Review: Flights of No Return
One of the aspects of electronic books that still befuddles me at times is the inability to judge a book by its heft, production quality and other intangibles. I get the feeling that if I had a physical copy of Steven Ruffin’s Flights of No Return, I would have expected less from it. It has the definite feel of an overview intended for a student or newbie to an area, in this case the area being aviation crashes.
If I’ve understood its intended audience, the book itself is quite good. Each short chapter tells the story of an aviation disaster, tragedy or mystery in sufficient detail to give the reader a flavor for the events. In many cases, the description is compelling enough to whet the appetite to learn more. That’s the perfect balance in my opinion.
Ruffin selects events from throughout aviation’s history, from 1800’s ballooning crashes to the 9/11 2001 horrors and beyond. In all cases he gives a clear, concise overview of what we know, including recent updates. It shows that we as a society continue to pick at these scabs.
Overall a diverting short book.
Recommended.