Status
Available
Call number
Library's review
Ørkenen, Libyen, ca 1964.
En flyvemaskine med folk fra et oliesjak og udslidt materiel flyver over ørkenen. De kommer ind i en sandstorm, mister antennen og piloten vælger at flyve igennem i stedet for at følge reglerne og søge mod en anden lufthavn. Det resulterer i en nødlanding midt i
Piloten Frank Towns, navigatoren Lew Moran, passagererne Trucker Cobb, Loomis, Roberts, et par militærfolk, kaptajn Harris og sergent Watson, Stringer, Roberts, Bellamy, Albert Crow, en ung mand Otto Kebel og en abe.
Sam Wright og Lloyd Jones bliver dræbt under nødlandingen og en tysk knægt Otto Kepel får knust bækkenet og brækket begge hofter. Trucker Cobb er den største af dem allesammen, men han er blevet skør af at arbejde i ørkenen. Harris og Roberts beslutter sig for at gå gennem ørkenen for at finde hjælp. Cobb følger efter nogle timer senere, da han ser sit snit til at slippe væk. Nogle dage senere kommer Harris alene tilbage.
Otto Kepel begår selvmord for at spare dem for besværet med at holde ham i live. Nogenlunde samtidigt finder Harris på at destillere deres kølemiddel for at skaffe lidt vand. Det forslår ikke rigtigt, men engang imellem blæser en fugtig nordenvind ind over dem og vha faldskærmene kan de indsamle nok dug til at overleve. Stringer får resten med på en ide med at bygge vraget om til en mindre flyvemaskine, men det tager sin tid, et par uger. Ret tæt på målet ser de en aften nogle nomader i det fjerne. Harris og Loomis går ud for at møde dem, men de bliver udplyndret og myrdet.
Resten bygger flyvemaskinen færdig. Der er en seriøs kamp mellem Frank Towns, som vil prøvestarte maskinen og Stringer, der ikke vil. Strings vinder og da dagen kommer, virker maskinen og de flyver i sikkerhed. Kort forinden går det op for Towns og Moran at Stringer aldrig har konstrueret flyvemaskiner i fuld størrelse, men at han arbejder for et firma, der laver modelfly. De holder dog mund med opdagelsen overfor de andre.
Stringer, Watson, Lew Moran, Frank Towns, Albert Crow, Dave Bellamy, Tilney og aben Bimbo overlever.
Udmærket og nogenlunde troværdig historie om et flystyrt og overlevelse i ørkenen.
En flyvemaskine med folk fra et oliesjak og udslidt materiel flyver over ørkenen. De kommer ind i en sandstorm, mister antennen og piloten vælger at flyve igennem i stedet for at følge reglerne og søge mod en anden lufthavn. Det resulterer i en nødlanding midt i
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ørkenen og to dræbte og en hårdt såret.Piloten Frank Towns, navigatoren Lew Moran, passagererne Trucker Cobb, Loomis, Roberts, et par militærfolk, kaptajn Harris og sergent Watson, Stringer, Roberts, Bellamy, Albert Crow, en ung mand Otto Kebel og en abe.
Sam Wright og Lloyd Jones bliver dræbt under nødlandingen og en tysk knægt Otto Kepel får knust bækkenet og brækket begge hofter. Trucker Cobb er den største af dem allesammen, men han er blevet skør af at arbejde i ørkenen. Harris og Roberts beslutter sig for at gå gennem ørkenen for at finde hjælp. Cobb følger efter nogle timer senere, da han ser sit snit til at slippe væk. Nogle dage senere kommer Harris alene tilbage.
Otto Kepel begår selvmord for at spare dem for besværet med at holde ham i live. Nogenlunde samtidigt finder Harris på at destillere deres kølemiddel for at skaffe lidt vand. Det forslår ikke rigtigt, men engang imellem blæser en fugtig nordenvind ind over dem og vha faldskærmene kan de indsamle nok dug til at overleve. Stringer får resten med på en ide med at bygge vraget om til en mindre flyvemaskine, men det tager sin tid, et par uger. Ret tæt på målet ser de en aften nogle nomader i det fjerne. Harris og Loomis går ud for at møde dem, men de bliver udplyndret og myrdet.
Resten bygger flyvemaskinen færdig. Der er en seriøs kamp mellem Frank Towns, som vil prøvestarte maskinen og Stringer, der ikke vil. Strings vinder og da dagen kommer, virker maskinen og de flyver i sikkerhed. Kort forinden går det op for Towns og Moran at Stringer aldrig har konstrueret flyvemaskiner i fuld størrelse, men at han arbejder for et firma, der laver modelfly. De holder dog mund med opdagelsen overfor de andre.
Stringer, Watson, Lew Moran, Frank Towns, Albert Crow, Dave Bellamy, Tilney og aben Bimbo overlever.
Udmærket og nogenlunde troværdig historie om et flystyrt og overlevelse i ørkenen.
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Genres
Publication
pp. 200. Pan Books: London, 1966. 4th printing.
Description
They are twelve men who shouldn't be alive. They have survived the sudden blinding sandstorm that crippled their air freighter. Survived a desperate crash landing in the Sahara of Central Libya. Survived to face the slow, dry, agonizing death of the desert. Twelve men with one hope: to build a new plane from the wreckage of their Skytruck and make a flight out of hell. Only one man could build such a plane: Stringer, the brilliant and obsessed engineer.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMorr
A cargo plane with a few oil drillers and military folks on board goes into a sandstorm and ends up crash landing in the middle of the desert (central Libya). What proceeds is a harrowing tale of how the survivors managed to fly out of the desert. I read it in just a little over a day - having to
There was a lot of technical jargon, some of it that I didn't really follow - but I would've been helped if I had noticed the last page of the book earlier, which had a diagram of what they were trying to create!
Some of the characters were more well described than others and you didn't always understand what drove certain characters to do what they did.
In the end though, I enjoyed this book that my Dad passed on to me several years ago.
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turn the next page to see if they could survive another day of heat, little water, only dates to eat, rivalries and stubbornness.There was a lot of technical jargon, some of it that I didn't really follow - but I would've been helped if I had noticed the last page of the book earlier, which had a diagram of what they were trying to create!
Some of the characters were more well described than others and you didn't always understand what drove certain characters to do what they did.
In the end though, I enjoyed this book that my Dad passed on to me several years ago.
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
the original novel was spare and compelling. the movie, a very good piece of escapism. The James Stewart version of course, not the later one where things get blown up far too often.
LibraryThing member areadingmachine
My dearly departed grandfathers favourite book of all time.
It follows a place crashing in the desert and the crews attempts to build their way out. An almost certain early inspiration for Andy Weirs The Martian, phoenix is a scientific and mathematical journey through survival.
We go way beyond
We also have massive internal fighting within the group. The one man who is seemingly able to think his way out of the situation is an asshole, and whether he is a natural born ass or someone who is behaving a certain way because of how he is perceived, there are moments you feel like strangling him for being so petty and prideful when a number of lives are on the line. His moment of realisation is an incredible point in the book and I wont ruin it for you if you have not read it.
The Dennis Quid movie did a half decent job at capturing the relationships between the characters but never quite reached the right level of desperation. In the book you feel that lives re hanging on a capful of water as they constantly find themselves swinging between working as a team or dying as individuals.
If you liked The Martian I would recommend this in the same way that if you told me you liked the Hunger Games I'd say go read Battle Royale.
It follows a place crashing in the desert and the crews attempts to build their way out. An almost certain early inspiration for Andy Weirs The Martian, phoenix is a scientific and mathematical journey through survival.
We go way beyond
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water rations here to the point of how much can be produced each night using condensation, how many people that have, who is working, efficiency of working at day vs at night. The same with food and other supplies and all the while knowing at any moment something could happen, like a weather change, that completely changes the equation. Everything hinges on water production.We also have massive internal fighting within the group. The one man who is seemingly able to think his way out of the situation is an asshole, and whether he is a natural born ass or someone who is behaving a certain way because of how he is perceived, there are moments you feel like strangling him for being so petty and prideful when a number of lives are on the line. His moment of realisation is an incredible point in the book and I wont ruin it for you if you have not read it.
The Dennis Quid movie did a half decent job at capturing the relationships between the characters but never quite reached the right level of desperation. In the book you feel that lives re hanging on a capful of water as they constantly find themselves swinging between working as a team or dying as individuals.
If you liked The Martian I would recommend this in the same way that if you told me you liked the Hunger Games I'd say go read Battle Royale.
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LibraryThing member AliceAnna
Very compelling -- I wanted to keep reading to the very end even though I basically knew the ending. The main thing I was concerned about was whether or not the monkey made it. He did.
A couple of the characters weren't very well defined and I kept mixing them up. Very much story-driven rather than
A couple of the characters weren't very well defined and I kept mixing them up. Very much story-driven rather than
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character-driven with the possible exception of the pilot, co-pilot and plane designer. Overall, a very good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member TulsaTV
I read this one in the 1960s as a Readers' Digest Condensed Book. Just as gripping today.
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Originally published in 1964, The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor is a novel about the crash of a transport aircraft in the Libyan Desert and the survivor’s attempt to save themselves. I am a fan of the 1965 film starring James Stewart and Richard Attenborough but I do think the book
The author’s descriptions of the intense heat by day and freezing cold at night, along with the sheer sense of isolation and the desperate countdown as their water supply dwindles is vivid and realistic. As the men come to the realization that rescue isn’t coming and their only hope is to save themselves, one man declares that he can see how they could salvage a workable plane from the wreckage.
Flight of the Phoenix was a well done adventure story that highlighted the physical hardships that the survivors endured. The characters were interesting and the author added some surprising twists along the way that helped to offset the over abundance of technical details. I found this book to be a well written, interesting and intense survival story.
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expanded the story and filled out the character’s motivations in a more complete way.The author’s descriptions of the intense heat by day and freezing cold at night, along with the sheer sense of isolation and the desperate countdown as their water supply dwindles is vivid and realistic. As the men come to the realization that rescue isn’t coming and their only hope is to save themselves, one man declares that he can see how they could salvage a workable plane from the wreckage.
Flight of the Phoenix was a well done adventure story that highlighted the physical hardships that the survivors endured. The characters were interesting and the author added some surprising twists along the way that helped to offset the over abundance of technical details. I found this book to be a well written, interesting and intense survival story.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1964
Physical description
299 p.; 17.7 cm
Local notes
Omslag: Ikke angivet
Omslaget viser en silhouet af en flyvemaskine på himlen
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Gave fra Kim
Omslaget viser en silhouet af en flyvemaskine på himlen
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Gave fra Kim
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Pages
299
DDC/MDS
| 813 |