Fasten your designer uniform buttons while Ms Valentine takes you on an exciting, true-life, Pan Am flight into the world of Iranian caviar and Dom Pérignon Champagne. Serving the rich and famous in first class or hosting planes full of military servicemen on R&R out of Vietnam, the unexpected was often on board. From her first step onto a 707 in 1969, right through the final days of Pan Am in 1991, Ms Valentine is spot-on with her descriptions of people, places and events. It is like taking a first-class roller-coaster ride around the world that will make you smile, laugh and cry. She ramps up the pace in London, Frankfurt, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beirut, Sydney, and ports between--taking you right there with her. Watch Ms Valentine mix hard work and jet lag with crew parties, romance, self-exploration, family, and "those dreaded weigh ins". On one hand, she is like Bridget Jones--trying to succeed in a male-dominated culture where the scales are constantly in front of her! And, on the other, she is more like Hawk Eye--balancing the dichotomy of a privileged job within a hierarchical military model, at the front of a war zone. Ramona Fillman: Ramona Fillman grew up in the small Oregon town of Myrtle Creek. She earned degrees in Physical Therapy and MHA in health administration from LLU. She and husband Orvin raised their daughter Tiana on Oahu, Hawaii --where Ramona worked in Pediatric Research with Shriners Hospitals. Her peer-reviewed publications can be viewed on PubMed.gov under "fillman r". She currently resides in Napa Valley with husband, dog and four wild cats --where she met Ann Shelby Valentine. Ann Shelby Valentine: Ann Shelby Valentine signed-on with Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) on March 10, 1969 and remained with the airline until it ceased operating in December, 1991. Initially based in New York, she was also based in London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and temporally in Sydney and Tokyo (for her honeymoon). Pan Am sent her round-the-world on a Boeing 707 for her first assignment. During the Viet Nam War she flew R&R flights onto jungle landing strips and participated in the airlift evacuation in April, 1975. During her time-off she traveled on free airline passes to places like Timbuktu, Mali; Elat, Israel; and Truk Lagoon in Micronesia. Valentine was born in Richmond, Virginia, and subsequently lived in Dallas, Coconut Grove, and Tampa. She attended the University of Florida, UC Berkeley and as related in the book, University of Moscow, USSR. She and her husband live in Napa County, California. They have three grown children. Currently she creates Pique Assiette mosaics at her studio in Calistoga. Used Book in Good Condition