Airframe
by Michael Crichton
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Mike gave me this book when we visited him, Anna, and Kaley at their Woodbridge apt--jesus it must be 3 or 4 (or 5?) years ago. I remember how funny he was about it. Convo went something like this:
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MS: Hey Jay - I got this book for you to have
me: Oh really? Well, what's it about?
MS: Pfft... fuck if I know. Anna tried it. I tried it. Too many goddamn acronyms in it.
me: (laughs)
MS: I'm serious, dude. It's all about an airliner crash. But the fuckin auth...more
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MS: Hey Jay - I got this book for you to have
me: Oh really? Well, what's it about?
MS: Pfft... fuck if I know. Anna tried it. I tried it. Too many goddamn acronyms in it.
me: (laughs)
MS: I'm serious, dude. It's all about an airliner crash. But the fuckin auth...more
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Read in January, 2008
Crichton takes the reader into the manufactory of airlines. The story begins with an "incident" over the Pacific, which injures many passengers and kills a few. The story has some loose ends, but Crichton manages to get across his fear that the US is not protecting its international technological position. There are several stories taking place simultaneously. Our protagonist - a divorcee, finally uncovers some pretty disturbing facts which jeapordize the welfare of her company, wh...more
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Just like with any other Crichton book, you'll learn a lot about one particular subject - airplanes, in this case.
It was engaging, and though airplanes aren't a subject in which I had any particular prior interest, I read it with attention straight through. Be warned; there are a veritable ton of acronyms with which to keep up.
The only real nit I'd pick with "Airframe" is that the character of Bob Richman, the young assistant who of course is Not What He Appears To Be, seemed ...more
It was engaging, and though airplanes aren't a subject in which I had any particular prior interest, I read it with attention straight through. Be warned; there are a veritable ton of acronyms with which to keep up.
The only real nit I'd pick with "Airframe" is that the character of Bob Richman, the young assistant who of course is Not What He Appears To Be, seemed ...more
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Read in April, 2008
I am a big Michael Crighton fan, but this book did not appeal to me. It was very interesting--about a commercial airplane malfunctioning. It was neat to learn a bit about the functions of the plane. Especially since I was reading it on a flight over the Atlanic. From what I understand, Crighton always does really good research for his book, so technical things are believable. There was a lot of bad language in the book. It was really annoying and unneccesary. It was a big turn-off. It ha...more
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Read in December, 2007
<p align="justify">Crichton's general approach is to show the technology/theme in working condition, screw it up and make the humans/characters involved to run for their lives. How many, how and whether they survive/solve it or not is what makes the story. In this case, its a little different. A normal working plane suddenly gows awry. Why and How forms the book. I ended up understanding a wee bit more about the stupendous creation called the airbus. Lots of acronyms, but I ended...more
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Read in August, 2004
recommends it for:
Michael Crichton fans
An interesting read. Focuses on the investigation that follows an incident aboard a commercial airliner. The details about airplane manufacturing and the air transport industry in general were fascinating. Considering how much information Crichton puts into this book, it could have been incredibly dry; instead, I had a hard time putting it down. There are lots of twists and turns in the investigation, and the ending is satisfying. I would say that overall, it's not as good as Timeline, but i...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
techies, particularly aeronautics buffs
Not very thrilling thriller, more like Arthur Hailey without the sex and overdone machoism - in other words, a well-researched book but one that seems more contrived than anything, a lot of elements thrown in to flesh it out, and just an overwhelming about of technical data to hide the fact that there wasn't a lot of story here. But some of the technical stuff was good and it began to pick up speed in the last 100 pages; it was the first 300 pages that were slow. Sorry, Mike, stick to dinosaur...more
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Read in June, 2008
I was pretty disappointed by this book. The story is contrived and full of mountains of dry details on the airline incident investigation. I felt like I was working at an office reading reports rather than a novel. The only thing that saved it was that I actually was interested in some of the details and it was edifying to learn how parts of the airline industry worked - although it is sometimes hard to tell where the fact ends and the fiction begins as with many Crichton novels.
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Read in October, 2007
Crichton's writing has become formulaic and trite. His early stuff was brilliant, but lately, nothing seems original or even all that interesting.
I know enough about the aerospace industry to know he got a lot right, but also a lot wrong in this one. The mystery was only somewhat compelling, and the conflict with the union almost unbelievable. Tough to swallow.
If you want a good Crichton read, pick up The Andromeda Strain or Congo or Jurassic Park.
I know enough about the aerospace industry to know he got a lot right, but also a lot wrong in this one. The mystery was only somewhat compelling, and the conflict with the union almost unbelievable. Tough to swallow.
If you want a good Crichton read, pick up The Andromeda Strain or Congo or Jurassic Park.
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Read in December, 1997
This is a real cotton candy book. It was truly a guilty pleasure. Junk food of books and I loved it. Casey Singleton is the only female vice president of Norton Aircraft and her job is to find out why three people died and 56 were injured on a flight of one of Norton's airplanes. The initial cause was thought to be turbulence. This was kind of freaky because the day after I finished this book, a United flight, in real life, went through the same thing.
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Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
almost anyone
if you like crichton, his style of writing, read this book. it's not one of his normal books but is interesting non the less.
it is about a legal/saftey coverup between an airline, airline manufacturer and the public saftey of a particular airplane that has crashed in similar ways due to the same defect.
a lone investigator is trying to uncover the issue and is threatened in all sorts of ways in terms of career, physical and money.
it is about a legal/saftey coverup between an airline, airline manufacturer and the public saftey of a particular airplane that has crashed in similar ways due to the same defect.
a lone investigator is trying to uncover the issue and is threatened in all sorts of ways in terms of career, physical and money.
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recommends it for:
Adults
Wow, that one was... weird. It wasn't as interesting as some of the others by him. It was mainly just people in an Aircraft making company trying to find out how come something happened during a flight that killed a lot of people. I much prefer congo, or andromeda strain, or books like that. I hear that disclosure is a bit like this one, in that it isn't very adventurous.
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While it has been some years since I read this book, I remember being engrossed and also terrified--though part of the reason could have been because I purchased it at an airport before I got on a flight home. I must have known on some level that this was a mistake, but that did not stop me . . . I have always enjoyed Michael Crichton's novels, this was no exception.
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Read in July, 2007
Too much technical jargon and too many acronyms to be called a thriller. The airplane information gets overwhelming and the "corporate" suspense just isn't that suspenseful. Crichton obviously did a lot of airplane research for this book; he unfortunately shares it all with the readers and it just isn't that interesting. Not one of Crichton's best.
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I've lost track of the number of times I've read this book, which I suppose says something about how much I enjoy it. I wouldn't recommend reading it on a plane (although I did), but it's certainly a well-paced story that really makes you think about how information is presented to the public in the form of mass media, particularly television.
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My very first Michael Crichton book - prompted me to go back for more. This was the type of book that you don't fly through, it is entertaining yet informative.
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Read in June, 1999
recommends it for:
Crichton fans only
Another compulsory read. The story is ok and the intrigue is craftily woven, you have to give the lad that much, but once again, as a 16-year old, I couldn´t care less about flaps, nuts, engines and the like! It wasn´t a bad book, but I found it so hard and sooo painful to read at the time that it put me off Crichton forever!
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The story centers around a woman in an aircraft accident investigation team. It has a thrilling plot and makes a seemingly dull activity (engineering investigation) very interesting. It will simultaneously bolster your confidence in the aircraft industry, and make you worry about the saftey of the airline industry.
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I love airplanes and stories about airplanes. This one seemed really interesting when I bought it. For the most part it was really exciting. I only wish I had closed the book and set it down about 30 pages from the end. Everything was great until the ending which just ruined the whole story for me.
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I wish you could rate something less than 1 star. I read this while staying at my parent's house because it was on the night stand and I like air disasters. This is another Michael Crichton joint full of exposition that actually makes you dumber than you were when you started reading.
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