Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters
Selected Book Details
- Hardcover
- Author: Chesley B. Sullenberger, Jeffrey Zaslow
- Publisher: William Morrow
- Release Date: October 2009
- ISBN-10: 0061924687
- ISBN-13: 9780061924682
- List Price: $25.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
Summary
In January 2009, the world witnessed one of the most remarkable emergency landings in history when Captain Sullenberger brought a crippled US Airways flight onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all of the passengers and crew aboard. The successful outcome was the result of effective teamwork, Sully's dedication to airline safety, his belief that a pilot's judgment must go hand-in-hand with—and can never be replaced by—technology, and forty years of careful practice and training. From his earliest memories of learning to fly as a teenager in a crop duster's single-engine plane in the skies above rural Texas to his years in the United States Air Force at the controls of a powerful F-4 Phantom, Sully describes the experiences that have helped make him a better leader, particularly the importance of taking responsibility for everyone in his care. And he talks about what he believes is at the heart of America's "can do" spirit: the very human drive to prepare for the unexpected and to meet it with optimism and courage. His wife, Lorrie, has been a pillar of support through all the highs and lows that life has offered, from the challenges of commercial flying to the birth of their two daughters, from financial struggles to the event of January 15, 2009. Though the world may remember Sully as the hero of Flight 1549, the legacy he desires even more is that of a loving husband and father. Highest Duty is the intimate story of a man who has grown up to embrace what we think of as quintessential American values—leadership, responsibility, commitment to hard work, and service to others. And it is a narrative that reminds us that cultivating seemingly ordinary virtues can prepare us to perform extraordinary acts. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Enjoyed the book
Rating: 
This was an enjoyable book to read. It clearly sets the stage for how his history prepared him for this historical landing. The only thing that I didn't like is that the book looked like someone was asleep at the wheel when it was manufactured - the pages were not uniformly assembled in the book. It look like someone decided on a different width for each section of the book!
GOOD SERVICE
Rating:
Thanks again for the great service -- we can always depend on immediate and prompt delivery. The prices are good too. thanks
My Search for what really matters
Rating:
I purchased this book for my husband and he thoroughly enjoyed reading it. He also loaned
it to a friend. Great Book
High praise for Highest Duty
Rating:
It has been said that success happens when preparation meets opportunity. Captain Sully has this opportunity to tell the world how he prepared his entire life for an event that probably would never have never happened - but this time it did, and he was well prepared. He tells his story well - about how events and decisions from the earliest chapters of his life prepared him to be able to handle the emergency that he encountered that day when he had to land the airbus in the Hudson. Many will consider Sully a hero for what he did that day. I will consider him a hero for what he does every day. He knows what is really important in life. It is how you interact with others that as you go through life. That they are better off for the encounter - whether that encounter is just a few seconds, or several years. Chesley Sullenberger, you are a hero for all the things you have done for others, your entire life. The fact that you care about people, and take action to show that.
You'll find yourself holding your breath while reading the narration of the flight
Rating:
Chesley Sullenberger grew up in rural Texas just nine miles from Perrin Air Force Base. The sky and the planes that traversed it held unending fascination for a young Chesley, so it's little wonder that he became a licensed pilot at age 16 and graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1973 as "Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship." As a commissioned officer, he trained in the Northrop T-38 Talon, the first supersonic jet trainer, and then advanced to the F-4 Phantom II. It was a long, arduous journey from flying a crop duster to mastering a fighter jet, and "Sully," as he became known, relished every moment.
After completing his military obligation, Sully began flying commercial aircraft. Always the student, he studied the records of crashes and accidents so he could learn from them and better himself as a pilot. Safety was paramount to him.
Sully married, and a few years later, he and his wife Lorrie adopted two infant girls. He loved his job, but it kept him away from home often and caused some stress for the couple. Life was not always easy for Lorrie, who spent a great deal of time as a single parent, or for Sully, who realized he was missing out on so much of his daughters' childhoods.
On a Thursday afternoon in January 2009, Sully, First Officer Jeff Skiles, and three very experienced airline attendants were making what would normally be a routine "day at the office" flight from LaGuardia to Charlotte, North Carolina with 150 passengers on board. In Sully's words, "Flights are almost always routine, but every time we push back from the gate, we must be prepared for the unexpected." And the unexpected is just what Flight 1549 got on that cold winter day when a flock of Canada Geese struck the Airbus, and, within seconds, both engines were useless. With 155 people in a huge, critically damaged airplane flying over a heavily populated city, it's an understatement to say that there was real potential for a major airline disaster to occur.
All his thousands of hours of flight time, his laborious training, his situational awareness, and his ability to quickly process the information at hand gave Sully the capability to execute a risky and quite daring move: attempting to land on/in the frigid and unforgiving waters of the Hudson River. What an amazing feat he and Jeff executed from the cockpit! The flight attendants gave specific instructions to the passengers and helped them to safety --- first out of the plane, then off its wings, and finally onto the ferries and boats that rushed to assist them. You'll find yourself holding your breath while reading the narration of the flight and how amazingly everyone involved --- from the pilots to the passengers --- performed in this daring mission.
First responders, ferry boat pilots and perfect strangers were at the right place at just the right time to assist in the rescue of the passengers and crew once the plane was in the Hudson. It is a testament to their courage, skills and willingness to be of assistance that helped create the happy ending to what could've been a tragic day. Though hailed a hero by many, Sully disagrees: "Flight 1549 wasn't just a five-minute journey. My entire life led me safely to that river."
--- Reviewed by Carole Turner
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