverent observation of herself and the world of the pilots she came to know.
This book doesn't have much binding it all together, and the attempt to do so at the end fell flat for me, but it's still a great read. It's basically like spending an evening at a dive bar with a bunch of bush pilots in Alaska, hearing all of their wildest stories. If that sounds interesting to you (and it should), this book is worth a read.
Received book last month as a Christmas gift from my daughter who lives in Ketchikan. It is written episodically and is basically the author's memoirs of her time working for a bush airlines company in the mid-1990's. I found it totally fascinating in its descriptions of the day-to-day operations, the dangers, the cameraderie of the people that worked and flew.
Very episodic - the author is primarily an essayist and it shows. Often moving, sometimes irritating - Alaska is a giant welfare state supported by our taxes and special lax regulations. Pilots and those interested in aviation will find it a good if spotty read.
i'm not sure why this book worked for me, the story is all dis-jointed, a bunch of anecdotes and recollections about a bunch of pilots in alaska...... not one cohesive story.........but i really enjoyed it
Jun 13, 2012
Mary Williams
added it
Interesting! Lives of pilots in Alaska = independent spirits and ability to take huge risks! Author writes in a very informal style, which matches the lifestyle of people in the bush pilot profession.
I enjoyed it but the elliptical nature of her writing began to be repetitious after a while. Maybe a more straightforward narrative, with an occasional aside, would have been better.
It's a dangerous job and it attracts people who thrive on danger. Pilots in Alaska fight weather, strange cargo and unpredictable conditions. They don't always make it to their destination. The book was very interesting. It was written in a non-linear style, with the story jumping through the years forward and backward.
The book is not just about flying or pilots, but also about life, death, and memories. It is a quick read but very deep at the same time.
Haven't finished this most excellent memoir yet, but I just came across the quote that so far captures the book for me: "Was he just crazy and that's why he liked flying in Alaska, or was it flying in Alaska that made him that way?"
If you are a pilot or if you are interested in flying or if you live in or otherwise have a thing for Alaska or if you just like a thought-provoking, amusing, and well-written memoir...this book is for you!
The chapter called "The Dead Body Contract" is also one that w...more
If you are a pilot or if you are interested in flying or if you live in or otherwise have a thing for Alaska or if you just like a thought-provoking, amusing, and well-written memoir...this book is for you!
The chapter called "The Dead Body Contract" is also one that w...more
My review in AND Magazine: http://www.andmagazine.com/content/ph...
Vaguely interesting.
May 05, 2013
Barbara Brown
marked it as to-read
Apr 30, 2013
Kaethe
marked it as to-read
Apr 20, 2013
Erin
is currently reading it
Apr 01, 2013
Kathy
marked it as to-read
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Jan 26, 2012 12:19am