Customer Reviews

This is Your Captain Speaking: A Common Sense Manual for Keeping Your Wings Level

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You don't have to be a 747 driver to enjoy this book. I can recommend it to everybody who wants to read a good, funny story or is curios why most pilots have a different outlook on life. I laughed my rear off reading his tales and I really enjoyed how Captain Ed looks at our modern and ever-changing environment (some aviation but life in general) from a fun but clever perspective. It's truly a "feel good" book that also gets you thinking at times. You might call him a modern day, easy to read, and funny Saint Exupery. He has inspired me to write some of my own stories down. Thanks Captain Ed!

Mike Strasser, "Chicken Wings" Aviation Cartoons

It's obvious that not only can Captain Ed Owens fly an airplane, but he can successfully spin an incredible tale! This is Your Captain Speaking is southern-style storytelling at its finest combined with fable undertones. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the captain's light-hearted stories but I also appreciated his aviation-referenced approach to keeping life simple. I take back everything I've ever said about pilots!

J.Deveny, veteran FA and author of 99 Ways to Make a Flight Attendant Fly- Off the Handle!

Ed Owen has given some unique perspective to the relationship of flying and living. He has strung together a wonderful collection of stories about himself, his friends and the characters he has come across in his flying. Most of the stories are downright hilarious, but some are very thought-provoking and some very serious. I suspect the pilot-reader will find some perspectives that really resonate in life-experiences, but anyone who has ever wondered whether pilots at the top of their skills are "real people", will find the insights, situations and characters delightful and informative. I highly recommend the book for all.

This is a great book....while Captain Ed Owen links most, if not all of the stories he tells, to his life as a pilot, the stories provide a wonderful series of lessons about how we should conduct our lives. Indeed, our society would be better if everyone took Captain Owen's advice. Some of his stories are heart-wrenching (I cried during the story of the 4 elderly ladies travelling in Europe....and one died), some are humorous, but they all have a lesson. Most of the chapters are fairly lengthy, but the individual stories contained within each chapter make this an excellent book for pick-up-and-must-put-down reading (such as in a waiting room). Really a good read!

My first comment is a sidenote: If you're a fearful flyer looking for some advice, skip this one. Appendix 1 is great, but this isn't the overall point of the book, and you're probably better off *not* reading some of the stories! Just FYI.

It's a book of southern storytelling with a point to make, and the captain does a great job here. Think "Aesop's Fables" for the 20th century, told by a veteran flyer. He's done a lot with his life, and the stories are all indicative of this breadth of experience.

My biggest gripe were some of the comments regarding religion and society, where the captain feels strongly. Fortunately, these aren't often enough to be distracting, but if you're not a Christian/Catholic reader you'll find the last chapter at least condescending, and at most offensive.

Would I purchase the book again if I had the choice? Probably not. It just wasn't my style of humour. More chuckles and incredulity at the experiences. Your time is better spent on Chuck Yeager's biography.