An account of the fall of America's oldest airline describes the acts of greed, misconduct, and egotism that led to it and discusses such key players as Shurgrue, Jr., Lorenzo, and Checci. 25,000 first printing. ad/promo.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this credible assessment, former Eastern Airlines executive Robinson notes factors and names of those whom he blames for Eastern Airlines' downfall. In his appraisal of the company's place in aviation history before and after its 1986 takeover by Frank Lorenzo, he attributes a large share of the airlines' problems to conflicts with unions (inherited by Lorenzo from Frank Borman), along with the Aviation Deregulation Act of 1978. The author also recounts vain attempts to revive Eastern after bankruptcy was declared in 1989, an effort made by a court-appointed trustee assisted by Robinson himself. However, he charges that much of the fault for Eastern's demise rests with bankruptcy court Judge Burton Lifland, whose rulings thwarted the purpose of bankruptcy laws to defend the interests of company creditors and, if needed, insure orderly liquidation of remaining funds. The author concludes that the "incompetence . . . animosity and vanity" of individuals killed Eastern. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In his position as vice president of corporate development for Eastern Airlines, Robinson was well positioned to comment on the demise of Eastern Airlines. His view of events is told in an even-handed, deliberate manner, focusing more on facts than on personalities. This inside story of attempts by some of Eastern's management to control events complements Aaron Bernstein's more colorful version, Grounded ( LJ 8/90), and may be added to business collections.
- Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Joseph Barth, U.S. Military Acad. Lib., West Point, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Eastern Airlines Deserves Better,
By
This review is from: Freefall: The Needless Destruction of Eastern Air Lines and the Valiant Struggle to Save It (Hardcover)
Robinson's book is without a doubt the worst account of the demise of Eastern Airlines. It's value as history is only matched by Robinson's self-promotion. I suspect all the name-dropping and claims of inventing wonderful ideas that --almost-- saved Eastern are nothing more than an attempt to pave a way for his own corporate future. This book is clearly worthless, as a history of Eastern, as a study of airline failure, or even as an acceptable account of the events surrounding the end of a great airline. If you are a collector of books about commercial aviation, you might want this one on your shelf (your lowest shelf) just for grins, but if you are thinking reading this book will give you some insight into Eastern Airlines, forget it. You'd be better off reading Bernstein's "Grounded"--only marginally better.
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Starter Book,
By Kevin M (Pittsburgh PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Freefall: The Needless Destruction of Eastern Air Lines and the Valiant Struggle to Save It (Hardcover)
This is the first book I read concerning the destruction of EAL. I first read it while in college then just recently re-read it after purchasing it here. While the book is a good starter for college students (or anyone else) wishing to research EAL, it just lacks many specifics for Eastern's downfall. Robinson uses up a few pages then the final chapter to lament his failed aquisition of Bar Harbor Airlines, a wholly-owned commuter carrier of EAL and Continental. He is also too apologetic of Frank Lorenzo and Texas Air, both of which stripped Eastern of valuable assets such as System One. It seems Robinson is very one-sided, placing most of the blame for EAL's demise on creditors and the IAM. Read this book in conjunction with "Grounded" to get a clearer picture of the events leading up to EAL's bankruptcy and ensuing shutdown.
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I Question if he Even Worked There,
By
This review is from: Freefall: The Needless Destruction of Eastern Air Lines and the Valiant Struggle to Save It (Hardcover)
This book tries to be an "inside account" of the failure of Eastern Airlines. I picked this book off the sale table and thought I would give it a try, mistake number one. The second mistake was working through 200 pages of the thing until I called uncle and gave up, the third and final mistake is that I still have it in my house - I only hope it does not effect the other books sitting close to it. This diatribe which seamed to me to be written in about 5 hours after an all night drinking binge, is undoubtedly some poor excuse to either claim ideas that were not his or maybe to push blame away from himself. Save your self the time and aggravation and pass on this book.
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