In Pan Am: An Aviation Legend, author Barnaby Conrad III celebrates the spirit that launched the world's most famous commercial airline, Pan American World Airways. Filled with stunning photographs, this book evokes the golden age of air travel, when boarding a Pan Am Clipper bound for Pago Pago or Macao meant an adventurous journey in unprecedented style. Historical narrative in Pan Am blends seamlessly with images of everything from cabin interiors and in-flight shots of Pan Am's famous "Clipper" aircraft to colorful ads, art deco brochures and cutaway drawings of luxurious airplanes. Barnaby Conrad also brings to life the saga of company founder Juan Trippe and those who helped create Pan Am's image as "the world's most experienced airline".After Pan American's first commercial flight, from Key West to Havana in 1927, airline visionary Trippe teamed up with aviation legend Charles Lindbergh to pioneer routes into the Caribbean and South America. Enlisting early aircraft builders Sikorsky, Martin, and Boeing, Pan Am developed planes that would finally conquer the vast Pacific and Atlantic oceans, breaking down the boundaries that had separated peoples and cultures. "Some day", wrote Clare Boothe Luce in 1941, "a Clipper flight will be remembered as the most romantic voyage in history". This book gets to the heart of Clare Boothe Luce's observation, offering a pictorial history of American enterprise that will delight general readers, aviation fans, and even art deco aficionados.
In Pan Am, we see cheering crowds greet Trippe and Lindbergh as they visit Caribbean islands and South American outposts. Actors, authors, musicians and other celebrities wave to the camera as they stepout of Pan Am airplanes and onto the tarmac. Pan Am crews performed heroically - and their planes reliably - during World War II.
Although Pan American World Airways ceased flying in 1991, its photographic history stirs the imagination of the air traveler just as images of the Orient Express and the Titanic intrigue railroad and ocean-liner buffs. With more than 240 illustrations and a vivid text, Pan Am honors Pan American's golden era in an unforgettable manner.
