Geoffrey Gray (1) (1979–)

When covering the facts and history of the D.B. Cooper hijacking case, this book does an admirable job. I haven’t read any other books on this specific topic but I found the writing to be clear, compelling, and showing all the signs of being well and thoroughly researched, the best type of non-fiction writing.

After the hijacking itself however, things deteriorate somewhat. Learning about the litany of Cooper suspects makes for fascinating reading, but an author can only stretch that subject matter so far and I got the distinct sense this writer was trying to inflate his page count.

Overall this was an interesting, if not exceptional read.
… (meer)

3 stars: Enjoyed parts of it.

From the back cover: "I have a bomb here, and I would like you to sit with me." That was the note handed to a stewardess on a Northwest Orient flight in 1971. It was also the start of one of the most astonishing whodunits and manhunts in the history of the American true crime; how one man extorted $200,000 from an airline then parachuted into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, never to be seen again. The case of D.B. Cooper is a modern legend that has obsessed and cursed his pursuers for generations with everything from bankruptcy to suicidal despair. Now with "Skyjack", author Geoffrey Grey obtains a first ever look at the FBIs confidential Cooper file, uncovering new leads in the infamous case.

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This book is split into three sections: the skyjacking, the immediate chase/ aftermath, and years later, looking into people who may have been Cooper. The first two sections were "A's"-- very well written, engaging, with fascinating details. Only a small amount of the money was ever recovered; the rest never made it to circulation. Cooper clearly knew planes, with very specific details so he would be able to parachute out the back, without the cabin losing pressurization. He was never rude, but he was bold. Who was he? Did he survive? What happened to the money?

Too bad the last third of the book falls apart. It was terrible. It was gossipy, discussed "characters" that were completely superfluous. There were a few people, mostly women, who were portrayed unsympathetically as losers trying to discover if their loved one were Cooper. One particular standout passage went thusly: "I see breasts. Huge breasts. Colossal jugs. The screen changes. Now its a thong buried in the crevice of an oiled up butt. Now it's a vagina. Now another vagina." Describing a characters screen saver. The character himself was superfluous; certainly this passage is there purely for childish titilliation. Its too bad, as the rest of the story was so good.

Ultimately, Gray only shows what we already know: very little. There are some possibilities, and perhaps it was none of those suggested. None stood out to me as having particular credibility.… (meer)