| ||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
'A compulsive tale of skulduggery told in a vividly readable style' Glasgow Herald
Product Description
The gripping story of the biggest trade war in aviation history.
In October 2007, the colossal Airbus A380, the largest commercial jet in history, will take to the skies. This gigantic double-decker is the first real competitor to Boeing's iconic 747 Jumbo Jet.
Meanwhile, Boeing has thrown its weight behind the smaller 787 Deamliner, an aircraft whose emphasis is on fuel economy and reduced emissions.
The future of commercial air travel is in the balance, and the outcome is difficult to predict.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read the other review of this book and agree with that reviewer that there is little information on the planes themselves. However I liked the book overall despite this shortcoming. It is interesting because it discusses the concepts behind the 787 and A380 with the 787 essentially being a long-range point-to-point smaller aircraft with the A380 being a larger long-range hub-to-hub aircraft.
I think that the differing business philosophies represented by the approaches of these two major commercial aircraft manufacturers and the discussion of those business models in this book certainly makes it a more interesting book than one purely about the technical attributes of these two aircraft. In any event, ultimately the success or failure of the aircraft depends upon their meeting the requirements of modern airlines and so the business side of things is certainly central to the story. However, a little more about the development of the aircraft would have given the book a more rounded feel and improved it slightly. Well worth reading.
I think that the differing business philosophies represented by the approaches of these two major commercial aircraft manufacturers and the discussion of those business models in this book certainly makes it a more interesting book than one purely about the technical attributes of these two aircraft. In any event, ultimately the success or failure of the aircraft depends upon their meeting the requirements of modern airlines and so the business side of things is certainly central to the story. However, a little more about the development of the aircraft would have given the book a more rounded feel and improved it slightly. Well worth reading.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you want a book covering the history of Boeing and Airbus then this might be worth reading. However, if you want to read about the A380 or 787 as aeroplanes then there is practically no material in here whatsoever.
Within the first few chapters the author admits to not being "an anorack" and therefore reveals his true colours as a disinterested journalist. This is reflected throughout the book, which generally seems disinterested in the aircraft themselves and purely focused on sales deals and politics.
Whatsmore, the book is heavily biased towards reporting from Boeing: clearly the author got more interview time with them, and there is very little Airbus interview material in comparison.
The author's dull writing style is accentuated by his desire to descend into quoting figure after figure: one page alone is almost occupied by quoting practically every 737 model variant's range and passenger numbers. And remember this book is supposed to be about the A380 and 787!
There were many highs and lows in the development of both aircraft (e.g. the first failures of the airbus undercarriage to deploy safely under gravity alone). And were any of these covered here? No.
So, in conclusion a pretty dull book written by a disinterested journo about a subject that bears little relationship to the title of the book. If you love information about real aeroplanes that fly then look elsewhere.
Within the first few chapters the author admits to not being "an anorack" and therefore reveals his true colours as a disinterested journalist. This is reflected throughout the book, which generally seems disinterested in the aircraft themselves and purely focused on sales deals and politics.
Whatsmore, the book is heavily biased towards reporting from Boeing: clearly the author got more interview time with them, and there is very little Airbus interview material in comparison.
The author's dull writing style is accentuated by his desire to descend into quoting figure after figure: one page alone is almost occupied by quoting practically every 737 model variant's range and passenger numbers. And remember this book is supposed to be about the A380 and 787!
There were many highs and lows in the development of both aircraft (e.g. the first failures of the airbus undercarriage to deploy safely under gravity alone). And were any of these covered here? No.
So, in conclusion a pretty dull book written by a disinterested journo about a subject that bears little relationship to the title of the book. If you love information about real aeroplanes that fly then look elsewhere.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found the first half of this book quite heavy going and struggled to get into it as it plodded through potted histories of Boeing and Airbus. Once it became up to date, it was much more interesting and the battle for passenger dominance between the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 is well documented, although the winner is yet to be decided. The book is for flying buffs only, however, and I felt that while this industry must be populated with countless colourful people and incidents there are few I can recall in the book. It is often a bit of a dry and flat read, and I think a much more swashbuckling account could have been written, but I have that complaint about a lot of "airplane" books - they feel like they've been written by engineers who relate to the technology and events more than to the people involved.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Detailed history of airbus vs boeing, nothing on aircraft details
Author did a good job on researching the history of Airbus and Boeing and how airbus gradually grew to seriously challenge Boeing sales. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2008 by Munster for ever
An accessible portrait of the 25-year struggle for aviation supremacy
Kenny Kemp's The Flight of the Titans delineates the 25-year struggle for aerospace supremacy between Boeing, a company that has long been accustomed to being top dog in its chosen... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2007 by Ian Fraser
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
