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21st out of 79 books
—
121 voters
Coffee, Tea or Me? The Uninhibited Memoirs of Two Airline Stewardesses
Remember when flying was glamorous and sexy, even fun? When airline food was gourmet, everyone dressed up for a flight, and stewardesses catered to our every need-at least in our imaginations? This classic memoir by two audaciously outspoken young ladies, who lived and loved the free-spirited stewardess life, jets you back to those golden days of air travel-from the captai...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
July 31st 2003
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
(first published January 1st 1967)
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This was one of many "saucy" paperbacks my mother and her friends traded in the 70s as they came to the end of their twenties and wondered if the sexual revolution had passed them by. Even in its day it had a reputation as sexist, mainly because it was an open secret that Donald Bain was neither a stewardess or a woman or that he'd even interviewed flight attendants as he claimed. Not surprisingly, it's basically a man's fantasy of sexual liberation, which, one suspects, isn't all that liberatin...more
Aug 03, 2007
Lisa Vegan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
maybe nobody now but I liked it at the time
I’m sure this is REALLY dated now – this from the era when flight attendants were called stewardesses and they were all unmarried women. A memoir by 2 of them, that at the time I really enjoyed, and read several times. Yes, this is light & breezy & fluffy. But I did learn respect for flight attendants as well because they wrote about the education they needed to do the job, not just about their personal exploits. And some of the stories they tell about passengers they have to deal with a...more
I LOVE airlines and airline culture and all that airplane-y goodness. I tried to become a flight attendant once and was hired and was hired by a certain AAirline in 2001 but then some stuff happened on September the 11th (pause- moment of silence - - and continue) and my dream was never realized. Somewhere after the point of crushed dreams I got a job at a bookstore and read this book. Oh, the hilarity! I think that if I had lived in the 60s then this is the life I would have experienced. Forget...more
This one was a pip! I picked it up for a quarter from the library book sale. (Volunteers get first pick...) I was fully expecting the "twoo stowies" of a Helen Gurley-Brown type "Sex and the Single Girl" number, and it was all that and more. The illustrations were a bit incongruous--definitely from the Playboy School of Triangular Boobs--but the book itself was highly entertaining, and informative, circa 1967. It's co-written (tho the voices blend) by 2 women who became best friends at stew (as...more
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I've been wanting to read this book for about 10 years and kept forgetting to pick up a copy. Perhaps I had higher expectations. I was disappointed to learn that Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones are pseudonyms for the two "stews" who allegedly told these stories to the ghostwriter. Much of seems to have been altered for humor purposes. Regardless, it was a fun and witty read. Kudos to the ghostwriter.
The problem is that it could have been a book about two pretty young women enjoying a fabulous life...more
The problem is that it could have been a book about two pretty young women enjoying a fabulous life...more
I'm not sure what I think of this book. It's extremely dated, of course, and doesn't pretend otherwise, and therefore does have to be taken in that spirit, but at the same time... it's just so dated, and parts of it are, frankly, hard for a 21st-century girl to swallow.
For starters, there's the rampant sexism. It's insane. Basically reality at the time I guess, but insane nonetheless, and I'm just not sure how to take it. The book is an embellished version of truth, and I have no doubt that any...more
For starters, there's the rampant sexism. It's insane. Basically reality at the time I guess, but insane nonetheless, and I'm just not sure how to take it. The book is an embellished version of truth, and I have no doubt that any...more
Who didn't want to be a stewardess in the 1970's? Everyone wanted the glamour, but only a few were chosen. Standards were high, career short. You had to be a certain height, a certain weight and you couldn't be married, etc., etc., etc. But, in spite of all these restrictions, or maybe because of them, we all wanted to fly. Those of us that did not become stewardesses lived vicariously through Coffee, Tea or Me, flying through the exploits of Trudy and Rachel.
This is a fun, totally NOT political...more
This is a fun, totally NOT political...more
Loved this book as a middle/high schooler when I dreamed of living the glamorous life of a flight attendant. Recently found out it was not a memoir written by two women at all, but a total lie written by a man. I am going to pretend that I never heard that and continue loving it the way I always did.
I heard of this book and how it had notoriety in its day, so was curious to read it. It started off funny, then veered into some homophobia (the word 'fag' gets used a fair bit), racism and sexism. Basically, it was really showing its age. Still, it was an okay read but I was kinda disappointed to discover that it was actually written by a man (he also wrote for the show 'Murder She Wrote') and that the two female stewardesses listed as the authors were fictional. The story is that either they e...more
Jun 24, 2012
Tima
marked it as started-but-abandoned
Disclaimer: I stopped reading this book well before half-way.
I bought this book in order to read 2 sassy women's notes from a life of being stewardesses. What I found, was that Donald Bain used a small dash of their stories (and changed their names to Rachel and Trudy), a dash of his own personal flight experiences and a large dose of his imagination. Imagination. Yes, you read that right. He used his imagination [as he states, himself, in the start of the book) and stories an "uninhibited memoi...more
I bought this book in order to read 2 sassy women's notes from a life of being stewardesses. What I found, was that Donald Bain used a small dash of their stories (and changed their names to Rachel and Trudy), a dash of his own personal flight experiences and a large dose of his imagination. Imagination. Yes, you read that right. He used his imagination [as he states, himself, in the start of the book) and stories an "uninhibited memoi...more
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This was written back when homosexuality was an issue in the public eye. So if you're not open minded perhaps you should skip this book as it describes the era of flights. I don't believe this is meant to be offensive, it was just a different time back then. It gives you an idea of how the stewardesses of this time period had to represent the airlines, and the crap they had to endure with their passengers. They recount funny moments, serious ones, and risqué situations as well...for their time f...more
I just read in the introduction that there are 3 sequels to this book. So I went on abe and bought them. Whee!
This is one of my favorite kinds of fluff. Mid-sixties, single girls on the make, a la Jacqueline Susann. It purports to be non-fiction, but was actually written by Donald Bain, a gun-for-hire author who's since gone on to "ghost" the Murder, She Wrote mystery novels. Trudy and Rachel are composite characters who embody the "stews" that Bain interviewed for the book. There's lots of hook...more
This is one of my favorite kinds of fluff. Mid-sixties, single girls on the make, a la Jacqueline Susann. It purports to be non-fiction, but was actually written by Donald Bain, a gun-for-hire author who's since gone on to "ghost" the Murder, She Wrote mystery novels. Trudy and Rachel are composite characters who embody the "stews" that Bain interviewed for the book. There's lots of hook...more
I first read this book in 8th grade. I unfortunately took it to school where it was confiscated by my fascist English teacher who told me she was disappointed in me. And I in turn was disappointed in her stealing my property, being on the wrong side in the battle for intellectual freedom and judging my ass for a book she had never read but I was 12 so I just glowered and fantasized about egging her house. I feverishly searched for another copy of the book so I could finish it AND replace it from...more
My mother read this book when it first came out in the early 70s and when I asked her if I could read it she said it was a little too racy for me.
When the book made its comeback a few years ago I had to solve the great mystery!
This book is dated, but it made me long for the good old days of a much more luxurious experience of plane travel. However, a few of the changes (i.e., non-smoking only flights and eliminating the mandatory retirement age for flight attendants) have been for the best.
When the book made its comeback a few years ago I had to solve the great mystery!
This book is dated, but it made me long for the good old days of a much more luxurious experience of plane travel. However, a few of the changes (i.e., non-smoking only flights and eliminating the mandatory retirement age for flight attendants) have been for the best.
I first read this book in high school and I have to admit, I don't remember being as turned off by it's dated bigotry. Re-reading it recently when I found it laying on a give away pile (It's a two hour or less slam through) I was a bit surprised to realize how biased it is. Is this times changing, me, or both? Either way, it's a decent trash novel that gives you a bit of a view into the swinging sixties stew lifestyle. Ah, "innocence". ;)
This book was around when I was a tween and even then I thought it was funny and unreal. Though listed as a biography and non-fiction I always thought that it was made up and a quick recent perusal has not changed that impression, but it is silly and generally not harmful unless you are naive enough to believe that this is a "biography" or that this behaviour was real.
Oh my gosh, I remember reading this in junior high. One of my parents must have had it lying about. Everything I knew about sex (and Santa Claus) that I knew up to this point, I learned from books my parents kept lying about. Thankfully, they were both big readers, or I would have been frightfully clueless.
Mine is a much older version, and credits Trudy and Rachel as the "authors". It just mentions Don Bain, the actual author, in a "thank you". The voice of this idiotic book does not, in fact, sound at all like a woman's. Not sure why I read this garbage. Does anyone know if the re-issue contains the offensive, hate-filled, gay-bashing chapter called "They Looked so Normal"? And I tried Googleing the "Wisconsin plane crash on Christmas Eve" mentioned, but couldn't find anything. There must be some...more
This book is HLIARIOUS! Whoever Rachel and Trudy were in real life (or whoever actually wrote this thing), they have a tremendous sense of humor. Recommended to anyone who has ever worked in aviation, or flown on a plane, or lived in a dorm...
Lots of fun!
Lots of fun!
Jan 25, 2008
Jeanette
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
former, future, present flight attendants, anyone who wants a fun read
I checked this book out because hello- every flight attendant needs to read it right? I so did not realize that it had been written in 1967 by an author who was born in 1942! its about the glamourous days of flying (they werent so glamorous then either) and i had so much fun reading it. until i got to the chapter on "the homosexuals." i had tokeep from burning the book and keep telling myself that it was written in 1967 by a really really old broad and hopefully by now her attitudes towards "the...more
Another one of my Mom's trashy books.
The late 60's and early 70's really were that free. Unfortunately this reads like the letters to the Penthouse forums.
Still it's a fun read and has a bit of insight into the period of "free love".
The late 60's and early 70's really were that free. Unfortunately this reads like the letters to the Penthouse forums.
Still it's a fun read and has a bit of insight into the period of "free love".
I read this a long, long time ago. I don't remember it for the great story but for the great time I had reading it. I was at the beach, enjoying a week off while I read this. It was the perfect beach-read, actually.
it seemed really fake. the stories weren't linked very well. it ended abruptly. and it seemed one-sided, considering it was supposed to be about two girls, not one telling stories about two girls.
Jan 21, 2009
Chantal
added it
It's dated but doesn't get old. Funny and sexy. I've read it a few times and although it takes place a few decades ago the same things happen still. The title in it's self is wonderful.
Feb 02, 2013
Sandy
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bios-memoirs,
60-s-70-s-classic
read this at some point in my teens. back then I thought it lively and funny. An exciting life... Now? It most certainly would not even catch my eye on the shelf!
Extremely dated, but also very fun. Makes you long for the days when air travel was still glamorous, albeit unbelievably sexist and un-pc in every possible way.
Makes me nostalgic for a time I never knew. I want to go to school, fly and just hang out with these chicks. Was thrilled to see the reissue!
Boy, was this a hot read for a 15-year-old girl and all her friends back in 1972!! We passed it around like crazy!
A fun, light, flirty read.
I chanced upon the set, and they sounded like fun. Wasn't disappointed. :)
I chanced upon the set, and they sounded like fun. Wasn't disappointed. :)
I think every one of my friends (and myself) filched this from our mothers when they weren't looking :)
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“There was a Catholic priest and the Seventh Day Adventist minister sitting together on one flight. The priest ordered a Scotch and water. The minister said, "I'd rather commit adultery than drink." The priest looked up at me and said, "I didn't know I had a choice today." That was a fun trip.”
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