Customer Reviews

In the Blink of an Eye

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Having followed the disaster quite closely Pat Milton does an incredible job. If you do not have tears in your eyes after the 1st 2 chapters you are not human. After reading this book I came away with 2 distinct impressions: First Jim Kallstrom is a hell of a man. His dedication to the families and his attitude of "screw bureaucracy" should be commended. God forbid I should ever be involved in such a tradegy I would want him involved. Second, if anyone ever flies TWA after this incident is crazy. The way they handled the families (not offering bereavement fares to those who wished to attend the memorial was disgusting), is a tradegy in itself.

The book was entertaining, but had to be taken with a grain of salt. She contradicts herself on a key element of radar data, and appears to always trust the data given from the FBI at face vlaue. There is no evidence of her checking with other agencies or sources.

It is quite obvious that to Pat Milton, James Kallstrom can do no wrong and is the hero of the investigation. It can be a little much sometimes, seemingly almost written to be made into a movie.

Also her forays into irrelevant stories can be distracting.

A good book, but more about James Kallstrom than the investigation and the crash.

This work is fascinating and very well written. It was as intriguing as a novel and showed tremendous insight and sensitivity. I'd recommend it highly

The book, as well-written as it is, does not present the full story of TWA 800. In it's haste to glorify the role of the FBI in the investigation, it neglects to mention that FBI agent James Kallstrom stole a piece of the wreckage to give away as a souvenir, the very crime for which journalist James Sanders, author of "The Downing of TWA Flight 800" was arrested, charged, and convicted of in a clear effort to silence him. Milton's book also fails to note that during the trial of James Sanders, sworn testimony by the scientist who conducted lab tests on behalf of the NTSB and the FBI revealed that the government greatly misrepresented the results of the lab tests to the public, in an effort to discredit independent lab tests conducted by Jams Sanders and reported in his book. That the government was proven in a court of law to have lied to the public about TWA 800 might seem worthy of note to most people, but apparently not to Milton. Milton's book also attempts to trivialize the over one hundred witnesses who saw a bright object trailing smoke, described as a missile by witnesses with military experience, streak up from where the Navy was conducting weapons tests through the sky towards the 747. This book is a pure propaganda work, intended to counter "The Downing of TWA Flight 800" (which is also available through Amazon.com).

Patricia Milton's book inaccurately or simply does not discuss the 30 or more boats seen on recently released NTSB radar 10 miles south of the crash site, the 96 eyewitnesses who saw objects go from the surface to the explosion, the illegal actions of assistant US Attorney Valerie Caproni in illegally stopping Norman Weimeyer, NTSB eyewitness investigator, from interviewing eyewitnesses without FBI interference, and her illegal authorizing of the seizing of author James Sanders' phone records, the letter NTSB Chairman James Hall sent to Judge Seybert trying to make an example of Sanders by imprisoning him, the RDX PETN residue found on the plane parts inside and out, the bogus story of a bomb sniffing dog in St Louis, the ridiculous CIA cartoon of the plane climbing 3200 ft in 15 seconds, when a 747 under full power and with a nose can climb at a rate of only 2000 ft per MINUTE, and the family members who found Jim Kallstrom and other government handlers disingenuous. She does mislead the reader by saying the military warning zones were not hot that night, (they were, according to FAA documents), that there was no military activitiy going on that night, (there was, according to James Kallstrom in a recorded phone call, as well as Navy documents available at alteredevidence.com). I don't think she intentionally lied; I just think she believed everything the government, particularly the FBI, told her. Otherwise, the writing is ok.

Milton's revisionist treatment of the testimony of the two most credible eyewitnesses is telling. She says that Fred "Fritz" Meyer of the Air National Guard "did not suggest that he had seen a missile..." which is nonsense. First of all she never interviewed him. Second of all, he is on the record stating flatly that what he saw was a missile. (Actually two missiles.) A Viet Nam era pilot, he also has stated unequivocally that he *knows* what a missile flying through the air looks like.

Milton also runs roughshod over the words of Dwight Brumley, another eyewitness whom she failed to interview. She claims he saw the plane hit the water; he never stated that and he did not see it.

Milton had an agenda, and judging from the reviews singing her praises for great journalism and attention to facts and details, she served her agenda well. The book, however, is pure taurine by-product.

In the Blink of An Eye is a long overdue book, one that does a lot to dispell the conspiracy theory "sick think" that has surrounded the case.

It is also quite heartbreaking at times.

However, I can't give it five stars, because I think the author was a little too much in awe of the FBI and her protagonist, Special Agent Kallstrom. I'm full of admiration for the FBI, and I think Kallstrom did well. However, the author might have done well to include a few more anecdotes about mistakes the FBI made during its investigation. It might have added additional credibility.

Also, I wonder if Kallstrom is as well loved in the FBI as the author claims. Personally, I would get a little sick of him screaming at people. Perhaps his subordinates might have taken it in stride, but I imagine he probably alienated a number of people outside his control. The author's characterization of him makes me think of General Schwarzkopf and his tendency to shout and rave at people. Still, he had a very tough job to do.

TWA Flight 800 has been a hot button with me since the evening of July 17, 1996.

If there ever was a government coverup this is it. I read the book when it first was released and now nearly three years later someone made a deal to unload the unsold copies at a reduced price. The content of this book doesn't even justify giving it away.

Ms. Milton should have checked her facts, at least on the types of aircraft in the US Military inventory. Some of the aircraft she refers to don't even exist. Just a oversight? Probably! Just as the facts she represents as true. They are as phony as the aircraft she mentions - a C-140, what is that?

It is government propaganda from the beginning to the end, full of factual inaccuracies and outright misleading statements. Pat Milton is the government's mouthpiece.

It's a shame our government can't tell us the truth. Was it a terrorist missile or was it one of ours? What's the big deal? We're big kids. Aren't we fighting a war on terrorism now. This book should be labeled fiction and illustrated with cartoon characters and sold as a fairy tale.

Pat Milton has written a stunning new book on a subject about which you've already read a zillion words -- the tragedy of Flight 800. Guess what? The book is fresh, factual, interesting, informative AND a page turner. You may finish in it one sitting.

By focusing on the FBI investigation and and its sympathetic -- even heroic -- leader, Jim Kallstrom, Milton has given her story an emotional center that eluded most other writers.

Furthermore, the story puts you in the place of the victims' survivors with such effectiveness and power that you feel that your circle of close friends has suddenly grown much wider.

This is a serious book by a serious writer. It's not a "first-off-the-press-and-sell-the-most-copies" rush job. It's well thought out, extensively researched, and written with feeling. Even if you've never read a book about a transportation disaster before, this is the one to grab.

Pat Milton's book is well written and makes the reader feel the pain of the family members of the victims. However, the FBI, and certainly Jim Kallstrom, are not the greatest things since sliced bread!

I watched the Senate TWA 800 hearings and a lot of what I saw calls into question Milton's conclusions about the FBI and Jim Kallstrom. Senator Grassley said the FBI threatened public safety by witholding information from the NTSB, the agency that by law, should have been in charge of the TWA 800 case. It appeared that Kallstrom is an egomaniac who, in his mind, is never wrong.

I also remember seeing Jim Kallstrom on CNN every night telling us they he and the FBI would "catch" the "cowards" who blew up TWA 800. He usually appeared with Bob Francis of NTSB, who always looked pleased that Jim Kallstrom let Francis stand near him. Maybe it was hero worship by Francis.

Question - Do you think that Pat Milton got special access to the FBI files and personnel since Kallstrom knew how Milton planned to praise the FBI? Do you think other authors/reporters would be given the same access?