Hijacked: The True Story of the Heroes of Flight 705

On April 7, 1994, the crew of a Federal Express DC-10 spent a little over half an hour fighting back a disgruntled employee's attempt to take control of and crash the aircraft. One of the crew suffered injuries that required extensive physical and mental rehabilitation. The assailant, flight engineer Auburn Calloway, was convicted in federal court and sentenced to life in prison. Some minor drama aside, that's the whole story, and it fails to sustain an entire book. Hirschman, a reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, followed this story closely for its duration. He only highlights the paucity of material and tension through his attempts to inflate the drama with needlessly hyperbolic detail, background on even the most insignificant players and lengthy descriptions of the pilots' hospital stays: ""Susan... spoke softly, but her clipped, authoritative tone left no room for misinterpretation. `I don't want anyone who's not a doctor or a nurse visiting Andy today,' she instructed."" The technical details of the fateful flight are explained clearly and expertly (the author is a pilot), and the brief action sequence is exciting and well drawn, but those expecting the high-flying thrills implied by the title may be disappointed. (July)