The book gives a critical view of the system associated with the detection and specially prevention of airline disasters. The authors general theme is that although accidents are not completely preventable, the conflicting interesses of the parties involved in the industry; the manufactures, the airlines, the authorities etc. often allow preventable repeated accidents to happen. The author supports his point of view with numerous examples, clearly documented with a lot of interviews of the players involved. For anyone interested in a behind the scenes look written by an author which allows lay-man to follow the conversation, I would recommend this book.

This book, by noted airline industry author Stephen Barlay, is a fine introduction to the *entire* world of commercial air travel. In addition to explaining the concept and mechanics of flight, Barlay reviews the reasons why safety is not as high a concern for many airlines as convenience and economy, the phenomenon of what I call "Airportland," do's and don'ts when flying, air traffic control, and finally--the reason I bought this book--what causes airplane crashes and how they can be prevented or their effects mitigated. The book includes a section of black-and-white photos of some little-known, but important, crashes. Especially useful and surprisingly difficult is the quiz about airline safety. A lot of what you think you know is wrong! Despite including tons of information, the style is quite readable. I highly recommend this book.

It's been a few years since I picked up this item, along with quite a few others in a quest to find grand suspense and adventure on the cheap. I actually found quite a few real gems this way; unfortunately, "Blockbuster" wasn't one of them. At first, Stephen Barlay's understated style serves the story well as we are treated to a plot to extort the British government out of approximately one million pounds sterling with the threat to explode a deserted U.S. liberty ship full of high-explosives that sank in the Thames river right near the heart of London during WWII(according to history, the cargo was too unstable to salvage with then-available methods, and was simply roped off from the public to the present day). However, the novel doen't have much in the way of likable characters or coherent development, instead using clever-seeming plot twists that are neither clever or interesting( a friend of mine used to call this Alistair MacLean syndrome: as he got older, MacLean stopped being original and by the early '70s had settled for having his thrillers composed almost entirely of plot twists and understated, tough-guy exposition). And when we finally find out what the extortion plot was really all about we're too bored to care; surprising, considering all the violence liberally sprinkled throughout. Even the climax with the disarming of the bomb deep in the hold of the ship is dull! This is the only book by Mr. Barlay I've read; I hope his others are MUCH better than this snoozer.