Non-Stop: A Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines

by Jack El-Hai

From its earliest flights in 1926, carrying mail and occasionally a solo passenger to Chicago, to its acquisition by Delta in 2010, Northwest Airlines soared to the heights of technological achievement and business innovation—and sunk to the depths of employee discord, passenger dissatisfaction, and financial bankruptcy. Its story, rich in singular successes and failures, also has the sweep of the history of American business in the twentieth century. A Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines captures both the broad context and the intriguing details as it weaves together the accounts of individuals who gave the airline its unique from founder Lewis Brittin and pioneering female executive “Rosie” Stein to the CEOs who saw the company through its glory days and its final tumultuous decade. What was it like to pilot a crippled airliner, to be in the vanguard of the new profession of stewardess, to ride in the cabin of a luxurious Stratocruiser for the first time? These are the experiences that come alive as Jack El-Hai follows Northwest from its humble beginnings to its triumph as the envy of the airline industry and then ultimately to its decline into what aggrieved passengers and employees called “Northworst.” Non-Stop hits the airline’s high points (such as its contributions during World War II and the Korean War) and the low—D. B. Cooper’s parachute getaway from a Northwest airliner in 1971 and a terrorist’s disruption of the airline’s last year. Touching on everything from airline food and advertising to smoking regulations and labor relations, the story of Northwest Airlines encapsulates the profound changes to business, travel, and culture that marked the twentieth century.

328 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Jack El-Hai is a widely-published journalist who covers history, medicine, and science, and the author of the acclaimed book The Lobotomist. He is the winner of the June Roth Memorial Award for Medical Journalism, as well as fellowships and grants from the McKnight Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, and the Center for Arts Criticism. He lives in Minneapolis.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Business and history writer Jack El-Hai has written a coffee table sized book that you might just be tempted to pick up and actually read, from cover-to-cover, non-stop. When I first spotted this high altitude journey down Northwest Airlines’ memory lane in a book store just before Christmas, I knew for me it was a must read. When I recently rediscovered it again in our local library, it was a no brainer.

Within these 280 photo-packed pages, El-Hai documents 84 turbulent years of aviation history. El-Hai is not the first to attempt to capture the essence of a carrier some passengers and employees have called “Northworst Airlines.” Other authors have approached its incredible journey before. Kenneth Ruble, Geoff Jones, Stephen Mills, Robert L. Johnson and Al Checchi are perhaps among the most notable. El-Hai himself, in fact, acknowledges their contribution and draws from their earlier works.

One of the many things I took away from taking this trip back in time was discovering how often Northwest pioneered advances in aviation technology and services. For example, Northwest was the first airline to offer oxygen to its passengers, the first airline to introduce stewardesses, the first airline to offer in flight alcoholic beverages, the first airline to devise techniques to detect and avoid air turbulence, the first U.S. carrier to operate an all fan-jet fleet. Ten years later, Northwest introduced the first computer-generated airline tickets. You might also say that Northwest was the only airline from which a passenger escaped in flight via parachute. (See pages 186-87) You could also say a Northwest ticket holder was the first and only passenger to light his underwear on fire in flight and on purpose! (See page 275) It’s worth noting that this attempted terrorist attack occurred just six days before Northwest Airlines would lose its independence, its name and identity to Delta Airlines.

In fact, the D.B. Cooper and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab cases dramatically illustrate that this is not a company authorized biography. For example, you would not expect to read about a Northwest CEO being convicted and jailed for contempt in a company brochure. You would not expect to see all of Northwest’s major crashes and fatalities chronicled by the carrier. You would not expect to read about all the employee strikes or bankruptcy filings in promotional literature from Northwest’s public relations department. How many corporations would even dare to refer to their own history as “turbulent?” Author El-Hai pulls no punches. You’ll find the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of Northwest’s past documented here.

What really sets El-Hai’s printed documentary apart from what could’ve been a dry historical read are the numerous side bar vignettes sprinkled throughout the entire volume. Here you’ll get up close and personal information on Lewis Brittin, one of Northwest’s founders. There are colorful details here on Northwest’s pioneering airmail efforts. In this company narrative you’ll meet some of Northwest’s earliest passengers. You’ll read perhaps for the first time Northwest’s connection with aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh. Other behind-the-scenes glimpses of Northwest’s earliest pilots. You’ll meet Camille “Rose” Stein, said to be the airline industry’s first female executive. You’ll ride with Charles “Speed” Holman, Northwest’s first operations manager. You’ll discover being a Northwest flight attendant was more than “coffee-tea-or-me.”
You might even be surprised to read about Northwest’s role in World War II and the Korean War. There’s so much to enjoy here. This is corporate history writing at its very best. So, keep your seat belt fastened, your tray table in an upright position, and get ready to explore the not-so-friendly skies of what used to be called Northwest Airlines!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent, very business oriented - fascinating in some respects to see the story of a company from birth to death, like an organism. I used to fly Northwest every year in the 90s to visit my father in MN; kind of amazing to read about behind the scenes issues of which I took no notice as a young passenger. But a lot of business talk can be a bit dry, bland - El-Hai’s writing is fine, but labor talks and merger negotiations are, as plot points, not super thrilling. The pictures are terrific.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t end up reading this book, but given I worked for Northwest Airlines and the author is now my Northfield tenant, I am glad to own it. It has a lot of history, but also pictures, so similar to a coffee table book.

[Krithik Vallem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m glad someone wrote a giant deep dive with pictures into the exact niche topic I wanted to learn more about. Very readable book but I like aviation and Northwest Airlines in particular so this book may not be for everyone.

[Bixmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information, love all the illustrations and sidebars. I wish there was more of an epilogue.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Martin's movie “The Jerk” was billed as a “rags to riches to rags” story. Perhaps that would be a good description of many US airlines, although the cycle would be repeated many times in the latter case.

In “Non-Stop: A Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines”, author Jack El-Hai looks into the history of the Minnesota-based airline from its 1926 start as a mail carrier to its 2010 loss of identity in a merger with Delta Airlines. The book provides just the right level of detail – readers who are only looking for an overview won't pick it up, and historians looking for depth will not take a sniff at a coffee table book, even one with as much text as this one has. (Which is not to say that the book lacks illustrations; photos accompany every chapter and sidebar).

The book is not a puff-piece promotion for the company, either. The decisions and moments that the company would not be proud of – crashes, labor issues, bankruptcy filings, and a hijacker known as Dan (D.B.) Cooper among them – get equal coverage with successful passenger / employee satisfaction ratings and profitable years.

If you like the old-style glamor of the airlines when flying had a panache, if you like corporate histories, or if you simply want to a little more about the businesses that helped grow Minnesota, this book is recommended.

DISCLOSURE: I was awarded this book free of charge via the Goodreads FirstReads program. While the author and publisher would probably appreciate a public review – and would really like a good review – nothing was requested or promised.

RATING: 4 stars.

[Kathleen Riley-Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Tails -- living in Minnesota, we all understood how those tails impacted our economy and airline pricing.

“Non-Stop: A Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines”, author Jack El-Hai gives an overview into the history of the Minnesota-based airline from the 1926 mail carrier days to the 2010 merger with Delta Airlines.

I wasn't sure where to categorize this book. It isn't all images, but it also isn't an in0depth history of the airlines. The images are wonderful and the brief stories are good at giving a little bit of the history without being as dry as eating sand.

This is not a promotional book to show how wonderful NWA was -- which is good, because the company had some less than stellar historical moments. Covered are crashes, labor issues (think of all those pickets on your way to get on a plane), bankruptcy (did they ever pay that back to the State of Minnesota), and one of my favorites that I had forgotten was tied to NWA, Dan D.B. Cooper hijacking one of their airplanes.

If you are looking for an interesting overview of the heydays of flying with a some historical information to flesh out the images, this is the book for you.