Sign in with FacebookDachokie's Reviews > Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet
Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet
by Heather Poole (Goodreads Author)
by Heather Poole (Goodreads Author)
A Flight Attendant's Not-So-Juicy Tell-All Account ...
This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine Program.
Looking for a break from reading historical non-fiction, CRUISING ATTITUDE: TALES OF CRASHPADS, CREW DRAMA AND CRAZY PASSENGERS AT 35,000 FEET seemed to fit the bill. The title alone was enticement enough. But this tell-all story from a career flight attendant working for a major airline never seemed to generate enough of a "wow-factor" to live up to the book title's promise.
With all the newsworthy drama associated with flying, from the threat of terrorism and transporting a mixed bag of celebrities, screaming kids and jerks around various points of the globe to issues of turbulence and visiting exotic lands, one would think the stories to-be-told (from a flight attendant's perspective) would be endless ... and interesting. Unfortunately, Heather Poole missed an opportunity to hit a home-run with her book and instead, plays it safe and opts for a base-on-balls. CRUISING ATTITUDE never delivers the high-flying scandal, lechery ... or attitude ... I was hoping to read about. After all, the combustible concoction of arrogant pilots, attractive flight attendants and dopey passengers crammed on an aluminum bird miles above the earth would seemingly generate some good old-fashioned dirt, but her story just never seems to "take-off" (pun-intended).
Where did it go wrong? For me, the manner in which the story was told became a problem from the beginning ... it comes across more like lunch room banter at a high school. The stories are short and choppy, and the people she introduces us to are like passengers boarding the planes ... they come and go before we really get an opportunity to know them. Granted, one downside to her career as a flight attendant is the frequent turnaround of co-workers, but aside from three women (Georgia, Linda and her mother) the storyline is accompanied by a myriad of faceless first-names that serve more as props than people. I was hoping for more intimate character development but feel that even her closest co-worker friend Georgia faded into obscurity too early. The book frequently changes direction from one story to the next without ever looking back, akin to the assertive walking pace most flight attendants seem to display in airports.
What was I hoping for? Sure, I was hoping for more "dirt", but would have settled for exciting instead. Even the chapter on crazy passengers was a miss. Rather than delve into a handful of examples that could really entice the reader, Poole opts for a paragraph of rapid single-sentence listing of several celebrity passenger incidents that seem to have been inserted more as an after-thought. But, this is the manner that most of the stories are told: brief interludes that end just as the reader begins to take interest. The author obviously has an interesting story to tell, but simply fails to tell it in a consistent, captivating manner. The stories are squeaky-clean but told with an innocent giggle that allude to something more, but that is all. A Walmart cashier tell-all book would probably generate more of a thrill.
On the other hand, Poole's book DOES give the reader an education on what flight attendants must endure to attain and maintain their employment. I'll even dare to state that the book might actually (hopefully) assist some people in becoming better airline passengers. I certainly have a great deal more respect and appreciation for flight attendants after reading CRUISING ATTITUDE as the career is certainly more arduous, rigid, and stressful than I had ever imagined. I also respect the enthusiasm that the author displays toward her career and sometimes wonder if this may have hindered her from writing a more detailed/thorough account because doing so may have jeopardized her employment. With that being said, maybe the CRUISING ATTITUDE should have been written in retirement?
While CRUISING ATTITUDE did provide a brief detour in the form of a light, quick read, I never found it to be as interesting has the title led me to believe. Not a totally bad read, just disappointing.
This book was reviewed as part of Amazon's Vine Program.
Looking for a break from reading historical non-fiction, CRUISING ATTITUDE: TALES OF CRASHPADS, CREW DRAMA AND CRAZY PASSENGERS AT 35,000 FEET seemed to fit the bill. The title alone was enticement enough. But this tell-all story from a career flight attendant working for a major airline never seemed to generate enough of a "wow-factor" to live up to the book title's promise.
With all the newsworthy drama associated with flying, from the threat of terrorism and transporting a mixed bag of celebrities, screaming kids and jerks around various points of the globe to issues of turbulence and visiting exotic lands, one would think the stories to-be-told (from a flight attendant's perspective) would be endless ... and interesting. Unfortunately, Heather Poole missed an opportunity to hit a home-run with her book and instead, plays it safe and opts for a base-on-balls. CRUISING ATTITUDE never delivers the high-flying scandal, lechery ... or attitude ... I was hoping to read about. After all, the combustible concoction of arrogant pilots, attractive flight attendants and dopey passengers crammed on an aluminum bird miles above the earth would seemingly generate some good old-fashioned dirt, but her story just never seems to "take-off" (pun-intended).
Where did it go wrong? For me, the manner in which the story was told became a problem from the beginning ... it comes across more like lunch room banter at a high school. The stories are short and choppy, and the people she introduces us to are like passengers boarding the planes ... they come and go before we really get an opportunity to know them. Granted, one downside to her career as a flight attendant is the frequent turnaround of co-workers, but aside from three women (Georgia, Linda and her mother) the storyline is accompanied by a myriad of faceless first-names that serve more as props than people. I was hoping for more intimate character development but feel that even her closest co-worker friend Georgia faded into obscurity too early. The book frequently changes direction from one story to the next without ever looking back, akin to the assertive walking pace most flight attendants seem to display in airports.
What was I hoping for? Sure, I was hoping for more "dirt", but would have settled for exciting instead. Even the chapter on crazy passengers was a miss. Rather than delve into a handful of examples that could really entice the reader, Poole opts for a paragraph of rapid single-sentence listing of several celebrity passenger incidents that seem to have been inserted more as an after-thought. But, this is the manner that most of the stories are told: brief interludes that end just as the reader begins to take interest. The author obviously has an interesting story to tell, but simply fails to tell it in a consistent, captivating manner. The stories are squeaky-clean but told with an innocent giggle that allude to something more, but that is all. A Walmart cashier tell-all book would probably generate more of a thrill.
On the other hand, Poole's book DOES give the reader an education on what flight attendants must endure to attain and maintain their employment. I'll even dare to state that the book might actually (hopefully) assist some people in becoming better airline passengers. I certainly have a great deal more respect and appreciation for flight attendants after reading CRUISING ATTITUDE as the career is certainly more arduous, rigid, and stressful than I had ever imagined. I also respect the enthusiasm that the author displays toward her career and sometimes wonder if this may have hindered her from writing a more detailed/thorough account because doing so may have jeopardized her employment. With that being said, maybe the CRUISING ATTITUDE should have been written in retirement?
While CRUISING ATTITUDE did provide a brief detour in the form of a light, quick read, I never found it to be as interesting has the title led me to believe. Not a totally bad read, just disappointing.
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