Forced Landing [Mass Market Paperback]

Thomas H. Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1984

In the bigger-than-life vein of "James Bond" and "Star Wars", author Thomas Block has revised and edited into ebook format his International Bestselling novel “Forced Landing”. Taking place in a pre-9/11 world of the 80's, a former US submarine is hijacked in the Gulf, a floating aircraft carrier museum is hijacked from its dock in South Carolina, a Learjet and then a DC-9 are hijacked from New York shortly thereafter. The story is a vintage-era caper that involves gold, hostages and a cast of noble and exceptionally nasty characters.


Library Journal said: “A well-written and carefully researched piece of high-camp.”

Mystery News said: “The interplay of these characters builds to a shattering climax.”

Charleston Evening Post said: “This story thoroughly holds the reader in suspense.”

Pittsburgh Press said: “The man can write, and his supply of airplanes is inexhaustible.”

Publisher’s Weekly said: “The ending is a lulu.”

Listed for many weeks on the Bestseller lists in the United States, England, Australia, Germany and other countries – and broadcast as a 13 episode serial drama on Japanese National Radio!

The Buffalo News said: “A whiz-bang story!”

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 309 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (April 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425068307
• ISBN-13: 978-0425068304
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,864,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas Block has written seven aviation-oriented novels, many which have gone on to acquire best-seller status in numerous countries. His novel writing began with the publication of "Mayday" in 1979. That novel was rewritten with his boyhood friend, novelist Nelson DeMille in 1998 and remains on DeMille's extensive backlist. "Mayday" became a CBS Movie of the Week in October, 2005.

The other novels by Block include "Orbit", "Airship Nine", "Forced Landing", "Skyfall" and "Open Skies". Block is still actively writing, both fiction and non-fiction, and has edited and extensively updated all of his previous novels for ebook format. Block continues to work with Nelson DeMille and over the years has assisted with a number of DeMille novels in various ways. He has also worked with novelist Robert Gandt on several writing projects.

Block's magazine writing began in 1968 and over the past five decades he has appeared in numerous publications. He worked 20 years at FLYING Magazine as Contributing Editor, and as Contributing Editor to Plane & Pilot Magazine for 11 years. Block became Editor-at-Large for Piper Flyer Magazine and Cessna Flyer Magazine in 2001 and continues in that roll.

During his long career as an aviation writer he has written on a wide array of subjects that range from involvement with government officials to evaluation reports on most everything that flies. Block has piloted gliders, seaplanes, the Goodyear Blimp, warplanes and many large transport jets, to name just a few categories from his logbook. He has owned more than a dozen light airplanes.

An airline pilot for US Airways for over 36 years before his retirement in April, 2000, Captain Thomas Block has been a pilot since 1959. Born February 11, 1945, Block has accumulated 30,000+ hours of flight time since his first solo on his sixteenth birthday. He holds an Air Transport Pilot rating in numerous large aircraft. Block flew the Trans-Oceanic routes for US Airways in the Boeing 767 to a cross-section of European cities for the last decade of his airline career. Block is also rated for single and multi-engine land and sea aircraft, and gliders.

Since 2002, Thomas Block has lived on a ranch in Florida with his wife Sharon where they board and train horses.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forced Landing: Undiscovered Movie Material, October 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Forced Landing (Mass Market Paperback)

It's here at Amazon.COM that I came again looking for the Thomas H. Bloch's "Forced Landing" book, more than a decade after reading that gripping fictional adventure, because I lost my copy. Unfortunately, it's listed here as discontinued. However, from begin to end, the entire story was well orchestrated and the characters retained their consistency in the roles they played. The very idea that a multi-facetted feat of terrorism begining in the Middle East could later involve a decomissioned U.S. aircraft carrier re-activated to resume their mission was and is still amazing and fresh. A complete memory of the story's content is no longer clear to me, but this review is also submitted mostly in defense of the author's good effort and dignity. It was my hope that in the following years that story would have become a major adventure film! Good work!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forced Landing : Great fantacy if you have ever been there., January 19, 2011

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forced Landing (Kindle Edition)

For those that have carried the 30 million in gold on a cargo flight many times the discussion always came up with the courier as to how to make off with the booty.
What airline pilot has not landed on runway 27 at PHL and not thought about touching down a bit early one of the old carriers docked near the end of the runway.
Block`s imagination and writing skill make this book a fun read.

4.0 out of 5 stars well worth reading, February 8, 2011

By 

Bob Welter - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forced Landing (Kindle Edition)

The book starts out slow and unbelievable but stick with it. It keeps getting better and the last half you won't want to put it down.