Flying Blind: A Novel of Amelia Earhart (Nathan Heller Mystery Series)

Amazon.com

"Now it was the next morning and the gas was in the plane. The tall, slender woman I'd lusted after the night before was standing next to me on the tarmac, near her ship, buckling a tan helmet under her chin, flashing me that gap-toothed grin she hid from photographers...." The woman, of course, is Amelia Earhart, and the man describing her is Nate Heller, ex-Chicago cop and private detective to the rich and famous. One of the most original characters in the historical mystery area, Max Allan Collins's Heller has jousted with Al Capone, helped out Clarence Darrow, and probed the killing of Huey Long--taking all his cases very personally. But a bad experience with a sadistic Charles Lindbergh has left him leery of flying, and it will take all of Earhart's charm to get him into a plane from St. Louis to Albuquerque, and then to Los Angeles. It's 1935, and Heller has been hired by Amelia's husband (the conniving publisher G.P. Putnam) to both guard her body and search out possible lovers on a book tour. A warm relationship grows up between the flyer and the detective, and when Earhart disappears a few years later, an overage Heller enlists in the Marines to search for her on the island of Saipan. The story is framed by scenes of a retired Nate in 1970 being persuaded to revisit Saipan by a persistent Earhart researcher, and the conclusions that Collins offers about her fate are as convincing as they are moving and exciting. --Dick Adler

Book Description

The most honored mystery series in the history of the Shamus Awards

In this ingenious new novel in the Shamus Award-winning series, detective Nathan Heller tries to solve the greatest mystery of the century--the unexplained disappearance of Amelia Earhart...

"One of Collins' best...a terrific novel of what really might have happened when Amelia Earhart disappeared."--Detroit Free Press

"Highly entertaining."--Los Angeles Times

"Compelling...Collins, who has been nominated for an unequaled eight Shamus Awards, could be in line for number nine."--Booklist

"Buckle your seatbelt and get ready for a journey into a world of intrigue, espionage, betrayal and a rousing good time. Collins is at his best."--Mostly Murder

"An entertaining and pro-vocative look at Earhart... highly successful."--Publishers Weekly

* Max Allan Collins has been nominated for the Shamus Award an unprecedented eight times for his Nathan Heller novels, and has won twice

* The new Nathan Heller novel, Majik Man, is available in hardcover from Dutton

* Available in Signet paperback: Carnal Hours, Blood and Thunder, Damned in Paradise

Customer Reviews:

Flying Blind - A (Fictional) Story of Amelia Earhart.......2005-05-11

PLOT: Nate Heller, Chicago detective, finds himself recounting the memories of his own experience with the life of Amelia Earhart. Enrolled by Amelia's husband, G.P. Putnam, as an undercover detective, Heller becomes emotionally tied to Earharts' life, career and the risky business that comes with it. Later, when Earhart becomes lost during her around-the-world flight, he takes on a mission of his own; to find out the truth behind it all.

Type of Fiction: Mystery/Action/Adventure.

Positives: Collins has a remarkable ability to write a fast-paced, twisting, and eventful novel filled with lively characters, descriptions and memorable imaging. This book is an incredible portrayal of an Amelia Earhart theory, definitely showing that the author has done research.

Negatives: The author put to use the characteristics of a stereotypical detective when constructing Nate Heller, the main character. I also found it full of crude humour and subject - which is mostly a fault that my own opinions fail to dismiss. However, I don't find that it diminishes the plot - only subtracts slightly from my own enjoyment while reading.

Recommend? Definitely! This book, despite its negatives, is an incredibly written and thoroughly researched gem for those who are interested in mystery, Amelia Earhart, or aviation history. Having done research on Earhart, I would recommend this highly if you're looking for a basic introduction, or imagery for remembrance.

Age Range: 14+ - Sexual scenes, discussion and crude humor.

Where/When to Read: Well, I suggest waiting til after your air flight. Other than that, rain or shine, inside or out, I think you'll enjoy this novel.

Happy Reading!

Slander? Nah........2004-12-24

Flying Blind is a solid entry, though not my favorite, in the excellent Nathan Heller mystery series. The "slandering the dead" complaint may reflect a generation gap. I don't find the depiction of AE as bisexual to be slanderous at all. The depiction of her sex life may be prurient, but it is completely in character with the narrator. I can't speak to the Packard tranny; that may be an error. (Maybe old Heller's memory is slipping as he writes his "memoirs"). As to the 9mm, that's no anachronism. Browning did make a 9mm automatic that predates the classic 1935 Hi-Power. 9mm was not common in the U.S. in Heller's day, but not unheard of. Many war-trophy Lugers were in the hands of the good, the bad and the ugly on the mean streets of the USA.

one of the better Nate Heller books.......2001-10-18

Having read all of Collins' Nate Heller casebooks, I would rank this one as fitting into the top 5 or so. Not as snappy as the early Chicago-based ones and certainly nowhere close to the pinacle of the series Stolen Away (about the Lindbergh kidnapping), this book still has all of the best features of these books: Great background, terrific characters, funny dialogue, ample sex (using charmingly veiled language without lapsing into cute-ness), and a plausible plot that finds our man in the midst of one of the 20th Centuries best mysteries. If you haven't read a Heller book, seek out True Crime and True Detective, then jump to Stolen Away and then come here. You'll be glad you did.

Well written and entertaining, but offputting.......2001-04-25

It's been a while since I've read a Nathan Heller novel. I loved "Stealing Away" and enjoyed the others I've read, but I figured that the more we saw, the harder it would be to swallow just how many famous mysteries Heller was involved in. And that's what happened here, especially since Heller is far more involved with Amelia Earhart than he's ever been with a client or a victim.

That involvement colored the rest of the book in a way that was a bit more cynical than usual and that made Heller a lot harder to take. I appreciate that the speculation about history's truth is just that, and that we can disregard the whole thing, but Heller's love for "Amy" makes almost every other character in a position of authority seem sordid if not evil. The result is a rather simplistic narrative. That Collins would treat Huey Long with more sympathy than any effort to spy on Japan in preparation for the inevitable war is perpelxing.

This is still a fun read, but it's just not the same as the earlier works. And after you've had your hero sleep with Amelia Earhart, what's next? Eleanor Roosevelt?

Collins take historical speculation too far.......2000-04-05

Flying Blind troubled me in ways that none of the other Nate Heller books have troubled me. (I've read a total of nine.) The most important source of my reservations is Max Allan Collins' portrayal of Amelia Earhart's sex life, which seemed speculative to the point of presumption. While historians and biographers have long wondered if she was bisexual or lesbian, that speculation is a long way from having Heller, in one scene, discover Ms. Earhart in bed with another woman. The mistake is aggravated by the fact that Collins doesn't use his interpretation of Ms. Earhart's sexuality to illuminate her character--the same night she's been with the woman she goes to bed with Heller, just like any of Heller's numerous other girlfriends. The two carry on an intermittent affair throughout the rest of the novel, even talk about marriage--but the subject of Ms. Earhart's feelings for women never comes up again, leaving the impression that Collins employs it solely as a sensationalistic plot twist. (Toward the end, in a passage that is less important but even more outrageous, Heller asserts that Ms. Earhart's favorite heterosexual position was woman-on-top. Exactly where in his research did Collins find that "fact"?)

Amelia Earhart is a genuine American heroine. She deserves better treatment than this.

In Collins' favor, the book resembles the others in the series in that he has done a great deal of research, most of it accurate, and often manages to render the atmosphere of Depression-era America convincingly. Occasionally, however, inaccurate or anachronistic details jar--another reviewer has mentioned a Packard's automatic transmission and Heller's 9 mm sidearm. My personal favorite occurs when Collins has James Forrestal, assistant secretary of the Navy, tell Heller that the Japanese are developing a carrier aircraft called by two names--"Claude" and "Zero." Historically, Claude and Zero (aka "Zeke") were two different fighters, a fact still widely known and easy to find out. That Collins gets it wrong undermines a reader's faith in his other research.

Book Description

When darkness falls, storms rage, fog settles, or lights fail, pilots are forced to make "instrument landings," relying on technology and training to guide them through typically the most dangerous part of any flight. In this original study, Erik M. Conway recounts one of the most important stories in aviation history: the evolution of aircraft landing aids that make landing safe and routine in almost all weather conditions. Discussing technologies such as the Loth leader-cable system, the American National Bureau of Standards system, and, its descendants, the Instrument Landing System, the MIT-Army-Sperry Gyroscope microwave blind landing system, and the MIT Radiation Lab's radar-based Ground Controlled Approach system, Conway interweaves technological change, training innovation, and pilots' experiences to examine the evolution of blind landing technologies. He shows how systems originally intended to produce routine, all-weather blind landings gradually developed into routine instrument-guided approaches. Even so, after two decades of development and experience, pilots still did not want to place the most critical phase of flight, the landing, entirely in technology's invisible hand. By the end of World War II, the very concept of landing blind therefore had disappeared from the trade literature, a victim of human limitations.

Customer Reviews:

The Politics of Safety.......2007-05-17

This book gives a detailed account of the history and long, long, evolution of the instrument landing system in use today. I would not call this a literary work; it does not read with a building sense of tension or excitement like a novel, though it could. The nature of the subject itself for any reader that is a pilot, high-mileage airline passenger, or aviation aficionado will fill in the suspense left out in the factual recounting of events.

The goal of the participants from the very beginning was to achieve `blind landings'; to have the aircraft wheels literally touch the ground without the aid of any visual cues outside of the cockpit (thus the title of the book). A goal that remains, even in today's computer driven world.

What IS amazing is the amount and sometimes the pace of the system's evolution that was dependent all too often on purely political or business decisions; not science, and not technology, as an outsider would presume. This is not always the story of science, government, and business working together to solve a common problem, though it did occur. The airlines, driven by the need to fill vacant seats and make a profit, pushed (and paid for themselves, in some cases) for adoption of any system that would improve the opportunity for a scheduled flight to reach its destination in inclement weather, even if that improvement was only incremental.

Conway is to be applauded for the amount of history he has been able to amass, particularly on the early efforts towards this goal, and his extremely methodical and meticulous discussion.

Flying Blind: A Memoir of Biplane Flying over Waziristan in the Last Days of British Rule in India

Average customer rating:

Flying Blind
Fascinating!
Highly recommended reading for aviation history enthusiasts.
Absolutely Top-Drawer, and Richer for the Re-Reading!

Flying Blind: A Memoir of Biplane Flying over Waziristan in the Last Days of British Rule in India
Geoffrey Morley-Mower
Manufacturer: Yucca Tree Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1881325407

Book Description

The author joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot in 1937, an ominous date in history--only two years before the outbreak of World War II. He was nineteen years old and handicapped by astigmatism. After arrogantly fooling the medical examiners, he bluffed his way through flight training, encountering a series of flight training adventures which could have ended his career.

His luck continued when he was sent to Imperial India during an insurrection led by the infamous Faqir of Ipi. There he flew the Westland Wapiti, an open cockpit biplane of World War I vintage, and lodged in a battlemented mud and brick fort where the aeroplanes were pushed inside the walls at night to shield them from sniping Wazirs.

From the naivety, enthusiasm, and confusion of youth, Morley-Mower develops into a mature man who finds love, adventures, and himself while serving his country.

His fascinating account of army and air operations over the wild and lawless terrain of the Afghan border is filled with detail, immediacy and human interest. It is supported by diary entries, giving dates and descriptions of individuals who played prominent roles in the campaigns. It, therefore, provides a unique contribution to the military and political history of the period; a history almost entirely ignored by scholars because of the advent of a world war.

FLYING BLIND is a glimpse into a way of life during the last days of the British Empire in India, an era which ended after World War II. It deals with a period in the author's career before MESSERSCHMITT ROULETTE: The Western Desert, 1941-42, in which he described his adventures as a Hawker Hurricane pilot during General Erwin Rommel's campaigns in Libya and Egypt.

When the war ended, his status as a pilot was revoked because of his eyesight but, taking advantage of a little used privilege, he appealed to King George VI to reinstate his flying career. He won.

Customer Reviews:

Flying Blind.......2005-05-24

As a pilot, I could identify/sympathize with Mr. Morley-Mower's flight training. A down to earth book that tells it like it was. This is a tale of an unasuming hero. A must follow on is his first book, Messerschmitt Roulette. Thank you Geoffrey.

Fascinating!.......2003-07-21

Great heroic story! Fascinating records of army and air operations over the treacherous terrain of the Afghan border. Shortly after the war, a pilot fights to keep his flying carrer with his appeals to King George VI! Does he win his? I'll save that for you!

Highly recommended reading for aviation history enthusiasts........2000-09-05

This account of army and air operations over the Afghan border in the last days of British rule in India will intrigue a wide audience, from those interested in books on early plane and biplane flight to readers of military accounts. The author joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot in 1937, two years before World War II: his experiences in an antique plane provides a fine account of his adventures and close encounters.

Absolutely Top-Drawer, and Richer for the Re-Reading!.......2000-07-14

I could not put this book down. What I found remarkable about FLYING BLIND is that Geoffrey Morley-Mower has already written one of the most engaging and insightful memoirs of any veteran of the Second World War, MESSERSCHMITT ROULETTE. Yet FLYING BLIND is, in many ways, an even more satisfying book. Here, in the second volume of his memoirs, we meet the man and the pilot on the cusp of living his dream: flying for the RAF on the distant edge of the British Raj. Morley-Mower's self-deprecatory wit, his elegant and understated prose, and his gift for narrative sustain FLYING BLIND with a verve rarely found in fiction, much less in military biographies. The men who fought the good fight in the Second World War are fading from us, but this book reminds us of their honor, valor, and above all, their humanity, in ways that few other books have. Geoffrey Morley-Mower's second volume of his memoirs, like the first, is reminiscent of William Manchester's outstanding remembrance of serving in the U.S. Marine infantry in the Second World War, GOODBYE DARKNESS. Like Manchester, Morley-Mower has no room for bombast and plenty of room for reflective, highly-charged prose. FLYING BLIND is a must-read for anyone interested in great writing. For military scholars, it is a jewel, as so few of the iron-backboned RAF heroes are still alive. Thank God Geoffrey Morley-Mower wrote this book, bless him. And, as Hemingway once said, good books never suffer in the re-reading. FLYING BLIND is richer in the re-reading. Enjoy.

Average customer rating:

Flying Blind - eye opening!
Should Be Condensed to One Sentence!
Our Security is at risk!
PC Policies that put us at greater risk.
An eyebrow raiser!

Flying Blind
Michael A. Smerconish
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0762423765
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Book Description

Radio talk show host Michael Smerconish asks the question: In a post-9/11 world marked by constant threat of terrorism, why do the Department of Transportation and the Transportation Security Administration continue to jeopardize airline security by enforcing outdated screening regulations that cater to political correctness? The policy in question-disallowing airline security screeners from using profiling to target young Arab males for secondary screening-goes against the basic police investigative strategy of using pertinent information to pinpoint suspects and prevent further terrorist attacks. The issue first came to light during the 9/11 Commission hearings, and Smerconish's investigation gets to the heart of it. Drawing from U.S. Government documents, testimony from the 9/11 hearings and the June 24, 2004 special Senate hearing, on-the-record conversations with major airline officials and government representatives from the TSA and the Pentagon, personal experience, and various news stories and first-person accounts, Smerconish weaves together a stunning portrait of our flawed and failing airline security structure, and offers a strong solution. Includes audio CD with testimony from the 9/11 Commission hearings, testimony from a special U.S. Senate hearing about airline security, and excerpts from Smerconish's radio program including conversations with 9/11 Commissioner John Lehman, U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and John McCain, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Flying Blind - eye opening!.......2007-01-03

Smerconish says what he thinks, which happens to usually be consistent with what I think and experience. It is a fast read, which reminds us that we DO need to keep paying attention and that political correctness is a disease and that common sense is not as common as it needs to be!

Should Be Condensed to One Sentence!.......2006-03-05

Smerconish's upset is that we're fighting a war against young Arab male extremists, and our government enforces politically correct "random screening" of airline passengers instead of targeting those who look like terrorists. It is a good point, and has occurred to millions of airline passengers already - however, it doesn't merit belaboring into 232 pages.

Our Security is at risk! .......2005-09-24

This book is great as it points out the type of power that one man can have in our government administration. Because of Mr. Maneta being able to sacrafice security for PC and not getting fired for it is amazing. Because of this book I have put the Bush administration and the republican party on notice that they must fix this NOW or I'll be voting differently next election.

This book is a must read for those people that travel and for those that wonder what the government administration fail to do to protect us.

PC Policies that put us at greater risk........2005-06-14

"Flying Blind" refers to the way our politically correct policies on screening passengers before flight effectively blind our security apparatus to the most likely dangers. The author, Michael Smerconish, is a radio personality in Philadelphia. He got on this issue when he was taking a flight with his family and his eight year old son was selected for "secondary screening". Makes sense, right? Many terrorist acts have been committed by eight year old boys.

Then he heard John Lehman questioning Condoleezza Rice during the 9/11 hearings and was shocked to hear Secretary Lehman refer to a policy that airlines would be fined if they singled out more than two people of a given ethnic group, say Arabs, for screening. He then did an on air interview with Lehman, then wrote a news article, then a TV show on this issue. He also interviewed Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines who confirmed this PC policy about random screening.

So, if you think our security is enhanced by pulling aside children, old women, or other members of groups never implicated in terrorism, then this book really is not for you. However, if you would like to see how and why Norman Mineta insists on the present policy, you will find this book valuable. It is a short book and reads quickly. There is even a CD with portions of the author's radio show that are relevant to this book.

I believe our present policies on screening are foolish and putting us at risk. Smerconish is not advocating racial profiling, however, putting increased attention on those who are more likely to be terrorists simply makes sense. Check your blood pressure before you read this book because when you see how out of it so many in our government are you might explode.

An eyebrow raiser!.......2004-11-25

This is quite a book, describing the effect of political correctness on our national security. Almost unbelievable!

Fact: In early 1942, then-Governor of California, Earl Warren, who eventually became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, with the collusion of President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D), had all of the Japanese/American residents on the Pacific Coast and Hawaii, including U.S. Citizens, interred in what can only be accurately described as "concentration camps." Their property, in most cases, was confiscated and sold, including prime agricultural land.

The reason?: It was thought that they represented a threat, and the U.S. government was fanning racial hatred in time of war against our enemy. We have since paid token reparations on an individual basis, a couple generations and many ruined lives later.

How things have changed!

Today, we are at war with Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorists. In 1979, the U.S. Embassy in Iran was attacked by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

In 1983, the U.S. Marine baracks in Beirut was blown up by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

in 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70-year-old American passenger in a wheelcair was killed and thrown overboard by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

In 1988, Pan Am flight 103 was bombed over Scotland by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

On October 12, 2000, 17 U.S. Sailors lost their lives on the U.S.S. Cole, bombed by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

On September 11, 2001. four airliners were highjacked and flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

In December, 2001, a young Muslim male extremist tried to light a shoe bomb on a commercial jetliner.

In 2002, reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped on murdered by young Muslim Male extremists mostly between the ages of 17-40.

Since then, the scenario has been much repeated, with captives, including a woman humanitarian worker, in Iraq, being shot and beheaded, etc. The culprits, as you can see, are not hard to identify in this country, when they venture here to do their mischief.

But this author tells us that if more than two members of the same ethnic group, or who appear to be of the same ethnic group, are stopped at the airline for secondary screening, the airline will be fined for "profiling." If, for example, you have four or five young Muslim Males mostly between the ages of 17-40, you may only stop two of them for further searching or questioning, or be fined for profiling.

The world has changed, but not for the better.

If police are aware that cocaine smuggling in South Florida is being carried out massively, and that 90 percent of the traffickers are black males in new, big shiny black Cadillacs, who would you expect them to keep an eye out for on the highway?

But, they can't single them out. That would be profiling.

Has the country gone nuts, or what?

That is this author's question.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Average customer rating:

Nope
What do you think now???
Flying Blind Flying Safe-Is a Must Read for Anyone Who Flies
How to market yourself as an expert, by Mary Schiavo
A dangerous rag filled with biased, unsupported opinions.

Flying Blind, Flying Safe
Mary Schiavo , and Sabra Chartrand
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Reference | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0380799952

Book Description

Written by a crusading former government official, FLYING BLIND, FLYING SAFE is the book that must be read by everyone who flies. In it is the vital airline safety information the public has a right--and a need--to know: the most dangerous planes and flying conditions; the least secure vs the best equipped airports; which carriers to avoid and why; and ways to help yourseslf increase safety.

As Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1990-1996, Mary Schiavo made waves, headlines, and enemies and brought about much needed change during her administration. A former assistant U.S. attorney and licensed pilot, Transportation's "top cop" became concerned early on with what she believed were holes in the aviation safety net and set out to investigate unsettling allegations of fraud, mismanagement, waste, abuse, corruption, and duplicity within the airline industry and the FAA itself. What she uncovered were deep-seated internal policies of denial and cover-up, a shocking lack of concern for public safety and a conscious acceptance of substandard work, parts, maintenance, supervision, and security procedures and practices that have been exposed by dozens of air disasters--including the tragic ValuJet crash in Florida and TWA flight 800 in New York--and which will doubtless be responsible for many more unless Schiavo's warnings are heeded.

FLYING BLIND, FLYING SAFE is your guide to safer, smarter air travel.

Customer Reviews:

Nope.......2001-11-15

I read this book when it first came out. I actually spent money on it which I am mad about now. I didn't even finish it. I got about two-thirds through before I couldn't stand it anymore. She had so many things in that book that were totally false I couldn't believe it. I've been in the airline industry since '88 and had to laugh at this book. And NO I'm not bashing the book because it bashes the airlines and FAA. The FAA needs bashing I think. They have big problems. Airlines are in no way problem-free either, by any means.

The problem I had with this book was that many "facts" she had were completely false. I don't know how someone could, in good conscience, especially someone who is supposedly an authority on aviation safety, write and publish a book on airline safety with as many falsities which can be found in this book.

That's all. Except that when I see her on TV I have to change the station.

What do you think now???.......2001-09-19

I read this book when it first came out. The author received much criticism about her " biased " opinions. In the wake of the terroist hijackings due to lax security, it is safe to say that the FAA is clueless. Of couse people will say that the airlines are responsible for airline security but the FAA regulates the airlines right? How about the child who flew for 26 hours straight on several different planes before being discovered? How do these things happen. Now the airlines are in deep financial trouble due to their incompetence and are crying for the government to bail them out. Mary was right on.

Flying Blind Flying Safe-Is a Must Read for Anyone Who Flies.......2000-03-04

Mary Schiavo has done an excellent job of investigating and reporting on FRAUD and GREED and outright DANGER in the airline industry.It is a must read for any one who flies daily or steps on an airplane just once in their life. She exposes the big boys who pressure the FAA to give them approval on planes before they have been fully tested, known problems with the Valujet planes and many other Airlines. If you HAVE to fly at least take the time to find out what airlines you should use and what airlines have horrible ratings. Mary risked her life to get into print- what we need to know. I have read some of the other reviews of her book -duly noting that they couldn't even SPELL correctly, let alone write a book. They also asked to remain anonymous. I am sure by writing this book Mary hurt a lot of people in the airline industry and it has been a grave embarrassment for them. Well, sometimes industry has to be EMBARRASSED to save innocent lives! For instance the new problems involving the Alaskan airlines.If her book saves one life...we can all say...AMEN. Read the book...draw your own conclusions.I am not a friend of Marys' or involved in the airline industry, but I intend to be an educated consumer.

How to market yourself as an expert, by Mary Schiavo.......1999-12-07

This book is worthless. I don't want to say to much about it, or Mary will have suceeded in further promotion of her disreputable aviation expertise.

Suffice to say, Mary has become expert in everything, except the aviation industry.

A dangerous rag filled with biased, unsupported opinions........1999-11-18

Ms. Schiavo was touted as an expert in aeronautical safety and managed to finagle herself into a high-level position within the government overseeing the functions of a highly technical organization while possessing little to no technical qualification. After being drummed out of the Department Of Transportation for her Inquisition-like controversial practices, she slithered back into private practice and convinced an unsuspecting publisher of her expertise.

The result of her literary effort is a single-minded, agenda driven indictment of the aviation industry with little substance. Allegations of improprieties are supported only by personal opinion and innuendo. Federal overseers are portrayed as mindless oafs, uncaring civil servants or career politicians whos actions border on the criminal. The author does manage to insert some air safety tips but even these are lacking in true substance.

Ms. Schiavo tries to impress her audience as a selfless, dedicated saviour of the traveling public. Unfortunately, her book contains so many holes that the reader is left wondering not about aviation safety but the author's somewhat incredible imagination.

Book Description

A tense, action-packed multi-dimensional story, Eagles Flying Blind follows the acceleration of world political crises at the beginning of the year 2001 from the perspective of an initially conservative young psychologist, Thomas Patrick O'Reilly. His godfather abruptly appears at Thomas's office and urges him to go on a "Vision Quest" to bring about world peace. We follow the transformation of Thomas, who is doubtful and somewhat reluctant at first to pursue this dreamlike mission. Gradually, as his heart and mind become more receptive to inner and outer spiritual guides, he encounters and bonds with many others on this path.

However, opposing forces and characters emerge as well, with subsequent confrontations for him, other peace seekers, and the very existence of life upon Mother Earth. Humanity is caught up in a vicious cycle of terror and conflict in the wake of 9/11. The novelist juxtaposes an interaction of spiritual, metaphysical, science-fictional, and romantic characters intertwined with some of the ongoing world events of the times, leading to a dramatic conclusion.

Average customer rating:

A fun and elegant book by a first-rate poet.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"

Flying Blind: Poems
Sharon Bryan
Manufacturer: Sarabande Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Amazon.com

A brilliant collection of poems, Bryan's book reveals a carefully constructed bridge of dignity between life's tragedies and its more humorous idiosyncrasies. Bryan studies the thoughts that lie hidden behind our common experiences, puts them on the table, and says, Here you are. A wise book full of the author's love of language and all its veils and party horns, the secret and the celebratory.

Book Description

Flying Blind is Sharon Bryan's third collection of poems. The first two, Salt Air and Objects of Affection, were published by Wesleyan University Press. She is also the editor of Where We Stand: Women Poets on Literary Tradition (Norton, 1993). Her awards include an Academy of American Poets Prize, the Discovery Award from The Nation, and two fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts. She was poet-in-residence at The Frost Place in 1993. She teaches as a visiting writer, most recently at Dartmouth College and the University of Houston.

"Sharon Bryan's third collection reveals a clever, ironically detached curiosity about how human beings mediate experience through language. Whatever personal emotions underlie these witty, deftly-crafted poems are transcended by Byran's rationalism and her focus on how we have 'invented words to keep the world / just out of reach.'-Poetry

"A brilliant collection of poems, Bryan's book reveals a carefully constructed bridge of dignity between life's tragedies and its more humorous idiosyncrasies. Bryan studies the thoughts that lie hidden behind our common experiences . . . . A wise book full of the author's love of language and all its veils and party horns, the secret and the celebratory."-Amazon.com

"Reading [the poems of Flying Blind] is like watching a trapeze artist suspended between one flying bar and another, framed by the essential element of air. I found myself laughing, delighting in Sharon Bryan's original turn of mind, spinning on her surface wit. And I found myself saddened by a generalized sense of loss that incorporates my own. At the deepest level, Sharon Bryan's terrain resides in each of us."-The Georgia Review

"The finely crafted, intelligent poems in Bryan's third collection concern the relationships or perceived relationships between life and death, the living and the dead, and, more urgently, our struggles to communicate on the subject. . . . These poems require bravery, compassion, and patience, for they are difficult, painful, and not always self-disclosing. Their deeply personal literary and spiritual drama is at times prayerful, at times macabre, and at times almost celebratory."-poetry calendar <

Customer Reviews:

A fun and elegant book by a first-rate poet........1998-08-14

Sharon Bryan has a superb feel for words and a distinct original way of looking at things. All of the poems here are worth reading, and many of them are brilliant.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain".......1997-10-25

I usually take particular interest in the title poem of a collection. Sometimes it completely encapsulates the poet's point of view--sometimes it ties together several loose themes within the book. At eighteen lines (narrow lines at that) "Flying Blind" is one of the shortest poems in the book. It is short and tight, with monosyllabic words dominating the poem Each word like an attention getting clap--especially in the first line, "We can't quite see". The harsh vowel sounds give power and directness. Larger words come later in the poem as the ideas become more complex and abstract in lines such as "to serenade the universe". "Flying Blind" explains that we know the world and the universe only through our words, and that as we "fly" through it all we only really have our language to guide us. The voice of the narrator is speaking with the authority of a director of a production, speaking from offstage to explain the principle idea behind the scene. With the exception of "Frankly", "Trimmings" and "What Biology is all About" it is hard to say exactly where the narrator is in this collection of poems. In fact, it is almost like a "Where's Waldo" book--she is usually in the position of one in a crowd, rarely referring to herself as an individual. It feels as though she is one of us (sometimes speaking for us) referring to "we" "us" and "our" as a collective humanity, and when "you" is used, it refers to all of us, as though we are being addressed by this Poet/Teacher conglomerate who is sharing wisdom. An example of this conglomerate voice is in the poem "Foreseeing". The audience is not inclusive of the narrator, although she is present in the form of voice. While there is no "I" in this poem, there is a sort of omniscient "eye", one that is not present in all of the poems, but in a few (such a as in "Beholden", "Bemused", "Minutiae" and "Theory". In these poems there is "you". Her omniscient voice in "Foreseeing" has a strange sense of personal knowledge. The voice is one of experience, one that is intimate with age. The poem made me think of writing on a wall, perhaps carved into marble--speaking a truth to us amongst the statues--perhaps like proverbs deemed absolute and universal. What does "we" and "us" do? As I was reading these poems I found myself buying into the ideas presented, and I was able to relate to the narrator in a strangely personal (strange because she seems so impersonal) way. I found myself thinking "Oh, she's one of us", sparing me from a large condescending tone explaining how the world works(like the Wizard of Oz). I feel as though I am on Sharon's team with all the "we" togetherness, as though she is the woman sitting next to me who happened to speak for us all. I have to wonder what her purpose for distancing herself from her poetry is-- and what purpose that serves for her in the process. I wonder if she feels a distance between herself and her poems, or perhaps a fear of intimacy with her inner self (it could also be she was simply trying to be different). Her focus is largely outward, with a leaning for the appreciation of words themselves--as if the words actively shape her reality rather than words describing her reality. She seems to have fun with it, as seen in the poems paying tribute to prefixes and suffixes (i.e. "Be-" and "-Esque"), coming to a point with the cliché ridden rhythmical poem "Sweater Weather: A Love Song to Language". I did not like the poem all that much, on the surface it is unoriginal and against the norms of avoiding clichés in poetry. However, I commend her for taking a risk with this poem. There is a recognized power behind clichés, and this poem is a bunch of snippets of emotion delicately arranged. The fact that the poems are alphabetically arranged further demonstrates her priorities on letters and language. While most poets tediously arrange their collections based on emotion, topic, and general feel, Sharon Bryan has gone even more basic-- the alphabet. The alphabet being the roots of all written and spoken words, without which there would be no emotional conveyance--no transference of thoughts and ideas through speech, writing, or poetry. Sharon Bryan's distance from her work makes a point--that point being the importance of language. Is it a coincidence that that is also the point of the title poem? I don't think so. I highly reccomend this collection.

Cooper Kids Adventure Series: #8 Flying Blind

Average customer rating:

Not as exciting of a plot as the others, but still great
wow
The Fun Of Books
The Lord is faithful in all circumstances
IT WAS A GREAT BOOK

Cooper Kids Adventure Series: #8 Flying Blind
Frank Peretti
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Adventure & Thrillers | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0849936462

Book Description

Fourteen-year-old Jay Cooper is enjoying the view from his Uncle Rex's Cessna when a low-flying 757 speeds past them. Caught in its wind turbulence, their small plane is shaken violently, knocking Rex unconscious and leaving Jay blind from a head injury.

With fuel running out fast, Jay drifting in and out of consciousness, and the plane heading straight for a mountain range, this high-flying adventure shows the importance of faith as Jay faces numerous unseen dangers.

Customer Reviews:

Not as exciting of a plot as the others, but still great.......2003-02-06

It's Frank Peretti's brilliant novel writing skills...condensed! It's a super-cool family of archeologists--minus a mother--who investigate phenomena in the spirit of Indiana Jones, only with a Christian perspective. A nice alternative to the gore and junk in the Indiana Jones movies.

Flying Blind isn't as exciting or as spectacular of a plot as some of the others, but still will keep you on the edge of your seat. Jay Cooper has been struck blind on board his uncle's plane due to airplane turbulence. Now, with the help of ground crew, family, friends, and relatives he must attempt to keep his unconscious uncle alive and land safely...all while he is Flying Blind.

This book appears to be the last of the Cooper kids adventure series, sadly. It's not as grand as some of the other novels, like I said, but it's still worth reading.

For the parents: A pretty tame book, compared to the others. Jay gets whacked on the head and bleeds a little. That's it.

wow.......2002-07-30

This one keeps you on the edge of your seat. Jay Cooper and his uncle were having a fun flight on his uncle's plane, when a larger plane knocked them terribly. Jay becomes blind, and his uncle is knocked unconscious. Jay must now atempt to land the plane without eyesight. He gets help, though, over the radio, from a friend, an airport trafic controler, and finally his father. His family down on the ground tries to think of a successful way for him to land the plane. But it may cost his uncle his life. Can Jay land the plane successfully without injuring himself or his uncle? This book grabs your attention, and keeps it!

The Fun Of Books.......2001-03-14

Derek Carroll 3/13/01

FLYING BLIND

I really enjoyed reading this book because it was very suspenseful. It was full of excitement, it made you not want to stop reading the book or even put it down. It was like being inside a movie acting it out as you read on. I believe everyone should have the Frank Peretti collection in their home. If it is your first time reading a book you should start on this book. If you like a book full of action and danger this is the book you should be reading. It takes place on a little two-passenger plane that belongs to jay's uncle. They both were having fun until a huge passenger plane had blown its engine. The force of the turbulence under the plane forced jay's plane out of control and knocking them both unconscious.

The Lord is faithful in all circumstances.......2000-03-01

My son and myself have read all eight of the series now and have been very touched as well as entertained by the series. "Flying Blind" is a wonderful story of the Cooper family's ability to walk by faith and not by sight. As they are tested by some very trying circumstances God continues to reveal himself as a loving Father faithfully delivering his children thru difficult times. We have been blessed by reading about this family's very Good Friend who watches over and saves His people. Read the entire series and come to know this Good Friend better!

IT WAS A GREAT BOOK.......1999-08-24

I LIKED IT VERY MUCH.IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS

Flying Blind, Flying Safe: The Former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation Tells You Everything You Need to Know to Travel Safer by Air

Average customer rating:

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW WILL HURT YOU!
Excellent reading!
Sensationalism
One of the scariest books I have read.
Read the facts...learn the truth, finally!

Flying Blind, Flying Safe: The Former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation Tells You Everything You Need to Know to Travel Safer by Air
Mary Schiavo , and Sabra Chartrand
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Reference | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Air Travel | Specialty Travel | Travel | Subjects | Books

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General | Reference | Subjects | Books

Safety & First Aid | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW WILL HURT YOU!.......2000-04-29

What you don't know will hurt you when flying old planes, and planes not serviced properly. Anyone who turns a blind eye to this information is living in the bliss of ignorance. (and probably still believes in the tooth fairy!)

You choose your cars with more caution, your tooth brushes and your lawn mowers. PLEASE MARY SCHIAVO, WRITE ANOTHER UPDATED BOOK. I fly SMARTER AND SAFER because of this book.

Consider you choose your childs bike safety helmet and car seat with caution. Please investigate the aircraft you are putting your family in on your next vacation.

Excellent reading!.......1999-09-14

I read this in two days! Interesting reading and fascinating finding out that the FAA isn't really concerned about you-only about you buying a ticket. The first 28 pages were about the ValueJet fiasco and I couldn't put it down. The facts are there and she proves a lot of her points. I can't help but think if it was written by a man, it would have received a lot more press.

Sensationalism.......1999-04-24

The book is poorly written. As an average consumer I should not be expected to wade through 400 pages to figure out how to fly safely. As far as aging aircraft I ride Washington State Ferries that are much older than even the oldest jets in service and think nothing of it. What statistics does she have to prove that a a 25-year-old plane is not as safe as a 3-year old plane. It's taken over 20 years for anyone to even talk about fixing a rudder on a 737. In talking to aerospace engineers I was advised to stay off of a new model for at least 2 years until design problems are resolved. Ms. Schiavo wastes a lot of paper talking about her life, her education and I'm not interested in that my object in reading the book was to fly safely. Perhaps she was one of the top college women but I want to know about how to fly safely.She sets herself up as the hero. Oh, if only people had listened we woulldn't have the Valujet crash In one part of the book she sees something wrong with the plane and when the airline insists it's OK Mary whips out her Inspector General ID and there she is saving the day! There is some good advice she gives, such as not flying with questionable carriers to save money and speaking up if the plane doesn't look safe. This business of no art at airports is overkill. Personally I dislike looking at art by children. Also the business of every May 11 (my birthday) handing back a can of pop to the flight attendant and putting the 30 cents towards safety. Are airlines so poor? Smokehoods? by the time I unfolded one I'd be dead. Also they can melt. Just bring a wet cloth to breathe through. I really question the chapter CULT-ure at the FAA. Is this just whining to get back at the FAA when she didn't get her way? And talk about perhaps flying isn't safer than driving. I know a lot of people who have been killed or seriously injured in auto accidents. I do not know anyone who has been in a commercial airplane accident Perhaps people in Ohio don't drive like people in Washington State so it's not as obvious to her as it is to me that flying is safer than driving. Information was organized poorly (as this review is) . She doesn't quickly get to the point. It would be better to have a 100 page book I could put in my windbreaker pocket when I go to the airport to take a flight.

One of the scariest books I have read........1999-04-18

If you fly or no someone who is going to use the airlines this is a must read book. I took it out of the local library and was so disturbed by its information that I now consider it a reference book and have added it to my library. Having 4100 hrs. in the air as a former Air Force MATS navigator and who had safety constantly drilled into me as a flight crew member, I am appalled by the accusations in this book and their implications for the flying public. This book should be a must read for every congressperson in Washington. Thank you Ms. Schaivo.

Read the facts...learn the truth, finally!.......1999-04-13

As a frequent traveler and a professional in the travel industry, this book compelled me to seriously consider whether or not I wanted to remain in the business. Perhaps most disturbing is the author's documentation of aging aircraft remaining in service and the shortcuts in maintenance as well as the government's inability to oversee the industry properly. Read this book and make informed travel decisions for the first time in your life!

Average customer rating:

Flying Blind
Anna Myers
Manufacturer: Walker Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0802788793

Book Description

Suspend your disbelief as Anna Myers brings magical realism to the Everglades.

Ben Riley is growing restless. He feels uneasy selling the “magic” herbal elixir at his father’s traveling medicine shows. Unconvinced of the tonic’s effectiveness, Ben fears he is doing wrong by staying with his father—but where else can he go?

Murphy, the pet macaw his father has reared since before Ben was born, knows. A self-proclaimed extraordinary “seer,” Murphy receives a powerful message that he, Ben, and the professor must journey to Florida.

After telepathically convincing the professor to travel south, Murphy begins to realize the danger that awaits them there. Throughout the Everglades, tens of thousands of egrets are being killed for their beautiful
feathers, which adorn the hats of all the most fashionable women. Ben and Murphy know the killing must be stopped, but the lines between right and wrong become seriously blurred when Ben takes two orphans
under his wing who rely on feathering to stay alive.

Award-winning author Anna Myers once again showcases her talent at creating intriguing characters and page-turning drama in this coming-ofage story about courage, desperation, and hope set at the turn of the twentieth century.

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