Flight Of The Phoenix [Paperback]

Trevor Elleston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1989

A cargo plane crash lands in the Central Libyan desert during a violent sandstorm. Twelve men and a monkey survive. They stare without hope into the desert sky: search planes will not seek their unscheduled flight. One man proposes the impossible--to build from the wreckage an aircraft capable of flying them 200 miles to the nearest oasis. But the pilot refuses to cooperate and this struggle becomes the pivot for survival or death. THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX launched Elleston Trevor's remarkable career.

Trevor writes not only under his own name but also as Adam Hall, creator of the award-winning Quiller stories.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''A master . . . one never doubts the absolute reality of every page he writes!'' --New York Times

''Tense, exciting . . . horribly vivid.'' --London Evening Standard

''A master of showing the behavior of men under stress.'' --Books and Bookmen

''Trevor is extremely deft with taut thrilling novels originally and unexpectedly plotted.'' --Times (London)

''[Narrator] Gardner reads equally well with and American or a British accent. His calm voice offers an interesting contrast to the stressful circumstances of the story.'' --KLIATT

''[Narrator] Grover Gardner . . . almost humanizes the forces of nature seeking to destroy these men . . . This classic 1964 adventure tale has twice been made into a film but is equally riveting -- and more informative -- in this superbly read audio.'' --AudioFile --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From the Publisher

7 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Jove (May 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515100897
• ISBN-13: 978-0515100891
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,848,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story of survival!, October 5, 2005

By 

Benjamin T. Dewolfe (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Flight of the Phoenix (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has a fairly simple overall plot. A plane crashes in the desert, and when dealing with dire conditions the men who survive the crash try to find a way to survive the desert. The writing is gripping, and the personalities of the characters build through the book. The descriptions of the harsh conditions of the desert on the men, leave the reader disturbed, but wanting to read more. Themes that include the power and beauty of nature are intertwined throughout the book. Survival for these men is presented almost as a complicated puzzle which must be solved to avoid deadly consequences. It was a page turner for me- the writing is excellent!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asperger's Syndrome character makes this book stand out, November 25, 2004

By 

Thomas D. Kehoe (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Flight of the Phoenix (Mass Market Paperback)

"Flight of the Phoenix" held my attention, as an adventure novel should. What makes this book stand out is a character who is ignored for the first half of the book, because he's quiet and keeps to himself. In the middle of the book he becomes the most important character. In the penultimate chapter the plot twists around this character in what has to be most unexpected surprise I've ever seen in a novel. The character is a young engineer with Asperger's Syndrome, although the book was written thirty years before Asperger's Syndrome was discovered. Individuals with this form of autism are extremely intelligent but have poor social skills. They're ability to focus on a task can be their greatest strength or their downfall. In "Flight of the Phoenix" this is what saves the men, but then...well, I won't give away the plot! I listened to the audio download, which was very good except you really need to see what a Skytruck looks like, as the characters talk about different parts of the airplane wreckage. A quick Google search will find you photos of this type of aircraft.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, well-told survivor story, March 5, 2005

By 

T O'Brien (Chicago, Il United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Flight of the Phoenix (Mass Market Paperback)

The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor is an excellent story that has spawned two very good movies. Pilot Frank "Shut It Down" Towns is sent to shut down an oil rig that has gone dry in the middle of the Libyan desert. On the way home, the plane crashes in a horrific sandstorm, killing two of the passengers. The survivors of the crash must band together to survive. Their original plan is to sit tight and wait for someone to come and rescue them until one of the passengers, a young aircraft designer named Stringer, proposed building a new plane out of the wreckage and flying to safety. What follows is a race against time as the survivors must battle the elements with limited supplies as they try to survive.

Elleston Trevor's novel is a well-told character study of what happens when people are placed in horrific conditions. Much of the novel centers around the fight for authority between Towns, the experienced yet self-doubting pilot, and Stringer, the young, obsessed aircraft designer. By the end of the novel, Trevor has fleshed out all the characters so the reader legitimately cares whether they survive or not. If you enjoy this novel, check out the 1965 classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Richard Attenborough and the exciting 2004 remake starring Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi. For a well-told story with believable characters and an unexpected twist, check out Elleston Trevor's Flight of the Phoenix!