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Tag Archives: hijacking

“The Skies Belong to Us” by Brendan I. Koerner

The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking” by Brendan I. Koerner continues my trek through this year’s Notable Books list.

From the nonfiction side of the list, this book uses the story of one airline hijacking event in 1972 to explore the “epidemic” of hijacking in the 1960s and 1970s, before screenings and metal detectors became part of the airport landscape.

It makes for interesting reading, how Koerner keeps the thread of the 1972 hijacking intact as he weaves in additional information. In some ways it reads like true crime, this story of Roger Holder, a black Vietnam veteran struggling with mental illness and addiction, and Cathy Kerkow, his white “hippie” girlfriend. Koerner does a fine job describing their story in the social context of the time. That story extends long after the plane they hijack lands in Algiers.

A couple of quibbles–throughout the book, Koerner refers to “stewardesses” instead of “flight attendants.” That would be the vernacular of the day, but it seemed outdated when he was writing from a contemporary viewpoint. Second, Koerner often writes as if he knew what Kerkow was thinking or feeling. Because she disappears years after the events of the story, Koerner could not have interviewed her, and none of his many notes shows a written record of her thoughts or emotions during the complicated hijacking or the chaotic period that followed.

Even so, I’ll recommend this to people who seek social history, and to those who are especially interested in the era of the 1960’s. I could see this being a strong nonfiction choice for book groups who usually read fiction. Holder and Kerkow’s story illuminates many issues of their era, a number of which remain lively and relevant.