Donald Bain

What can I say about Coffee, Tea or Me? I wrote it in 1966 while working in public relations for American Airlines, and it went on to spawn an entire genre of wacky comedies, including three direct sequels. All in all, the four books sold more than five million copies worldwide, and became my annuity for almost 17 years.

Coffee, Tea or Me? was published, of course, during an era when commercial air travel was glamorous and fun. Anyone traveling by air today knows that’s no longer the case, which is why I’m excited about Putnam's plan to reissue the book this spring or early summer, with a new introduction I've written.

Rachel Jones and Trudy Baker, the by-lines on the book, were assigned to the two young women who hit the road and appeared on radio and TV shows all over the country to promote it. Those weren’t their real names (they’d been stewardesses for Eastern Airlines--now in a more politically correct term--called flight attendants), but one legally changed her name to Rachel Jones to capitalize on her fame under that name.

The illustrations are by Bill Wenzel, whose sketches graced the pages of many of the nation’s better magazines.