As Pistons Flew

What was it like to fly internationally as crew on piston aircraft in the 1940s and 1950s; to see everything from volcanic eruptions in Central America to the fiery Frank Sinatra going to Spain; to shop in the ancient Damascas market or the famous Tokyo Ginza; to meet famous people from Marilyn Monroe to Bob Hope? It was everything from landing in the Guatemala jungles, flying through hurricanes, witnessing rebellions, seeing wonders of art near the Seine and the Tiber, observing African tribal dances and enjoyments in the Pacific Islands. Accommodations? Home was an apartment in New York's Greenwich Village to San Francisco's Russian Hill, but hotels after WW2 could be rooms without baths in London to a buri hut in Fiji.