|
|
BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
|
|
Cruising Attitude
Tales of
Crashpads, Crew Drama
and Crazy Passengers
at 35,000 Feet
by Heather Poole
In
CRUISING ATTITUDE, Heather Poole
recounts some of the crazy
moments of her life as a flight
attendant for more than fifteen
years. First, a flight
attendant for a low budget
airline, Sun Jet International
Airlines (nothing international
about it), readers encounter
some horrifying tales of duct
tape repairs and crazy
passengers. Then, readers
follow her through the interview
process at a major airline,
flight attendant school and her
first days on probation as a new
flight attendant. Heather
Poole intermingles stories of
her job with stories of the
people she meets along the
journey from passengers to
roommates in her crash pad
apartments.
CRUISING ATTITUDE is a fun book
for frequent flyers and
neophytes alike. Heather
Poole unmasks the mystique of
the flight attendant's job with
sobering tales of the struggle
to meet the basic needs of life
such as cheap housing and
food. She and her
fellow attendants will go
through some crazy antics to get
a good meal or a place to stay
overnight. Despite the
sobering look at the profession,
CRUISING ATTITUDE has a slightly
sassy, humorous attitude.
Heather Poole strikes an
excellent balance between
revealing the less savory parts
of the profession with an
energetic, upbeat tone.
CRUISING ATTITUDE is an
intriguing mixture of
information about the profession
and gossip about the outrageous
things everyday and celebrity
(unnamed mostly) passengers
do. CRUISING ATTITUDE is
not an exhaustive definitive
look into the profession nor is
it meant to be. In one
breath, Heather Poole gets back
at all the insanity passengers
and pilots have made her and her
colleagues endure, but never
with a particularly mean or
vengeful tone. Just in the
telling but of the events from
the flight attendant's point of
view, one gains a whole new
perspective. After reading
CRUISING ATTITUDE, one will
never look at flight attendants
the same again. Heather
Poole claims the respect they
are due while also sharing her
joys of the profession.
Briefly, the author makes
mention of how things have
changed since 9/11. She
might have expanded on these
changes, particularly those that
have little to do with security
(which probably can't be
shared). The happy ending
quickly changes the tone of the
book into a more personal
perspective. While the
ending explains more current
changes in her life as well as
the course of events that lead
to the writing of the book, it
was not as tight as the bulk of
the previous pages.
If you are looking for a
refreshing change of pace,
CRUISING ATTITUDE definitely
fits the bill. I had so
much fun reading it that I read
large sections aloud to my
husband who was equally
intrigued by this book. He
did not want me to stop reading
and I, myself, only put the book
down to sleep, only to pick it
up again the first minute I
could. Fun, fun,
fun! Although we have both
flown quite a bit, we never
imagined that craziness flight
attendants might encounter, the
low pay or the other working
conditions imposed on flight
attendants. CRUISING
ATTITUDE is a must read for
anyone considering the
profession. If you know
someone considering it, CRUISING
ATTITUDE would make a perfect
gift. But even seldom
flying readers, CRUISING
ATTITUDE is a fun
eye-opener. This reader
would most definitely look
forward to any future books from
this author.
Publisher:
William Morrow (March 6,
2012)
Reviewed by
Merrimon, Merrimon Book Reviews
|
|
|
