Talk:The High and the Mighty (novel)
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The plane was mechanically questionable and the novel deals with the humorous aspects, not the fear and suspense depicted in the movie (The High and the Mighty; San Francisco instead of Portland), as well as the psychology of flying and mechanics of commercial aviation.
It's been a while since I read the book, but was my sense of humor malfunctioning when I did? I thought it dwelt especially on the fear and suspense - I recall being on the edge of my stool when I read it. I suppose the passenger line-up and associated stories could be humorous (the atom bomb scientist and aging model travelling to meet a creepy fan stand out), but I really enjoyed the passenger's stories, reactions to the crisis, and how the crew interacted with them. I also thought it was charming how the captain familiarized himself with the passengers and especially with his crew, much like one would imagine the captain of a seacraft of old would do.
Perhaps I approached it from the wrong perspective. I come from an airline family (grandfather and grandmother were pilots, father was pilot, mother was stewardess), and The High and the Mighty really reinforced in me the importance of having humans behind the wheel, even though it also exposes the vulnerability of the human element. My grandfather flew a very similar flight (coming out of Honolulu, multiple engine failures and everything); my grandmother still has newspaper clippings documenting it. In fact, he thought the story was based on this because of the remarkable likeness (though ego probably had something to do with it), but that obviously wasn't the case.
I'd love if another reader could comment. Was this a predominately funny book? Tsowell 06:47, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
