Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray
Who was D.B. Cooper? Did he survive his infamous parachute jump with $200,000? How unbelievably common were skyjackings in the late 60s and early 70s? This last question is what really got me. I didn’t realize how many planes were hijacked during this time period. The first part of the book deals with the workings of the airplane industry and what the responsibilities of pilots and stewardesses were. Let me tell you, it is a far cry from the service one can expect today. There is also an extremely detailed description of the skyjacking from the people who were there and the FBI agent who became the lead on the case. The second part of the book breaks into a few strings, each string following a different man, a different man who could have been D.B Cooper.
I enjoyed listening to this book because you start reading about the obsession of the FBI agents working the case, and other men who have spent the better part of their lifetimes searching for the Cooper money. Then you begin to realize that the author of the book is as obsessed as the people he is writing about. He NEEDS to know who Cooper was. It is the focus of not only his book, but his life. And he’s got some wonderfully convincing candidates, but no solid proof. The answer to “Who was D.B. Cooper?” is left in the hands of the reader.
