Birds of Prey

In this riveting report by a journalist with the Sunday Times of London, the bitter rivalry between the Boeing Company of Seattle, titan of U.S. airplane manufacturing, and Airbus, a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, becomes a microcosm of the escalating race for global dominance between American and European industries. Much broader in scope than its title suggests, this revised, updated version of a book first published in 1995 exposes the immense lobbying power of the U.S. aerospace industry. Lynn identifies President Bill Clinton as chief pitchman for Boeing's 1990s international deals and French resident Fran ois Mitterrand as Airbus's most cunning and experienced salesman, responsible in 1984 for kicking reluctant Margaret Thatcher and Helmut Kohl into supporting the A320, a computerized airliner competitive with Boeing's DC9 and 737. The author first clears the tarmac with a colorful account of early aviation history, the epic, misguided creation of the red-ink-generating Concorde supersonic jet and the Boeing and Lockheed foreign-payoff scandals of the mid-1970s. His tale of cutthroat competition, including what he sees as Boeing's ruthless efficiency and reflexive imperialism, affords a sometimes shocking behind-the-scenes look at the aeronautical industry worldwide. (Mar.)