Jon Ziomek is a former Chicago newspaper reporter and retired Northwestern University journalism teacher and assistant dean. He has been a freelance writer for more than 40 years.
"Collision on Tenerife is compelling and engaging, taking the
reader from how it happened to why it happened, and revealing the
series of individually inconsequential decisions that perfectly
aligned and resulted in disaster. A must read."
*Mark Martin, captain, American Airlines (retired)*
"Here we have - finally - a harrowing account, impressively
researched and thoroughly reported, of the world's worst air
disaster. Ziomek offers deep insight into not only the behavioral
errors that led up to the disaster, but also psychological aspects
of catastrophe and its aftereffects. A story that lingers in the
mind long after the reading."
*Gillian Flynn, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller "Gone
Girl" and "Sharp Objects," soon to be an HBO series*
"Ziomek's nail-biting narrative of the horrific crash and aftermath
of two jumbo jets - still the worst air crash in history - is
impossible to put down. The detailed account of each step leading
to the disaster is both frightening and a cautionary tale on how a
few missed signals and miscommunications can put a plane on a
trajectory to doom. More important, it outlines what has been done
to prevent similar crashes in the future - and what still remains
to be done."
*Ellen Shearer, professor, Medill School of Journalism at
Northwestern University; co-editor, "Truth Counts: A Practical
Guide for News Consumers;" editor and author of three other
books*
"This book tells the story of what my parents went through as they
miraculously survived the Pan Am crash. Yet, only those close to my
mother would know the impact this crash had on everything she did
for the remainder of her life."
*Linda Hopkins, one of Caroline and Warren Hopkins' daughters*
"A work of exhaustive reporting and riveting storytelling,
Ziomek's Collision on Tenerife recounts the string of
bizarre events that resulted in one of the world's most horrific
transportation disasters, and how the deaths of more than 500
people on a remote island airstrip changed the way airlines think
about safety in the air and on the ground. Read it - and make sure
you know where the exit rows are."
*Craig LaMay, Northwestern University professor and author of
"Exporting Press Freedom," "Inside the Presidential Debates" (with
Newton Minow), and five other books*
"I can't remember using all of these adjectives to describe a book:
dramatic, poignant AND informative. But those are the adjectives I
use to describe Collision on Tenerife. I left this book
enlightened about many things human and factual. It's a great
read."
*Al Bernstein, Showtime Sports Broadcaster and author, "30 Years,
30 Undeniable Truths"*
"It has taken four decades, but we finally have a definitive,
remarkably comprehensive account of what remains the worst disaster
in aviation history. Journalist Jon Ziomek tells the gripping
story of the perfect storm of weather and human error that took 583
lives at Tenerife airport on a foggy evening in March, 1977. Not
since Piers Paul Read's Alive have we had such a
meticulous account of a plane crash and all the lives it took, and
touched - yet without sentimentalization. Collision on
Tenerife is many things: a detailed post-mortem of what,
exactly, went wrong; an agonizing narrative of how hundreds of
people managed to survive the terrible ordeal; and a striking
lesson in what to do, and not do, in the event of a disaster. A few
of the takeaways: Get out of your seat. Help those around you. And
no, the flight attendant isn't coming."
*Laura Kwerel, public radio producer*
"Jon Ziomek has written a riveting, deeply moving account of the
worst aviation disaster in world history. This narrative reads like
a novel—but the lessons it imparts could save your life. Everyone
who flies regularly for business or pleasure should read this
important book."
*Kevin Peraino, journalist and author of "A Force So Swift: Mao,
Truman, and the Birth of Modern China, 1949" and "Lincoln In The
World"*
"Ziomek paints a vivid, moment-by-moment portrait of a tragedy that
both occurred 40 years ago and went unrecorded by any video camera.
The level of detail is staggering - the emotions raw and real. As
the tragedy unfolds before your eyes and the mistakes that could
have prevented it are unveiled, I could not put Collision on
Tenerife down."
*Rich O'Malley, author of the upcoming "One Lucky Fan" and former
executive editor, New York Daily News*
"In a Twitter world, analysis is a fortune cookie hissy fit. To
understand how and why things really happen means doing the hard
journalistic work that reveals the concentric circles of
connectedness before, during and after catastrophes. Collision
on Tenerife is it."
*Jack Hafferkamp, Chicago journalist and author of "Sepsis" and
"Travel Writer"*
"Author Jon Ziomek's book about the worst aviation catastrophe in
history is far more than just a chronology of what happened. It is
a riveting account of the fatal collision of the KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines 747 and the Pan American World Airways 747 that reads like
a made-for-TV fictional movie script. Forty years after the fiery
tragedy that claimed almost 600 lives in the Canary Islands,
Ziomek's Collision on Tenerife brings readers into the
last fateful moments of the victims and the survivors on that
fog-shrouded runway. Even though we know the outcome, Ziomek's
meticulous research and first-class writing tells a mesmerizing
story. Survivors reveal the panic of passengers just moments before
they are engulfed in a fiery inferno and the psychological pain
that can outlast their physical injuries. Rich in detail, the book
discloses conversations between flight crews and control tower, of
major and minor mistakes and coincidences, of heroic efforts to
save everyone. And it explains what has changed to improve aviation
safety. Ziomek has crafted an astounding narrative of historical
fact blended with the adrenaline rush of the best fiction. He joins
the noted authors who bring history to life a special art form:
narrative non-fiction. We can hope this is not his last
offering."
*Chuck Loebbeka, author of five books, including "Paris Orphan:
Escape From Evil"*
"As one of 75 initial survivors of the Canary Islands aircraft
accident on March 27, 1977, and a contributor to this book, I am
interested to read what some of the other survivors have to say
about their experience. How could two 747s collide on the ground?
They did, and this is our story. Jon Ziomek has compiled a great
list of survivor memories."
*David Alexander, Tenerife survivor and author of "Never Wait For
The Fire Truck"*
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