Life in the Air: Surviving the New Culture of Air Travel

Chapter 1 Introduction Part 2 The Airport Chapter 3 The Terminal as Transition Space and Gateway Chapter 4 The Airport as Shopping Mall Chapter 5 The Airport as City and Community Chapter 6 Eroticism and the Airport Chapter 7 Boredom, Delays, Cancellations Part 8 Nowhere Architecture Chapter 9 Place and Placelessness Chapter 10 Airport Architecture: Creating a Sense of Place Chapter 11 The Airport Sign System Chapter 12 Social Activities within Terminals Part 13 Life in the Air Chapter 14 Frequent Flying: What Fliers Want Chapter 15 Airplane Etiquette: Behavior in the Air Chapter 16 Drunks Chapter 17 Laughs Chapter 18 Meals Chapter 19 Crashes and Air Safety Chapter 20 Fear of Flying Chapter 21 New Horrors Chapter 22 Medical Emergencies Chapter 23 Dehydration Chapter 24 Jet Lag: Flying and Folk Religion Part 25 The Compression of Space and Time Chapter 26 Industrial and Corporate Changes Chapter 27 The Need for Air Travel Chapter 28 Experiencing Space/Time Compression Chapter 29 Bi-Coastalism and the Fear of Flying Chapter 30 Bi-Coastalism: Disorientation and Decompression Chapter 31 Living in the Air: How People Do It Part 32 The Airline Business: Growing Concerns Chapter 33 The Emergence of Transactional Spaces Chapter 34 Capitalism and the Path to Deregulation Chapter 35 Hubs, Spokes, and Deregulation Chapter 36 Discount Carriers Chapter 37 Crazy Fares Chapter 38 When Lives Were Lost due to Deregulation Chapter 39 Labor Costs and Contentious Employer-Employee Relations Chapter 40 Complaints: Overcrowding, Overbooking, and Delays Chapter 41 The Future of Deregulation Part 42 Epilogue:The Most Important Thing Chapter 43 Flying and the Future Chapter 44 References

Mark Gottdiener is professor of sociology at the University of Buffalo.

Serious political-economic analyses are accompanied by interesting in-flight anecdotes. Sociological Abstracts A compelling and scholarly perspective. The Houston Chronicle Life in the Air is a unique look at multiple facets of air travel, that new social reality that engulfs, structures, and frustrates the lives of growing millions. Sometimes political-economic analysis, sometimes in-flight anecdotes, but always thought-provoking, Gottdiener's tour de force forces a rethinking of the kaleidoscopic realities of life as lived, or suffered, in airplanes and airports. -- Joe Feagin, University of Florida