Inside the Sky : A Meditation on Flight

by Willia Langewiesche

Release Date: 29 June, 1999

Edition: Paperback

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Starts great but...

Langewiesche is a gifted writer. It is a daunting task to put into words the emotion and spirit involved in flying, but he does a fantastic job of adding spiritual dimension to his well renowned family craft. Then he takes a side trip to an alternate destination beginning in about chapter 2 or 3 which unfortunately never returns to his original course. Vignettes of his experiences as a professional pilot are at first entertaining, but continue to take the reader off his or her intented path throughout the book and conclude in a political ediditorial about the FAA and large airlines (retelling the details of the ValueJet 592 crash as the catalyst). I was very dissappointed by this book. Not by its quality of prose but simply by its misleading title and jacket text. This is NOT a meditation on flight. This is one chapter of meditation and 6 other random reflections from Mr. Langewiesche's memoirs of involvement in the business of flying. It does not qualify as a meditation and does not qualify on a memoir/reflection. It doesn't crash and burn - it's held aloft by Langewiesche's gift of the language - but it is a bumpy ride that lands hard in an unexpected destination.

Awesome Book for Anyone Who Truly Loves to Fly

This is the first thing I've read by William Langewiesche. The closer you are to aviation, I believe, the more you will like it. As a pilot for 30 years, Langewiesche writes what I would, if I had his incredible ability with words. He captures so much of what how flying changes those who pursue it as their passion. Some other reviewers suggest he rambles a bit, but I felt everything was connected and after all, the subtitle is "Meditations on Flight".

I can't overstate how much I enjoyed this book. Flying is so much more that just piloting an airplane through the sky and Langewieche captures all this better than anyone else I've ever read.