This book is a collection of short (ie 2-15 pages each) memoirs written by flight attendants for TWA, an airport based in Missouri, from the 1960s through 1990s. As someone who's never flown, I was interested in getting this peek into the airline industry and the lives of the flight attendants/hostesses. The stories are so quick to read, but can be a bit repetitive if you read a bunch back to back, so I suggest reading just a few minutes at a time. Most of the stories are fun, happy memories, but a few touch on more serious topics. The book gave me an interesting look into a company and lifestyle that I knew nothing about. I greatly enjoyed reading about this "airline to the stars".

As it happens I was reading this book on recent Flights I took and found the stories and memories amusing. It contains a variety of memories and stories from many decades and so we learn about the sexism flight attendants faced from TWA as well as from the crew and customers. Some of the stories are really interesting, some are really dated and cringe-worthy. This is a light and quick read that you don't have to read in one sitting so although not a lot of substance here, still can be an enjoyable read.

I only got a few chapters in before I stopped reading. I wanted to like this book, but it was too casual for me. The language is more like spoken conversation than a book, and I was not interested in the way it was written.

Talk about a fun and interesting read! What a wild ride (pun intended) I loved learning the good and bad stories from the flight attendants that lived it.

Very entertaining book.

Stories are interesting and do not go on and on. I found the pace of the book kept me wanting to read - partly because the book was interesting but also partly because I kept saying 'wow, that really happened?'. I am a bit afraid to fly now LOL.

Writing was good, not amazing, but somehow it added to the stories and made them sound even more real.

Great book to read when you are looking for something light.

In the 1960s and 1970s, flying was an EVENT. People got dressed up, received drinks and meals and sat in large and comfortable chairs on the plane. They were served by beautiful and thin flight attendants whose make-up and hair were always done and high heels were always on. Flying has definitely changed.

True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants was eye opening to what flight attendants actually experienced on and off the plane. I really enjoyed learning about it.

The book was well done and I enjoyed the pictures throughout!

This book was entertaining to read in pieces. I couldn't just sit and read it through. A ton of short stories. Lacking any sort of cohesion. Some were, funny some interesting, some not so much. I feel like the book had potential if it was structured better. Stories are randomly thrown together.
But a cool look at the flight industry in the 1900's.
Thank you Netgally, publisher, and author for the RAC.

I enjoyed reading the brief memoirs of various TWA flight attendants, from the early days with Howard Hughes to more recent encounters. However, the writing skills of the flight attendants vary enormously, and some were quite difficult to finish.
I only made it through about 70% of the book.

True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants is an interesting look into earlier air travel times. I enjoyed the mostly humorous stories of actual flight attendant experiences. The stories range in length from a single page to several pages. The writing styles vary widely, which makes total sense since this is a compilation of stories from many people. The book ends on a very somber note with several remembrances from the crash of TWA 800.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. For those of us of a certain age, it may bring thoughts of the 1970's Coffee, Tea or Me, but this is much better. It consists of individual remembrances of TWA flight attendants, crew and other employees. Some are sad, most are humorous. Read and enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Some of the stories in this book were very interesting. However, some of them were boring. My favorite gave the reader a glimpse into the days of when airline travel was glamorous. Overall not a bad book; just focus on the stories that are interesting to you.

This collection of factual anecdotes from TWA hostesses (flight attendants) from the 60s 70s and 80s was at times interesting, the stories themselves read as flash fiction - most are no more that two pages.

I did enjoy the book. I liked the emotionality of them. Some are serious, some are downright grave, but most are lighthearted. There is a copy of an actual acceptance letter as well as a list of ALL the questions asked (most of which wouldn’t fly today).

I do feel that the book would have benefitted from some type of chapter delineation. Perhaps grouping the stories either chronologically or thematically (even geographically) would have helped

The thing I found disturbing (and I think this is a point they are trying to make) is the idea of blind allegiance to The Airline. These jobs were highly sought after and seen by some as glamorous. But a company so restrictive on height and weight of employees, much less dictating how to wear you hair and your marital status, just doesn’t compute in this day and age.

If I had to define the book in one word it would be “uneven”. But I’m sure there is an audience for it - even if that may not have been me.

I tried. I really, really tried. But I could not read this entire “book.” If you appreciate reading disjointed “blog-like” compilations or lists online- this is a compilation you may like. I did not expect a novel with a complete story line, but some level of organization to the stories may have been helpful. Having some editing for continuity and terminology usage could have been helpful as well, not to mention to smooth out voice and writing style discrepancies.

The introduction lays out that TWA operated during the “Golden Age” of air travel and the TWA attendants were practically royalty, though allusion to sex and other “services offered” both in air and on the ground abound. The randomness of name dropping every possible Hollywood actor or actress that could appear on the book, seemed gratuitous and as click-bait-like as we’d see online. Pages of actor and famous people listed, why? Is there a story- then tell me the story. But please stop short of “You’ll never guess what Actor McActorsen did on the flight!”

Had the stories been organized into categories (traveler behavior, crew behavior, knuckle buster trips (scary), Star encounters) and then possibly by “timing” to a woman’s career with TWA newbie stories then to later in her career, may have been helpful. It would at least provide some continuity to the stories.

I know that the world was different back then, and I can’t imagine working in this environment. But the sexual harassment, propositioning and horrid behavior (from both men and women) should no longer be celebrated. “I didn’t believe in panties back then and someone walking into the lav as I was adjusting my skirt! Oh how funny!” “She wrapped her legs around him so he could “get a closer look.” I seriously hope that this behavior would not be tolerated now. How can we expect flight attendants and women in aviation to be treated with respect when we publish this without also including at least a NOD to how the world worked? And what would happen if this was tried today? If this is meant to be a true sex erotica-fantasy, then be up front about it. Or put those stories in a category so I don’t have to read them if I don’t want to. I’m sure there’s an audience somewhere, but it’s not what I wanted to read. No, it’s not all sex, but even in how captains speak to women, how passengers treat the women, it was difficult to read.

As a friend of mine flies the skies as a flight attendant, she has a lot of these stories in her queue, so it was interesting to me. It is a memoir, so if that is not your genre you may not enjoy it. Some stories shocked me while others appear as society norms. Whether it is in the classroom, mall or a restaurant. people never seize to amaze me. Famous people do make them a little more interesting because they are not above the norm....LOL

They are short stories, so it doesn't take long to hum through. Attendants are on lengthier rides than a bus ride with school children, but sometimes adults can act just as bad. The book is humorous and contains a lot of puns to enjoy. It will make you think the next time you fly! Be kind to these people and enjoy the ride!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Remember those books - Chicken Soup for the Soul? This book is written like those. 4-8 pages for each story. I love this format. It's so easy to breeze right thru them all!
And what great stories! I would have loved to be one of those early day TWA hostesses, or at least to have flown on those flights. A different era indeed!
But people - the people don't really change. They still had to deal with the arrogant ones, as well as the nice ones. The stories about the celebrity encounters, the hijackings, the crashes, and the sweet stories that will warm your heart.
I enjoyed it cover to cover.

Thank you for letting me read an advance copy.

A (mostly) light hearted romo through the Golden age of air travel. The highs and lows of being an air hostess when celebrities regaled first.class with boozy lunches and one could smoke care free thousands of miles up in the air.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
What a disappointment. I loved in this era. Knew lots of flight attendants and thought I would love this point. Unfortunately it was too disjointed with no cohesiveness. Read like reader's digest snippets. Good to pick up for a quick read.

What a fun read! I like to pick this up while I'm waiting somewhere, especially in the carpool line. It's easy to read a quick story or two instead of endlessly scrolling social media. These stories were so interesting! I always thought flight attendants seemed glamorous...until I flew a lot and saw rude people lol!

I’ll give this book one thing - there are a lot of stories and they are very short. This is super positive. The problem is, many of the stories are pretty boring.

I’m not sure what I was really expecting but very few of these stories held my attention and that’s sad. I’m not sure if it’s the stories themselves or my head space but this just didn’t do it for me.

Even though this wasn’t my cup of tea and my rating is low, I still recommend it. I feel like there’s an audience out there that will absolutely adore this book - I’m just not part of it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ebook!

⭐️⭐️

Long but interesting! The stories provided by TWA flight attendants are interesting to say the least! It is an easy book to pick up while reading other books. I do think it would have been better set as several volumes though since it is so long!