Flying Across America.

Flying Across America

Daniel L. Rust

University of Oklahoma Press

2800 Venture Dr., Norman, OK 73069

9780806138701, $45.00, www.oupress.com

In a single generation, civilian aviation went from a few adventure hardy men and women trying out the new transportation technology of airplanes, to a common place occurrence among a majority of the American population. What might not be obvious to the current generation whose experience with air flight transportation is one of crowded terminals, weather related delays and cancellations, missed connections and lost luggage, is that in its 'Golden Age', travel by airplane was one of elegance, luxury, and the thrill of a lifetime. "Flying Across America: The Airline Passenger Experience" by Daniel L. Rust (Assistant Director of the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Missouri--St. Louis), is a superbly illustrated and informatively written account of the evolution of commercial passenger service from its beginnings in the 1920s through its increasing accessibility in the 1960s, to the Post 9/11 problematic conditions that are the present day norm. Laced through this deftly written history are firsthand accounts from celebrities like Will Rogers (who ultimately lost his life in an air plane crash) to ordinary American passengers. Unique and inherently entertaining, "Flying Across America" is a welcome and highly recommended addition to community, and academic library Aviation Studies and American Aviation History reference collections and personal reading lists.