Grok My Enthusiasm (6)

By: Alix Lambert
February 17, 2016

One in a weekly series of enthusiastic posts contributed by HILOBROW friends and regulars.

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skies

Brendan I. Koerner’s The Skies Belong to Us (2014) is a can’t-stop-reading account of recent American history as told through a series of hijackings. The book details numerous cases, consistently returning to the tale of Roger Holder and Cathy Kerkow — who commandeered a plane from Los Angeles to Algeria, the longest distance a hijacked plane has ever traveled. Holder was a Vietnam vet who, like many other Americans, had become deeply disillusioned and was searching for a way to protest.

During the early days of the hijacking epidemic, the destination was always Cuba. The stops were so frequent, and the airlines so resistant to implementing any security measures, that all pilots were instructed on how to land at José Martí International Airport regardless of where their flight was headed. The whole country was watching the drama that was unfolding in the skies. In many cases, people were rooting for this new brand of bandit. The long unfolding saga had everything: heroes, villains, humor, sorrow, politics, war, protest, race, and no shortage of public figures — including Angela Davis, whose release from prison was the original demand made by Roger Holder.

As hijackers became bolder and more violent, their goals and destinations more disparate, it became increasingly difficult to dismiss the phenomenon as mostly harmless and often entertaining. They became aware that they could use airplanes as weapons rather than merely as a means of reaching their destination. People were being shot and injured. Supporters of these outlaws of the skies were turning against them.

There is no account of 9/11 in the book but for readers it casts the dark shadow of hindsight. Referring to Cathy Kerkow at the end of the book, Koerner writes, “…however much we might wish to sever ourselves from the past, ties of blood and memory remain.”

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GROK MY ENTHUSIASM: Rob Wringham on THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LUNCH | Gordon Dahlquist on WEEKEND | Joe Alterio on MILLION YEAR PICNIC | Adrienne Crew on LA BARONNE EMILE D’ERLANGER | Josh Glenn on THE SURVIVAL SAMPLER | Alix Lambert on THE SKIES BELONG TO US | Adam McGovern on PENELOPE and CHAVEZ RAVINE | Rob Wringham on THE LYKE WAKE WALK | Mark Kingwell on NORTH STAR SNEAKERS & GWG JEANS | Gordon Dahlquist on FELLINI SATYRICON | Erik Davis on AH! | Devin McKinney on WHISPERING AFRAID | Mimi Lipson on 1973 SEARS ROEBUCK CATALOG | Jessamyn West on MOSS | Josh Glenn on THE SCOUT HOW BOOK | Brian Berger on SLACKER | Alix Lambert on ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS | Chelsey Johnson on MONOTREMES | Devin McKinney on THE BUTCHER COVER | Flourish Klink on ONE DIRECTION | Gordon Dahlquist on FULL METAL JACKET | Allegra Huston on CLOTHESLINE | Jenny Davidson on POWERLIFTING | Evan Narcisse on REZ | Deborah Wassertzug on VEGETARIAN MEATBALLS | Chris Spurgeon on WALLACE AND GROMIT | Mandy Keifetz on BENEFICIAL MICROBES | Annie Nocenti on MARKS ON WALLS | Molly Sauter on THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF | William Nericcio on LAND OF THE LOST | Dan Fox on “VOICE OF GOD” RADIO DJS | Brandi Brown on WIKIPEDIA TALK | Claire Lehmann on THE APPARATUS REVEAL | Alice Boone on COSTUME JEWELRY | Colin Dickey on WIDESPREAD PANIC | Anshuman Iddamsetty on THE FULL BODY PROJECT | John Hilgart on MAKING GRATEFUL DEAD ALBUMS | Rob Wringham on STEVEN UNIVERSE | John Overholt on DECKLE EDGES | James Hannaham on HABIT PATTERNS | Jessamyn West on THE PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM | Adam McGovern on THE SPACE GIANTS | Brian Berger on MEDIUM COOL | Chris Spurgeon on THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT | Joe Alterio on TABLETOP WARGAMING | Mimi Lipson on TRASH PICKING | Jason Grote on CZECH CINEMA | Roxane Gay on AUTOMATED CAR WASH | Dan Fox on JULIA DAVIS | Amy Thielen on BINGO | Steph Burt on FEIJOA.

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