Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters
Selected Book Details
- Hardcover
- Edition: 1
- 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
SummaryOn January 15, 2009, the world witnessed one of the most remarkable emergency landings in aviation history when Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the surface of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. To Sullenberger, a calm, steady pilot with forty years of flying experience who is also a safety consulting expert, the landing was not a miracle but rather the result of years of practice and training-wisdom he gained in the cockpit of U.S. Air Force jets and in his Texas boyhood. Born to a World War II veteran and dentist father and an elementary school teacher mother, Sully fell in love with planes early. He learned to fly as an eager 16-year-old from a crop duster, an older neighbor in north Texas, who took off and landed his fragile plane on the grass field behind his house. While Sully′s father encouraged his interest in flying, he also imparted stern advice he′d learned from his Navy service during World War II: a commander is responsible for everyone in his care-and those words have shaped Sully′s life and work and continue to guide him today. HIGHEST DUTY reveals the important lessons Sully learned through childhood, in his military service, and in his work as a commercial airline pilot. At heart, it is a story of hope and preparedness-that life′s challenges can be met if we′re ready for them-reminding us that, even in these days filled with war, tragedy, and economic uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for. A few weeks after the crash, Sully discovered that he′d lost a library book about professional ethics, Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability, in the downed plane′s cargo hold. When he called the library to notify them, they waived the usual fees. Mayor Michael Bloomberg replaced the book when he gave Sully the Key to the City in a New York ceremony. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Highest Duty : My search for what really matters
Rating:
An excellent read, found it very interesting, to get a perspective of how bad the airline industry has gotten over the years. Was not able to put the book down after starting!
Great Gift for Dads!
Rating:
My father is impossible to buy for, so I usually opt for books. And even then he is impossible to buy for, liking only certain types of non-fiction. 'Highest Duty' was outside of his usual reading material, but I gave it to him on a whim and he loved it! Usually he reads two or three books at a time, but he sat down and read this one cover to cover and it has been all he has talked about. He was taken by the "every man" element of the story - that here is an ordinary guy just doing his job who was instrumental in a miracle taking place, that each of us have a story to tell (and in the case of Captain Sullenberger, it is a story of his remarkable life), that sometimes the pieces of our lives that make up who we are can lead us to be prepared for a moment of greatness and that it is possible to keep our integrity when thrust into the limelight. My father came away from this clearly feeling inspired and feeling that he had learnt a great deal about the current state of aviation industry that fascinated him. I can recommend as a gift for those tough-to-buy-for fathers out there!
Wish that Sully had done more of the reading
Rating: 
When I see an audio book with two readers, I expect the first name listed to read more than 50% of the book. Although Michael Mcconnohie, listed as second reader, is talented and has a pleasant voice, he reads most of the tracks on these 8 CDs. I purchased the audio CD version of the book to hear Captain Sullenberger tell the story in his own words and in his own voice, just as I purchased President Obama's audio book to listen to the man himself. I wanted to listen to this not only myself, but also to have my nephew, grandson, grandaughter and wife listen to and be inspired by by the voice of a true hero of modern aviation. The added content on the enhanced CD is really little more than can be obtained from the public record of flight 1549 on the Internet. All things considered, I am disappointed in this audio book and recommend purchasing only the printed version.
A Good Stick
Rating:
Back in the early days of aviation a pilot's, pilot, the guy you could count on day after day to safely deliver the mail was called by peers, A Good Stick. Captain Chesley Sullenberger, "Sully," is definitely a good stick. But much more, he understands the terrible state of affairs confronting today's commercial airline pilots and has the courage to talk about it.
Sully was a colleague of mine at US Airways, although I was a decade and a half senior to him and didn't know him - he was based on the west coast as a domestic captain and I on the east coast flying international routes. I retired at age sixty in 1997 as then required by federal air regulations. We both started flying as teenagers and entered the service as qualified pilots; we both were active in Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)air safety work; and we both served as airline check airman.
I intrinsically feel close to Sully and followed "The Miracle on The Hudson" water ditching with the perspective of being in his shoes - mind you I'm glad I wasn't. He did a great job. From the time the birds were ingested and both engines failed, until the splash down in the Hudson was only about three minutes. If had made the mistake of trying to return to LaGuardia, as every instinct graved, I'm convinced they would have landed short and perished. He didn't, and knew they could survive a water landing, but not crashing into buildings.
It was a great, highly professional decision, but frankly I would expect no less. What I admired most was Sully's testimony before Congress. After sitting down with his crew to a standing ovation, Sully laid it on the line. They survived because America's airline pilots are highly trained professionals. Highly trained professionals that due to bankruptcies and lack of regulations of the industry could no longer earn a reasonable living. He went on to say that airline pilots could no longer advise their children to follow in their footsteps. No truer words could be said. Highest Duty is much more than a book about a forced water landing, beneath the surface it's a compiling insight into the battered state of the airline industry and the ramifications on air safety.
Inspiring read
Rating:
This was sent to my son who is finding it inspiring for people of all ages.
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