Cruising Attitude    by Heather Poole Order:  USA  Can William Morrow, 2012 (2012) Softcover, e-Book     Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth Heather Poole has been a flight attendant for over fifteen years. She has seen all manner of personalities in that time and has nurtured the ability to be able to spot recalcitrant passengers as soon as they board the plane. Being a flight attendant is not for the faint of heart. It is a grueling and at times a thankless job. Poole talks of her training and then her introduction to the public as a fully qualified flight attendant. As such she was certified to work long hours for low pay; be on the bottom of the list for preferred flights; sleep two, three or four to a room on layovers; watch passengers eat while attendants were not supplied a meal on domestic flights; be reduced to scrounging leftovers; having to watch everything she said or did in fear of being sacked; as well as follow a myriad of other rules and regulations that really made no sense at all. Being polite and considerate to irate and screaming passengers could not have been an easy row to hoe. It's hard to believe some of the antidotes that Poole recounts but I do believe her. My significant other's daughter and her husband are both pilots for a large carrier and they have encountered rude and demanding passengers themselves, but at least they are not as visible as the attendants who are trying to do their job amongst the passengers. Poole writes with a touch of humor that lightens up some of the days of her employment. She recounts her first experience of finding living space in New York City that she could afford. And continues on from there with one experience after another. Delightfully done and her story ends much too soon. If you are a member of the traveling public, maybe you will look at flight attendants with a little more understanding and kindness after finishing Cruising Attitude. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Travel books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews