Barkley was the first of many American skyjackers whose primary interest was money; by 1972, the majority of the nation's hijackings would involve demands for ransom. Barkley himself was declared incompetent to stand trial in November 1971, at which point… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Like many of his fellow skyjackers, 49-year-old Arthur Gates Barkley was motivated by a complicated grievance against the federal government. In 1963, the World War II veteran had been fired as a truck driver for a bakery, after one of… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday, with Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York quickly following suit. — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Light rails are too bus-like to impress most commuters, too squished and close to the ground. Monorails, by contrast, strike a chord with travelers.… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
I was vaguely aware that people used to hijack planes to Cuba. But I didn't know much about how often it happened and what… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
A duped newspaper or magazine could contend that a fiction-spouting journalist obtained part of his salary via fraud, and use a criminal proceeding to… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Barkley was the first of many American skyjackers whose primary interest was money; by 1972, the majority of the nation's hijackings would involve demands… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Particularly during the late 1960s, a large number of American skyjackers earnestly believed that Fidel Castro's Cuba was an egalitarian, post-racial utopia. — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Mystical groups such as the Theosophical Society and the Rosicrucians turned tarot into an American fad during the early 1900s. Many American tarot practitioners… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
The goal of mass transit is to convince people to abandon their cars, which feature such enticing accessories as CD players and elbow room. — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
The first outbreak of America's 11-year skyjacking epidemic occurred in the summer of 1961, when four planes were seized in the nation's airspace. The… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Most of the American skyjackers who fled abroad eventually elected to return to the United States, having tired of life on the lam. These… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
A small-time hoodlum who had spent most of the 1960s at San Quentin State Prison in California, the 30-year-old Bryant claimed that he hijacked… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
The hazards posed by Near-Earth Asteroids are assessed by Sentry, a computer system developed by the Near-Earth Objects Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Spike optioned my first book, 'Now the Hell Will Start,' and he trusted me to write the screenplay, too. That was an awesome learning… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
A surprising number of American skyjackers were not yet old enough to drink or sometimes even drive. These adolescents were generally inept at planning… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
Inventing sources is not a crime in and of itself, although it certainly violates every code of journalistic ethics known to man. A criminal… — Brendan I. Koerner Copy Share Image
