Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival

Gonzales does an amazing job letting the reader know what a plane crash feels like and all the innumerable strands of fate and fickleness that lead the people involved to the moment of impact. He also does it for the airplane engine that brought about the death and destruction in that Souix City field. The insights he gives are jarring and shocking, but they're balanced with heroism and compassion in the air and on the ground that make the book a character study of the modern world where incomprehensible technology can join with simple people amongst corn and soybean fields and clear blue skies to leave all changed forever.

Sad. Compelling. Well-told!

I've always been fascinated with the story of Flight 232, so when I learned of this book I jumped at it. It succeeds on every level, from the crash itself, to firsthand accounts of survivors, forensics of the dead (which is actually a little bit hard to stomach in places but interesting), to the investigation. It really gets everything right.My only real complaint is with the seller rather than the book - and this is just me. I bought this book from a used book dealer here on Amazon and while delivery and quality were great there was an inscription to someone from the former owner. - I wish I had known about that in advance. It detracts from my personal value of the book a little. - I don't mean the price of the item here. The seller is more than fair.If you are interested in both aviation accidents and being able to get into the human "You are There" narrative then I recommend this book 110%

More than I . More than I ever knew about this disaster. A lot of research and thought went in this story and you get to feel a part of it. A little to much detail on metallurgy but it may have been needed.

The Kindle version of Laurence Gonzales' work 'Flight 232' did not show many of the diagrams and images found in the print version. This seems to be far too common, but as long as editors find no hurt in it, this will not change. I, as a reviewer, am part of that problem. I should give it one star, and demand better editing. But the work that Gonzales poured into the book would be far too badly slighted; even with omissions it deserves five stars!I grew up some distance west of Sioux City, surrounded by Nebraska. A trip to Sioux City was a rare excitement, and Gonzales skillfully brings to memory much of the terrain, the businesses, the hills and the people from my 'then' to his 'now' in a most human manner. As a Nebraska-based charter pilot and flight instructor in the early 1980s, I made as much use of Sioux City airport (SUX) as I could to benefit my otherwise agrarian students and customers. The chain link fence so familiar to those repeatedly watching Flight 232 tumble into flaming wreckage on the wide expanse of airfield was earlier familiar to me as I had stood there waiting for passengers, or being interviewed by local news media when the air traffic controllers left their posts for more pay, better equipment, and better working conditions. I froze. I sweltered.I froze again when reading Laurence Gonzales' account of the accident; those minor details in individuals' lives on which their futures hinge leading up to the accident, and those minute-exploding, week-compressing instant eternities that follow. The flight 232 crash had been personal to me because it happened in my playground. Laurence Gonzales has made it even more so by the simple (??!!) expedient of bringing me face-to-face with so many people involved in so many ways. And they continue to be! Thank you, Laurence Gonzales! Thank you!!

This book kept me reading well into the night. I'm not connected to the airline industry, but have long been fascinated by crash investigations. Crashes are rare, but when they happen they often affect dozens of people - or hundreds of people if you want to include the passengers' and crew's loved ones, and the people who work with the aftermath of the crash. That has never been as evident for me as in this book. You don't just hear the passengers' and crew's stories, but also learn about how the people were affected who had to deal with things post crash. You meet a lot of heroes in this book!The research that went into this book is truly astounding. While I am not so deeply interested in the details of science behind the crash, I can imagine that this is very valuable info for some readers. Some of it was above my head, so I skipped through a bit.While some readers were put off by the unconventional way of storytelling I didn't see anything wrong with it. Not everything needs to be told in chronological order. I was glad to sometimes be told, this passenger would go on to get married, or that passenger would die protecting a child. I welcomed the switch from people stories to science and back again. It gave me a break from the profound emotional involvement and often intense heartache that was at the center of the story.The various stories were told so well I felt I was there.It's not for the squeamish or faint of heart. It's very graphic. It's like being in a crash- but you're not traumatized. You're just very glad you or your loved ones weren't on that plane or part of the clean up crew.I learned a lot, thank you, Mr Gonzales!

Mr. Gonzales has written a riveting account of Flight 232 - the book is a very compelling and absorbing read - he treats the survivors and fatalities with dignity and respect - he has written a definitive account of this catastrophe - reading this book I could almost feel the same emotion that the survivors and rescue personnel felt on that tragic day. Personal stories of heartache and almost unbelieveable survival make this a great aviation survival and disaster book. I could almost feel the same emotion as flight attendant Susan White said when she spoke to her father "I'm Alive". I highly recommend this book.

Well researched and well written whether you are interested in the technical causes of the accident or the human drama. If I were reviewing both aspects independently, I would give both five stars. The author follows the complex investigation into the mechanics of failure down to the last detail, and manages to make those details interesting and comprehensible for readers who do not have a degree in engineering. Yet he shows the skill of a practiced novelist in his ability to sketch human character in a few lines and draw the reader into the tragedy.My criticism involves the often annoying intrusion of the technical side into the human story. The only purpose seems to be to avoid long chunks of difficult material by breaking it up with heart wrenching scenes of loss and suffering. Still, this is a minor quibble, as I read the book in one sitting.

Yes this is an extraordinary book. I was spell bound at the volumes of research the author did re the subject.I was curious though as to why there were so many passengers listed and no mention of Michael Matz the Olympic Champion and trainer of Kentucky Derby race horse. He was to have saved four children and retrieved a baby from the luggage rack. Why no mention of him?

I saw the story on Discovery Channel's Mayday - It was nice to read the story because there is a lot more about it that you can see in a one hour TV show - Very well written - An amazing story !

Good book,but not for the faint of heart. Well written and hard hitting, I found it hard to put down, and digest from time to time. A beast of a book.