An American Saga - Juan Trippe and his Pan Am Empire

by Robert Daley

Juan Trippe, the first and last aviation tycoon in history, learned to fly in the rickety machines of World War I, when he sky appealed only to daredevils, and his life expectancy could have been counted, probably, in days. He was as star struck as any of the other young aviators of the day, but he was also a Yale educated banker’s son who believed the world was crying out for air travel but didn’t yet know it. In 1927 Pan American had only one route, 90 miles from Key West to Havana. Within eight years at great risk and against fantastic odds Pan Am had crossed the Pacific, and after that Trippe thrust his tentacles into all of Latin America, into Europe, Africa, Australia--even into China. He was a nerveless, sometimes vicious competitor who bought up or drove out of business anyone who got in his way—President Roosevelt once referred to him as a “Yale educated gangster” until he had built Pan Am into the mightiest airline in the world.

Genres: Aviation, Business, History, Biography, Nonfiction

529 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Robert Daley is the author of seventeen novels and eleven non-fiction books. Born and brought up in New York, he graduated from Fordham University, did his military service in the Air Force and began writing stories, articles and books immediately afterward. He was a New York Times foreign correspondents for six years based in France but covering stories from Russia to Ireland to Tunisia, fifteen or more countries in all. Much later he served as an NYPD deputy commissioner, which explains why many of his books have played out against a police background. His work has been translated into fourteen languages, and six of his books have been filmed. He is married with three daughters. He and his French born wife divide their time between a house in Connecticut and an apartment in Nice. France.

Reviews

[M.T. Bass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography was such a long read, it felt like passage on the Pan Am China Clipper. But the story of Juan Trippe was worth the ride. Here is a man whose career in aviation spanned the years between the World War I rag wing Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" to being instrumental in the development of the Boeing 747 as the launch customer. An American Saga: Juan Trippe and His Pan Am Empire is a fascinating read on the commercialization of airplanes, so often overshadowed by war stories.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography of an audacious and remarkable entrepreneur, businessman; a man of vision who deeply influenced the development of both airplanes and commercial aviation. Smart, persistent, with an overflowing bag of tricks he certainly was one of the best negotiators of his era. The story is told with many fascinating details . He was a leader who pushed the aviation business from its infancy to maturity. It becomes clear how and why Pan Am became synonymous with excellence in its field in the sixties.

[Russ Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book. Reads like a novel. Highly recommended history of Pan American Airways.

[D K · Rating 5 out of 5]

It often read more like a biography of Pan Am, as opposed to Juan Trippe who is the person I got the book to learn about. Luckily, the story of Pan Am is quite remarkable and the author included a variety of interesting things about both the airline and Trippe. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lengthy work chronicalling the history of Pan Am and the career of Juan Trippe. A worthwhile read.

[Héctor F. Cadena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juan must have stepped on too many proud U.S. Senators' toes, since they offered no help when Pan American World Airways was in decline.