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A review by rhganci
Skyjack: The Hunt for D. B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray
4.0
I guess that I missed this episode of "Unsolved Mysteries." Thanks to a fever of interest from my father after his and my mother's relocation to the Seattle area, I wanted to read this book and learn about the only successful skyjacking in history, if "successful" is synonymous with "unsolved." Of the three parts of the book, the first was the strongest, while the last was the weakest. However, despite the book's novelistic stylings, the story itself, and intrigue it has produced over the past forty years, makes any discussion of Dan Cooper compelling (despite the ambitions of first-time book writers). I found the background on Tina, the stewardess, and her reticence is one of the sustainably interesting things about the case.
Structurally, the book is very readable, featuring short chapters, multiple and ever-shifting perspectives, and a lot of era-jumping. While this type of organization is problematic, Gray does not confuse the reader so much as impel him to learn about D.B. Cooper. The discussion of the evidence (and even the insert with the pictures) was as bold and enjoyable to read as the reimagined (and transcribed) dialogues that happened as Gray followed the case.
I enjoyed the book. It was a lively piece of non-fiction that had the mystery of a thriller. My critiques center on my view that Gray has overstated his case by entitling his third section "The Curse." He attempts to inject the story of D.B. Cooper with a degree of mysticism, of which the case is devoid; conversely, it is among the most mysterious heists I've had the pleasure to learn about. Gray needs to add none of the former to highlight the latter.
Structurally, the book is very readable, featuring short chapters, multiple and ever-shifting perspectives, and a lot of era-jumping. While this type of organization is problematic, Gray does not confuse the reader so much as impel him to learn about D.B. Cooper. The discussion of the evidence (and even the insert with the pictures) was as bold and enjoyable to read as the reimagined (and transcribed) dialogues that happened as Gray followed the case.
I enjoyed the book. It was a lively piece of non-fiction that had the mystery of a thriller. My critiques center on my view that Gray has overstated his case by entitling his third section "The Curse." He attempts to inject the story of D.B. Cooper with a degree of mysticism, of which the case is devoid; conversely, it is among the most mysterious heists I've had the pleasure to learn about. Gray needs to add none of the former to highlight the latter.