Flying is An Act of conquest, of defeating the most basic and powerful forces of nature. It unites the violent rage and brute power of jet engines with the infinitesimal tolerances of the cockpit. Airlines take their measurements from the ton to the milligram, from the mile to the millimeter, endowing any careless move - an engine setting, a flap position, a training failure - with the power to wipe out hundreds of lives.

Hard Landing is about the men who try to earn a profit from this tightrope act. Because running an airline demands a single strategic vision, lest the delicate choreography of planes, people, timetables, and money falter, the airline business both attracts and promotes executives obsessed with control. These are industry chieftains who flourish at the center of all decision making, who love risk, who crave victory, and who are ruthlessly averse to defeat.