Jet Set: The People, the Planes, the Glamour, and the Romance in Aviation's Glory Years

The title sort of said to me "fluff" -- who went where, the excesses of the wealthy, when air travel began to explode. The wonderful airline food, the outfits the stewardesses wore, the meet-ups in-flight, dates made, just sort of an extended "coffee, tea, or me." The book is NOTHING like that. It wasn't written by an airheaded gossip. This is a fascinating read of what the new mode of transportation after WWII did for the entire hospitality industry. The author delves into how American Express, Diners' Club, the idea of pre-approved hotels, and how it influenced luxury hotel expansion both in this country and abroad (primarily Europe). But he also presents the fascinating side of Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day and the whole bargain travel industry, how it got started, and where it is today. I haven't finished it but am at the portion about the finest restaurants in Paris, the people who owned them, and the people who made both the owners and their establishments famous. I find it hard to put down. When I have finished it I will amend my review.

it is a very engaging and entertaining book. Some may find it very gossipy, Or that it lacks details on the history and development of the airplanes that are in use today. However, Stadiem makes it more readable by making a correlation on the development of the airplanes with the rise of the jet setters who took advantage of the rise of jet-powered airplanes and the airlines that bought the jets, the companies that made them, the tycoons behind them and the high society passengers that flew on them. With glamour, it enticed millions of Americans to travel to foreign lands.If you a re looking for pure history of the airplanes and the airlines, skip this. If you are looking for the history of the airplanes, the airlines, the glamour, the jet setters that flew them and their life, then this is one delicious gossipy yarn that is engaging and readable.

I was completely fascinated by the history in this book. I loved the behind the scenes stories and the way aviation and the rise of screen stars on the move really came together. The pirate like antics of the men that ran the airplane industry make great reading and the history of stewardesses will make you smile in nostalgia, or barf in disgust, depending on your views. It is still a fantastic look back at a tremendously changing industry, time and how it affects us today. Anyone who likes planes, history or just wants a good book, needs to read this!

Great social history, paralleling story of jet travel with ups and downs of British and American upper crust. It's a lot about social and high in the sky mobility in post WWII US. Well developed history of the jet and of big names in aviation and hotel business. Explains what happened to the glory days of jet travel.

Excellent publication; very factual; so much so that I have ordered several of the publications listed at the end of the book. I first began flying in 1958 and my first jet flight on a Delta DC-8 was in August 1960; I first traveled to Europe in August 1965; also began investing in airline stocks about this time so I was able to follow and recall most of the events in this book. My experiences verify the facts in this book.

This could have been a fantastic book, as there is a great story to tell. But it fell badly, badly short. To read the book you would think only the Americans had jet aircraft. I cannot recollect any reference to Air France, Sabina, BEA, or all those other operators who were operating jet aircraft in those early days, or the aircraft they operated. There is too much emphasis on the manufacturers and how the aircraft came to be developed. There was next to no reference to the air crew, how they were recruited, how they were trained, or the many many stories they have to tell. Illustrations in black and white are poor to bad with no colour.The early years of the passenger 'Jet Age' was a great time, with great characters, loads of glamour, and probably romance - both genuine and illicit. This book does not do that era justice. It could have been so much better.

Interesting cultural exposé with a lot of hard hitting facts worth knowing about those who brought about the commercial jet age, and those who gave it glamour and pizzazz. Especially intriguing are the intertwining relationships of the wide array of substantive personages appearing in the book. Well written to a high brow standard—entertaining, substantive, informative.

Thought this would be a light read, but the book was a deep and insightful look at the rise and fall of the jet set, the airlines, the planes, and the culture of the late 50s to the mid 70s. Highly recommend.

My first time reading this author. He has a nice, easy to read, chatty style. I remember the people and names and places and planes. Now I feel I know the people also. Great piece of history of Aviation and Society of early to late 1900s. I don’t know what I was expecting for the price but I got an ex library book. Clean, no creased pages. If you are a boomer, this is a great book. Made me homesick for travel before the politicians took over with their love of paperwork and not too secure security.

This tale starts out as being nominally about new jets, then turns into a history of gossip columnists. Weird, but enjoyable.

I nearly gave up reading Chapter One as it was just a bunch of names being dropped I could have cared less about. I wish I could say I cared about these jet setters more as I went along, but I didn't. I actually thought this book would be more about the airline industry. It's not. So the subtitle is deceiving a little. It's not really about the planes or places and more like TMZ for the newspaper age.

needs more photos.

First rate history of a lost era.