My favorite airline was Pan American World Airways. I avidly read anything I can about their history, especially their pioneering air routes with the Sikorsky / Martin / Boeing flying Clipper ships. Pan Am's pioneering work in South America and the Pacific has always fascinated me.   Their work in negotiating route authorities, convincing dubious aircraft manufacturers to build exotic aircraft, not to mention Pan Am's own technological triumphs in navigation and training elevated flying from the dangerous sport of barnstormers into the safest form of travel that we know today.

On top of that, Pan Am knew you to get you to the far corners of the Earth in style -- berths on planes, linen & crystal on fully set tables, luxury hotels built on specks of sand in the Pacific were only the beginning of the efforts that Pan Am took to ensure a comfortable, memorable, business or adventure trip.

I have created a little mini-history of the Pan Am Pacific Clipper Service here.

I have many books on Pan Am -- you can see which ones I have in my Bibliography.

I have also written an essay on my trip to Southern Africa which describes in detail one of my final flights with Pan Am (to Africa) in 1989.  If you're interested in Pan Am more than Africa, you'll be able to stick with chapters 1 and 6.

Some Pan Am Links That I Enjoy

• Richter Library at the University of Miami
  Great selection of Pan Am photographs and articles.
• Pan Am III
  This one might last.  Owned by Guilford Transportation Industries, they appear to be well funded and have a good business plan.  They're flying between Portsmouth, NH and Orlando, FL.
• Pan Am II (DOA)
  They're not directly related to the old Pan Am, but they do fly the big, blue globe on Airbus A-300 and Boeing 737 & 727 aircraft between New York, Miami and San Juan, along with lots of additional destinations courtesy of their acquisition of Carnival Airlines earlier in 1997.
• Pan American World Airways Historical Site
  Pictures, news and ways to contact other Pan Amigos (i.e., former employees and friends).
• Pan American World Airways Resource
  Current news and information on the new Pan Am.
• The World - My Oyster, Thank You - Pan Am
  Learn more about life as a Pan Am "Stewardess" in the late 1950s.
• Early Pan American Clippers
  Wonderful artwork by John McCoy along with Pan Am history from the 1991 Pan Am calendar.
• Pan Am Brochures & Film Strips
  A full color reproduction of a Pan Am brochure from the China Clipper days, along with a film strip like would have been shown in elementary school.
• Site of the China Clipper Flight Departure
  Information on and pictures of the California Historical Landmark commemorating the departure of the China Clipper in 1935.
• Foynes Flying Boat Museum
  Commemorates Foynes' contribution as a waypoint for trans-Atlantic Clippers.   Also claims to be the home of Irish Coffee!
• Lockerbie Memorial Page
  News, pictures & aftermath of the terrorist act.
• Kelly's Caribbean Bar & Grill
  Owned by actress Kelly McGillis and located in Pan Am's first ticket office in Key West, Kelly's sports the only surviving "Clipper Club."
• Old & New Pan Am Page
  Best part is a list of all of the "Clipper" names used by either Pan Am.

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Bibliography

If you know of any Pan Am books that I haven't included, please take a moment to let me know!

Company History

• PanAfrica -- Across the Sahara in 1941 with Pan Am, Tom Culbert & Andy Dawson, 1998.
  A fascinating account of a little known Pan Am operation -- operations across Africa before the U.S. entry into World War II. 
• Skygods -- The Fall of Pan Am, Robert L. Gandt, 1995.
  Gandt, a Pan Am pilot for 26 years, completes the Pan Am story in this, the only post-demise analysis of the airline.  Gandt has plenty of blame to spread, from the CEOs who managed the airline into the ground, to the "Skygods," pilots who (sometimes literally) flew the airline into the ground.
• Pan Am -- An Airline and its Aircraft, R. E. G. Davies, & Mike Machat,  illustrator, 1987.
  An excellent history of the company told through the aircraft it flew.   Contains great artwork of most every aircraft flown by PA, along with period route maps drawn by Davies.  It's a gorgeous, concise view of the airline.  The entire "Airline and its Aircraft" series is also a treat -- there are volumes on Delta, Lufthansa, Aeroflot, Saudia & Trans Brasil.
• Chosen Instrument -- Juan Trippe & Pan Am -- The Rise and Fall of an American Entrepreneur, Marylin Bender & Selig Altschul, 1982.
  Fawning and critical of Trippe at the same time, Bender & Altschul credit Pan Am with being a major contributor to the U.S. rise to an undisputed pre-eminence in the world in the middle part of this century, while at the same time blaming Trippe and the company's arrogance with causing the airline's destruction.  Good luck getting a copy -- it took Amazon nine months to find mine.
• American Saga -- Juan Trippe & His Pan American Empire, Robert Daley, 1980.
  A kind look at the company, focusing on the amazing technological and political achievements made by Pan Am in the 20's through 50's.  Recognizing that in the early part of this century Pan Am was more recognized than even the U.S., Daley delves into the dealings Trippe made with foreign governments as well as the U.S. government to win his world-wide air routes.
• Empire of the Air:  Juan Trippe and the Struggle for World Airways, Matthew Josephson, 1972.
  I haven't read this one.  It's out of stock.

Clipper Ships

• Last of the Flying Clippers -- The Boeing B-314 Story, M.D. Klaäs, 1997.
  This is a delightful volume and is an authoritative account of the entire history of the Boeing Clipper, covering the reasons for conception, construction, testing, delivery flights, inaugural operations, established records, war and post-war services, culminating in the individual demise accounts for each of the twelve airframes.
• Pan American's Pacific Pioneers -- A Pictorial History of Pan Am's Pacific First Flights -- 1935 - 1946, Jon E. Krupnik, 1997.
  Amazon may not carry this book, but this book has a delightful recounting of the first flights of the Pacific Clippers told through "first flight" covers -- envelopes postmarked as having been on the first flights.
• Explorer's Air Yacht -- The Sikorsky S-38 Flying Boat, P. J. Capelotti, 1995.
  An interesting focus on using the S-38 as a private plane, showcasing the exploits of Lindbergh, the "Flying Hutchinsons," Pan Am and others.
• China Clipper -- The Age of the Great Flying Boats, Robert L. Gandt, 1991
• Poster Art of the Airlines -- Featuring Pan American Airways, its Associates, and its Contemporary Competitors U.S. & Foreign, W. Donald Thomas, 1989.
  As you might guess, a great collection of airline posters.
• Wings to the Orient -- A Pictorial History of the Pan American Clipper Planes -- 1935 - 1945, Stan Cohen, 1985.
  Another history of the Pacific Clippers, this one focusing more on the logistics and resulting product rather than the "first flights" aspect of Krupnik's book.

Employee History

• Glamour & Turbulence -- I Remember Pan Am, 1966 - 91, Aimée Bratt, 1996.
  A self published biography of one flight attendant's service with Pan Am, Bratt discusses at length her view of why Pan Am failed, along with her most memorable experiences. 
• Voices of my Peers -- Clipper Memories, Eugene J. Dunning, 1996. (Self Published).
  A collection of stories written by Pan Am employees, many of which were originally published in "Clipper Pioneers" or other company newsletters.  The stories are fascinating, but many of them have gotten larger with time and have become tall tales.   Of note is a letter from Third Officer Gene Roddenberry (yes, from Star Trek) recounting the crash of "Clipper Eclipse," a Lockheed Constellation in Syria.
• Fasten Your Seat Belts! -- History & Heroism in the Pan Am Cabin, Valerie Lester, 1995.
  Lester interviewed hundreds of Pan Am flight attendants to come up with a great selection of stories of flight attendants doing their best of horrible situations.   Last flight out of Saigon, Tenerife and other low and highlights are included.
• Pan Am Pioneer -- A Manager's Memoir, Sanford B. Kauffman, George Hopkins,  ed., 1995.
  Pan Am's history through the eyes of one of its early managers.  Interesting insight into how the airline made its decisions in the formative years.
• For Pilot's Eyes Only, Ned Wilson, 1993.
  No China Clipper in this one!  Wilson flew for years in the South American division out of Brownsville, Texas, and this is a good account of the airline's "bread and butter" operations.
• Through the Back Doors of the World in a Ship That Had Wings, William Masland, 1985.
  This self-published account is not currently available.  Thanks to Don Simmons, who wrote to let me know about it.  Don writes:  It is a very interesting perspective from a pilot's view of the pioneering days of flying boats across the Atlantic and Pacific. Also it contains some very interesting vignettes from PAA and the Caribbean and South America in the 30's.

• Pan Am's First Lady -- The Diary of Betty Stetinius Trippe, R. E. G. Davies, editor, 1997.
  Betty Trippe's diary recounts Pan Am's early days from when the met Juan Trippe to the development of the Pan Am's world-wide network.
  

Fictionalized Accounts

• Night Over Water, Ken Follett, 1991.
  World War II has started and the last Pan Am Clipper is leaving England filled with passengers with a boatload of problems.  Maybe it's tripe, but it's a story well told.
   
• Phoenix Rising, John J. Nance, 1994.
  Finance and Aviation thriller.  Follow the new CFO of the financially-troubled (and it couldn't be Pan Am if it's not financially troubled, could it?), luxury New Pan Am on an around the world chase to catch the perpetrators of a plot to capture the entire US aviation market.  It's written by a former pilot, and there's plenty of 'technical aviation stuff' interspersed between the excitement.

If you're looking for aviation related books that Amazon calls "hard to find," you might be able to find them at Airliners Online the retail arm of Airliners Magazine.  They have a wide selection of commercial aviation books and souvenirs as well as a semi-monthly magazine that I enjoy reading.