"Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B Cooper" by Geoffrey Gray
Jeff Glor talks to Geoffrey Gray for "Skyjack" about a new look at the old case of D.B. Cooper, the daring hijacker who jumped out of a plane forty years ago. He was never found, and the case has never been solved - the only hijacking case in history that remains unsolved. The Cooper case was in the news again recently when a woman came forward claiming her uncle was D.B. Cooper.
Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?
Geoffrey Gray: I didn't find this story, it found me. I had no option to chase it. There was true mystery here, and nothing else seemed as interesting or important.
JG: What surprised you the most during the writing process?
GG: The physical labor. A book is like a muscle lifting competition. You have to be in great shape to go the distance. I found myself literally having to work out and get in top shape to finish work every day.
JG: What would you be doing if you weren't a writer?
GG: I dream often of....playing professional tennis (or pitching for the Yankees), opening a restaurant, becoming an inventor, a cold case detective, a volunteer fireman, and then maybe semi-retiring as a recreational farmer.
JG: What else are you reading right now?
GG: The Horn and the Sword: The History of the Bull as Symbol of Power and Fertility, by Jack Randolph Conrad, and The Billionaire's Vinegar by Ben Wallace.
JG: What's next for you?
GG: I have many superstitions, and one is to never talk about a project before it happens. I will say the mysteries and stories that interest me now are compelling relationships between ordinary people, displays of courage, and moments in time that, when extracted, say all there is about all there is.
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Based on his extensive research, Gray believes that the mysterious highjacker was not the debonair daredevil he is often made out to be.For more on "Skyjack," visit the Random House website.
