| The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking Contributor(s): Koerner, Brendan I. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0307886115 ISBN-13: 9780307886118 Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY) OUR PRICE: $14.40 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - True Crime | Con Artists, Hoaxes & Deceptions - Political Science | Terrorism - History | United States - 20th Century |
| Dewey: 364.155 |
| Physical Information: 0.74" H x 5.07" W x 8.06" (0.56 lbs) 336 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Ethnic Orientation - African American |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The true stroy of the longest-distance hijacking in American history. In an America torn apart by the Vietnam War and the demise of '60s idealism, airplane hijackings were astonishingly routine. Over a five-year period starting in 1968, the desperate and disillusioned seized commercial jets nearly once a week, using guns, bombs, and jars of acid. Some hijackers wished to escape to foreign lands; others aimed to swap hostages for sacks of cash. Their criminal exploits mesmerized the country, never more so than when shattered Army veteran Roger Holder and mischievous party girl Cathy Kerkow managred to comandeer Western Airlines Flight 701 and flee across an ocean with a half-million dollars in ransom--a heist that remains the longest-distance hijacking in American history. More than just an enthralling story about a spectacular crime and its bittersweet, decades-long aftermath, The Skies Belong to Us is also a psychological portrait of America at its most turbulent and a testament to the madness that can grip a nation when politics fail. |