Flying Blind: The 737 Max Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing
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- Author：Peter Robison
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Summary
From the award-wining journalist， a gripping， suspenseful behind-the-scenes look at the corporate dysfunction--the ruthless cost-cutting， toxic workplaces， and cutthroat management--that contributed to one of the worst tragedies in modern aviation
Boeing is a century-old titan of industry。 It played a major role in the early days of commercial flight， World War II bombing missions， and moon landings。 The planemaker remains a cornerstone of the U。S。 economy， as well as a linchpin in the awesome routine of modern air travel。 But in 2018 and 2019， two crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 killed 346 people。 The crashes exposed a shocking pattern of malfeasance， leading to the biggest crisis in the company's history--and one of the costliest corporate scandals ever。
How did things go so horribly wrong at Boeing？
Flying Blind is the definitive expos� of the disasters that transfixed the world。 Drawing from exclusive interviews with current and former employees of Boeing and the FAA; industry executives and analysts; and family members of the victims， it reveals how a broken corporate culture paved the way for catastrophe。 It shows how in the race to beat the competition and reward top executives， Boeing skimped on testing， pressured employees to meet unrealistic deadlines， and convinced regulators to put planes into service without properly equipping them or their pilots for flight。 And it examines how the company， once a treasured American innovator， became obsessed with the bottom line， putting shareholders over customers， employees， and communities。
By Bloomberg investigative journalist Peter Robison， who covered Boeing as a beat reporter during the company's fateful merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late '90s， this is the story of a business gone wildly off course。 At once riveting and disturbing， it shows how the iconic company fell prey to a win-at-all-costs mentality， threatening an industry and endangering countless lives。
Boeing is a century-old titan of industry。 It played a major role in the early days of commercial flight， World War II bombing missions， and moon landings。 The planemaker remains a cornerstone of the U。S。 economy， as well as a linchpin in the awesome routine of modern air travel。 But in 2018 and 2019， two crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 killed 346 people。 The crashes exposed a shocking pattern of malfeasance， leading to the biggest crisis in the company's history--and one of the costliest corporate scandals ever。
How did things go so horribly wrong at Boeing？
Flying Blind is the definitive expos� of the disasters that transfixed the world。 Drawing from exclusive interviews with current and former employees of Boeing and the FAA; industry executives and analysts; and family members of the victims， it reveals how a broken corporate culture paved the way for catastrophe。 It shows how in the race to beat the competition and reward top executives， Boeing skimped on testing， pressured employees to meet unrealistic deadlines， and convinced regulators to put planes into service without properly equipping them or their pilots for flight。 And it examines how the company， once a treasured American innovator， became obsessed with the bottom line， putting shareholders over customers， employees， and communities。
By Bloomberg investigative journalist Peter Robison， who covered Boeing as a beat reporter during the company's fateful merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late '90s， this is the story of a business gone wildly off course。 At once riveting and disturbing， it shows how the iconic company fell prey to a win-at-all-costs mentality， threatening an industry and endangering countless lives。
Reviews
Daniel
，
An interesting forensic analysis of the Boeing MAX disaster。 This is the inside story of how Boeing， an american engineering icon became a flawed organization which gave absolute priority to profits and cost control at the expense of quality and safety。 Boeing lost its soul under the leadership of McDonnell Douglas managers and a Board under the influence of GE's Jack Welch management philosophy。 When Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas a weird phenomenon happened: a reverse takeover was execu An interesting forensic analysis of the Boeing MAX disaster。 This is the inside story of how Boeing， an american engineering icon became a flawed organization which gave absolute priority to profits and cost control at the expense of quality and safety。 Boeing lost its soul under the leadership of McDonnell Douglas managers and a Board under the influence of GE's Jack Welch management philosophy。 When Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas a weird phenomenon happened: a reverse takeover was executed by senior executives and managers from the company being purchased。 These executives like Welch at GE ran their companies into the ground; they brought their flawed business practices to Boeing with horrific results。 Copying Jack Welch， cost cutting measures introduced were mainly focused on getting rid of people， selling plants and using outsourcing。 Jack Welch was famous for demanding that the bottom 10% performers should be fired every year even when the organization was reaching its goals。 The focus of the Board was no longer the production of outstanding planes but the improvement of profitability even at the expense of a long term ability to compete。 Research and development was cut significantly， engineering teams disbanded， corners were cut。 The 737 MAX revealed all the flaws of the new Boeing run by a financially focused management team。 Board members no longer were chosen for their experience in running a manufacturing organization， and they were more interested in financial engineering than product engineering in order to line up their own pockets by rich compensation deals。 Profits were no longer reinvested in research and development but in share buybacks to increase share price。The MAX was developed to counter the new offering from Airbus， the new 320 Neo with more efficient engines。 Boeing chose to adapt its 737 with new engines。 But its plane was 25 year older with 1950`s electro mechanical controls compared with the fly by wire installed on all Airbus models。 In order to fit the new bigger engines on the older 737 platform Boeing made the decision to use a software solution， the MCAS to rectify the new aerodynamic configuration during take off。 The development， and installation of the software was deficient resulting in a dangerous design being certified。 The certification process was itself defective， Boeing was being able to self certify itself without any real overview and external evaluation。 This was the result of Boeing succeeding at getting Congress to defund and weaken the FAA which certifies plane designs in the US。 Boeing cheated the certification process by hiding the flaws of their design。 This new philososphy left an imprint on other business strategies。 Boeing had an excellent reputation in Canada but that all changed recently。 Boeing tried to prevent Bombardier from competing in the US by using trade regulations。 The american commerce tribunal then decided 4 to 0 in favour of the canadian company which decided then to deal with Airbus to achieve the commercial viability of its new product; the C series became the Airbus 220。 As a result of that strategic mistake， Airbus now has a the most modern and efficient plane in its class and Boeing has no plane to offer in this category。 In retaliation for this unfair action the canadian government cancelled billions in sales to Boeing military planes。 Once again the short term profit focus was the source of bad decision making。Is Boeing changing？ The author， an investigative journalist is not optimistic in believing that the company is on a path to rectify operational issues。 Many managers at Boeing still blame foreign pilots for their inability to cope with the design flaws instead of looking at their own responsibility in producing a dangerous product。 346 people died for fully preventable causes of accidents because of the new Boeing culture。 As a result Boeing has lost credibility with airlines， the FAA is no longer seen as a reference by international certification bodies and the money not spent on a new design to replace the 737 has been lost on a flawed outdated airplane。Competitor Airbus with its muticultural team approach might have the most appropriate culture to face the challlenges of airplane manufacturing， Boeing having scrapped its most precious asset， its culture。 。。。more
BookStarRaven
，
Flying Blind by Peter Robison is a troubling look at Boeing and the FAA regulators that were supposed to be keeping passengers safe。 Robison describes yet another case of large companies valuing profit over people。In this book， we follow Boeing from an early start up to a towering juggernaut。 When Boeing was founded by engineers， its primary initiative was to create a better， safer airplane。 Unfortunately， as Boeing grew， a merger with another airplane company， McDonnell-Douglas， created a cutth Flying Blind by Peter Robison is a troubling look at Boeing and the FAA regulators that were supposed to be keeping passengers safe。 Robison describes yet another case of large companies valuing profit over people。In this book， we follow Boeing from an early start up to a towering juggernaut。 When Boeing was founded by engineers， its primary initiative was to create a better， safer airplane。 Unfortunately， as Boeing grew， a merger with another airplane company， McDonnell-Douglas， created a cutthroat atmosphere where coworker was after coworker and safety was no longer the main concern。 After the merger， the company’s focus shifted from an engineer-focused company to a financially focused company。 One whose only goal seemed to be maximizing shareholder value and profits for top managers。 Union’s were busted， people were routinely fired once their salary reached certain levels and contracts were given to the lowest bidder。 These cost cutting strategies created a toxic environment that eventually produced the fatal flaw in the 737 MAX airplane。 I would recommend this book to everyone。 I think it’s important for people who are flying in these airplanes to know what happened at Boeing and advocate for further regulation and change at the FAA and the company。 。。。more
Roberto
，
How greed， profit and shareholder value is more important than human beings。
Jak Krumholtz
，
Beware the bean counters。 I’m going to pay attention to the plane I’m boarding now。 Boeing replaced their historic focus on engineers for cost cutting for shareholders。 They're also an example of not taking responsibility after preventable accidents， including blaming the victims。 Beware the bean counters。 I’m going to pay attention to the plane I’m boarding now。 Boeing replaced their historic focus on engineers for cost cutting for shareholders。 They're also an example of not taking responsibility after preventable accidents， including blaming the victims。 。。。more
Jeff Gough
，
Very biased reporting with an agenda。 Facts and quotes felt cherry picked and likely used out of context。 The underlying story was put together in a compelling way; especially discussions about the recent Boeing history and it’s culture。 I could have enjoyed this more if it were more balanced。
Patrick
，
I spent almost 50 years flying airplanes for a living， from T-38s in the military to about every type of Cessna， Decathalon， and some Piper aircraft in general aviation to over 36 years in the airlines with almost 34 of those on Boeing aircraft。 I was lucky to have spent that time during the best years of Boeing before they started their magnificent descent into mediocrity！I had the benefit of flying over 16 years on the B-727， a year or so on the early B-737-200 before it became an ungainly air I spent almost 50 years flying airplanes for a living， from T-38s in the military to about every type of Cessna， Decathalon， and some Piper aircraft in general aviation to over 36 years in the airlines with almost 34 of those on Boeing aircraft。 I was lucky to have spent that time during the best years of Boeing before they started their magnificent descent into mediocrity！I had the benefit of flying over 16 years on the B-727， a year or so on the early B-737-200 before it became an ungainly aircraft being designed far beyond its limits。 I also spent many years on the B-757/767 with my last ten years as Captain the B-777。 This book referred to it as the last best good Boeing product。 Designed by engineers with input from everybody from pilots， flight attendants， mechanics， and underwing personnel， it was indeed a well-designed aircraft and an absolute pleasure to fly and ride。The state of the company and its slow descent toward just another company on the quest for nothing more than profit， especially for shareholders and executives， was deplorable indeed！ I was especially aware of the rudder issues on the early B-737s and the battery issues on the B-787。 Still， the extent of the rot within the company wasn't apparent without Peter Robison's book。 Anybody wanting a good understanding of the commercial aircraft industry and some good commentary on American business practices， in general， would do well to read this book。 。。。more
Ben Denison
，
Amazing book。 Amazing story。This is a review of the downfall Boeing and events within the company that led up to the 737 Super Max software issues that caused plane crashes and exposed a rotted out company culture。The book goes back and gives a great history of Boeing and it’s inner-workings， culture， and management practices。 Much built upon an engineering background of innovation， testing， and safety。 But as the company grew and the marketplace became more competitive things changed。Boeing bou Amazing book。 Amazing story。This is a review of the downfall Boeing and events within the company that led up to the 737 Super Max software issues that caused plane crashes and exposed a rotted out company culture。The book goes back and gives a great history of Boeing and it’s inner-workings， culture， and management practices。 Much built upon an engineering background of innovation， testing， and safety。 But as the company grew and the marketplace became more competitive things changed。Boeing bought / merged with McDonnell Douglas and as Boeing was the bigger/buyer， somehow the McDonnell Douglas guys maneuvered into control and quickly changed the priorities and culture within the new company。 Interesting backstory of new managements adherence to GE’s （jack Welch’s） style and many of Welch’s minions involved in Boeing。 The priorities of Cuts， profit focus， highly stressful， high performance metrics hit or you’re gone。 The new Boeing changed priorities to profit， streamlining， shareholder value by cutting employees， breaking off subsidiaries such as training， parts， and even design to outside contracting firms。 Many firms winning contracts that had no experience but merely the lowest bid。A great review of the progression of the airplane maker competition between Boeing， Europe’s Airbus， and others。 Pressure to cut costs， cut corners to save time to market and/or cost to customers。 The priority of cost cutting caused shortcuts in training of pilots， training manuals， testing of new cockpit controls， etc。 Internal objections were either swept under the rug， or highly discouraged。 The software changes and certain possible aids cost extra。Also a frightening look at the FAA’s failed methods of review and inspection of plane controls， parts， systems。 How basically the inspectors report to Boeing and their bonus’ depend on Boeing。Great book。 I didn’t like how he tried to tie all this to Trump or these business leaders’ faith。 He conveniently pointed out every Republican connection ， but not that this rot of the company started in the 90’s。 Seemed like a stretch。 。。。more
David
，
Well written and thoroughly researched via an ample paper trail， this is a tale of greed gone wrong。 What happens when a stodgy， safety-focussed corporation with a reputation for excellence and innovation succumbs to financial wizardry？ People die。 Boeing's engineers （and the FAA） were no match for modern corporate practices like regulatory capture， maximizing shareholder value， return on net assets （whatever that is）， plowing cash into share buybacks， and cost cutting through muscle to bone。 It Well written and thoroughly researched via an ample paper trail， this is a tale of greed gone wrong。 What happens when a stodgy， safety-focussed corporation with a reputation for excellence and innovation succumbs to financial wizardry？ People die。 Boeing's engineers （and the FAA） were no match for modern corporate practices like regulatory capture， maximizing shareholder value， return on net assets （whatever that is）， plowing cash into share buybacks， and cost cutting through muscle to bone。 It's remarkable that the financial engineers who took control thought that the same shortcuts and accounting trickery that went into producing a GE washer （thank you Jack Welch） could be applied to producing metal tubes that fly miles in the sky while carrying hundreds of people。 。。。more
Michael O’Donnell
，
It illustrated how Boeing's principles changed from safety and engineering to profit。 It shows that if the government doesn't step in to moderate things a disaster in the market will。 I don't like how he bashes Jim Colins work in Built to Last and takes some soft jabs at people that aren't needed。 It illustrated how Boeing's principles changed from safety and engineering to profit。 It shows that if the government doesn't step in to moderate things a disaster in the market will。 I don't like how he bashes Jim Colins work in Built to Last and takes some soft jabs at people that aren't needed。 。。。more
Ryan Hicks
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Some decent info here， but rather dry content and hard to get through。 Couldn't finish。 Some decent info here， but rather dry content and hard to get through。 Couldn't finish。 。。。more
Richard
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Phil Condit， Harry Stonecipher， Jim McNerney， Dennis Muilenburg。 Hundreds of millions of dollars were given to these greedy， incompetent CEOs and their executive staffs who ruined Boeing’s reputation of excellence and integrity to satisfy their greed and egos。 They ushered in an era of abuse， sexual predation， criminal conduct， and shoddy products that culminated in the loss of lives。 Like the financial crises of 2009-2009， Boeing stands as an example that strong government oversight of large co Phil Condit， Harry Stonecipher， Jim McNerney， Dennis Muilenburg。 Hundreds of millions of dollars were given to these greedy， incompetent CEOs and their executive staffs who ruined Boeing’s reputation of excellence and integrity to satisfy their greed and egos。 They ushered in an era of abuse， sexual predation， criminal conduct， and shoddy products that culminated in the loss of lives。 Like the financial crises of 2009-2009， Boeing stands as an example that strong government oversight of large corporations is needed to protect the public。Boeing was awarded much more money than Space X to develop a vehicle to transport supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station， and was considered NASA’s preferred provider。 Space X routinely shuttles astronauts and supplies， while Boeing has one failed test flight and it’s program is being reengineered。 Boeing has lost every recent bid for fighters and bombers， and it’s major defense contract， the KC-46 Tanker， is a decade behind schedule， has major technical flaws， and is billions in the red and might never break even。 It’s most recent commercial airliner， the 787， has been a disaster caused by underfunding， over reliance on outsourcing， and is still grounded for serious flaws。 It’s unlikely it it will ever break even。 The 737 disaster that cost lives revealed a sick culture of shortcuts and deception。 Boeing’s priorities of cost cutting by undermining engineers， busting unions， cutting employee benefits， and outsourcing， has resulted in a loss of talent， experience， expertise， and a serious degradation of employee morale。 Elite talent no longer considers Boeing a great opportunity。The current Boeing leadership is part of the same group who championed all the past failures and enriched themselves in the process。 I think it’s naive to believe they are going to correct Boeing’s path。 。。。more
Chris
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Flying Blind is gripping: a tale of Boeing's corporate greed and putting shareholder returns ahead of safety， and the wrenching story of the 737Max and two cataclysmic plane crashes。 It is first-rate reporting and riveting writing。 Also？ Boeing's rise and fall mirrors all too well so much of the ethical problems that dog so many American companies these days。 Flying Blind is gripping: a tale of Boeing's corporate greed and putting shareholder returns ahead of safety， and the wrenching story of the 737Max and two cataclysmic plane crashes。 It is first-rate reporting and riveting writing。 Also？ Boeing's rise and fall mirrors all too well so much of the ethical problems that dog so many American companies these days。 。。。more
Sam O'H
，
Honestly， I thought it was "okay"。 But I gave it another start because I think this type of writing is important。It's a pretty classic story of how the corporate culture operates， where a company's true priorities are， and the impact that has on the rest of us。I appreciate that the author cited his sources （in most cases， anyway） and tried to stick to the facts of the story。I didn't appreciate that I had to get about 8 or 9 chapters into the book before it started to even discuss the "fall of Bo Honestly， I thought it was "okay"。 But I gave it another start because I think this type of writing is important。It's a pretty classic story of how the corporate culture operates， where a company's true priorities are， and the impact that has on the rest of us。I appreciate that the author cited his sources （in most cases， anyway） and tried to stick to the facts of the story。I didn't appreciate that I had to get about 8 or 9 chapters into the book before it started to even discuss the "fall of Boeing" or the "737 MAX tragedy"。 There was far more history about Boeing's early days than I felt was necessary。 There already exists an entire library of books about Boeing's history。I also wasn't agreeable to， what I assume were， the authors attempts to relate or personalize the people in the book with useless information。 The book read more like filler than it did as value-added in any way。 I had the sense that the author was being paid by the word， or was somehow otherwise invested in stretching out the points he was making。For example: "Peter Morton， a pilot himself， was lean and five foot six。 He had a baritone voice， and hearing it frequently created the impression of listening to an audio book， with his fully formed sentences。。。"Who cares？ Maybe it's just me， but I expected the book to focus a lot more on the fall of Boeing and the 737 MAX tragedy than on Peter Morton's baritone voice and Jim McNerney's "chiseled jaw and hooded eyes"。In retrospect， I suppose if the author had just laid out the facts and details of the story it wouldn't have made much of a book at all。 。。。more
Barb Blacksher
，
Great account of how the Boeing MAX planes were grounded after 2 crashes in 5 months。 It reads like a good mystery， and isn't so technical that it's a chore to read。 Basically， profit was more important than safety。 It truly is an eye opener about the airline industry！ Great account of how the Boeing MAX planes were grounded after 2 crashes in 5 months。 It reads like a good mystery， and isn't so technical that it's a chore to read。 Basically， profit was more important than safety。 It truly is an eye opener about the airline industry！ 。。。more
Mark Miano
，
Boeing’s success used to come from piling people and money onto problems until it crushed them—from conquering what the author James Collins called “big， hairy， audacious goals” in the 1994 book Built to Last。 He and coauthor Jerry Porras selected Boeing among eighteen “visionary companies” worthy of the book’s title， with McDonnell Douglas among a group of more conservative also-rans。 When Fortune interviewed Collins in 2000， he was already starting to rethink the idea。 “If in fact there’s a re Boeing’s success used to come from piling people and money onto problems until it crushed them—from conquering what the author James Collins called “big， hairy， audacious goals” in the 1994 book Built to Last。 He and coauthor Jerry Porras selected Boeing among eighteen “visionary companies” worthy of the book’s title， with McDonnell Douglas among a group of more conservative also-rans。 When Fortune interviewed Collins in 2000， he was already starting to rethink the idea。 “If in fact there’s a reverse takeover， with the McDonnell ethos permeating Boeing， then Boeing is doomed to mediocrity，” he said。 “There’s one thing that made Boeing really great all the way along。 They always understood that they were an engineering-driven company， not a financially driven company。 If they’re no longer honoring that as their central mission， then over time they’ll just become another company。”What a thoroughly depressing book！ Author Peter Robison does an incredible job tracing how Boeing went from a proud， innovative， aviation company to a place where the enrichment of shareholders and upper management took precedence over the quality of its products and ultimately the safety of its passengers。 Five stars for Robison for a wonderful， engaging piece of journalism。 One star to the bean counters at Boeing and elsewhere who have gutted America's innovative， can-do approach to the big， important problems we face。 We must do better。 。。。more
Ron
，
Interesting that the subtitle of the book l have is “The 737 MAX tragedy and the Fall of Boeing，” which is slightly different from the title expressed on Goodreads。 Is it more pragmatic？ Less personal？ Does it institutionalize and insulate individual blame？My dad worked for Boeing Wichita before and during WWII building B-17 and B-29 wing sections。 This was a source of pride for him and the family。 Shaken…。
David Arch
，
A mesmerizing book about the change in culture at Boeing over the past 30 years that contributed to the 737Max fiasco。
Sara
，
Totally weird how massive government deregulation and Boeing leadership giving away all of the company profits to shareholders as dividends （and to themselves as bonuses） backfired and destroyed the company。 I'm sure nobody saw that coming。 Definitely not the workers who went on strike， or whistleblowers， or any of the other people that were ignored， pushed out， or outmaneuvered。 I'm sick of capitalism; the stock market was a mistake。 Totally weird how massive government deregulation and Boeing leadership giving away all of the company profits to shareholders as dividends （and to themselves as bonuses） backfired and destroyed the company。 I'm sure nobody saw that coming。 Definitely not the workers who went on strike， or whistleblowers， or any of the other people that were ignored， pushed out， or outmaneuvered。 I'm sick of capitalism; the stock market was a mistake。 。。。more
Alex Reynolds
，
I cannot say enough about this book。 It is a spectacular view into a grim reality of American industry
Jodi Menees
，
I was enamored with the 777 design and build process when getting my aviation degrees at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University， it was sad to read about how dysfunctional Boeing became after that project。
John Haggstrom
，
Change in management philosophy， going from engineering and manufacturing the best and safest planes to a Jack Welch investor， management corporate profits come first ， leads to cutting corners whose outcome was two deadly， avoidable crashes of the 737 Max 8。
David Poole
，
This book is a microcosm of the fall of American industry since the 1980s。 Layoffs， outsourcing， constant price pressure， all in the name of stock price， destroyed Boeing （and the rest of American industry）。 Depressing but extraordinary book。Boeing got away with murder。
Aubrey
，
A crucial story for understanding how we as a society have arrived at this point， where business is conducted solely for shareholders， at the expense of employees， customers， and most disappointingly， safety。 An eye-opener as well for how big companies are managing to twist regulators under them， and essentially regulate themselves。This book is most importantly the story of how corporate and individual greed led to the deaths of 346 people， and immense pain for hundreds more who loved those indi A crucial story for understanding how we as a society have arrived at this point， where business is conducted solely for shareholders， at the expense of employees， customers， and most disappointingly， safety。 An eye-opener as well for how big companies are managing to twist regulators under them， and essentially regulate themselves。This book is most importantly the story of how corporate and individual greed led to the deaths of 346 people， and immense pain for hundreds more who loved those individuals。 。。。more
Patrick Pilz
，
Greed is NOT good！ Gordon Gecko was wrong and so were the executives at Boing and their infiltrators at the FAA。 This will happen again， because our so called oversight institutions are organized by a bunch of bribed regulators based on unprecedented campaign spending in which a few hundred lives don't matter much， as they are not American， European， British or from any country where lives really count。Sobering！ Greed is NOT good！ Gordon Gecko was wrong and so were the executives at Boing and their infiltrators at the FAA。 This will happen again， because our so called oversight institutions are organized by a bunch of bribed regulators based on unprecedented campaign spending in which a few hundred lives don't matter much， as they are not American， European， British or from any country where lives really count。Sobering！ 。。。more
Michael
，
Great read for understanding how one of America's corporate jewels and top engineering companies in the world can so easily shift its philosophy from being about safety and engineering prowess to a profit-making machine dedicated to shareholders first and foremost。 All it ultimately took was a change in leadership/management， and the rest trickled down from there， slowly but surely。 The author did a fantastic job recapping the history of Boeing with an eye toward the tragedies that would eventua Great read for understanding how one of America's corporate jewels and top engineering companies in the world can so easily shift its philosophy from being about safety and engineering prowess to a profit-making machine dedicated to shareholders first and foremost。 All it ultimately took was a change in leadership/management， and the rest trickled down from there， slowly but surely。 The author did a fantastic job recapping the history of Boeing with an eye toward the tragedies that would eventually take place， connecting the dots bit-by-bit， although it did drag on at times in the historical build-up sections。 But as an engineer in the commercial & military aerospace field myself， I couldn't help but have my mind blown by the ignorance and misjudgment of so many of Boeing's "finest"。 Very good read for understanding how infectious a corporate culture can become， and a warning tale for any engineer in need of a reminder to hold their ethics and product safety above profit， budgetary， and schedule pressures， as the results if not heeded （especially in the aerospace industry） can be deadly。 。。。more
William Greentree
，
An excellent review of the change in culture at Boeing and how this ultimately led to the effective de use of one of the worlds best engineering companies and the problems with the 737 Max。
Lance
，
Fantastic book。 Easy reading， well written， and well researched。 Detailed description of the corporate rot of Boeing and what led to the disasters。 Overall an informative and sad story。
Grant
，
This is a familiar story。 You've probably read a book like this。 A once-great American company slowly hollows itself out and sells its soul under successive leadership teams obsessed with juicing the stock price at all costs， all in the name of 'creating shareholder value' that they ultimately completely obliterate。 And， of course， the executives escape largely unscathed while everyone else is left suffering the consequences。While the beats of the story are in some ways familiar， I thought Robis This is a familiar story。 You've probably read a book like this。 A once-great American company slowly hollows itself out and sells its soul under successive leadership teams obsessed with juicing the stock price at all costs， all in the name of 'creating shareholder value' that they ultimately completely obliterate。 And， of course， the executives escape largely unscathed while everyone else is left suffering the consequences。While the beats of the story are in some ways familiar， I thought Robison did a wonderful job balancing the book between the storylines and the technical details。 The book explains the faults with MCAS clearly without feeling like a technical manual or overly dry。 The infamous 737 Max doesn't really appear as a character until you're something like a third of the way through the book。 Instead， Robison shows that the Max crashes don't happen without the decades of disastrous rot that led up to it。 He tells a loose history of Boeing， from its early days through the utterly poisonous merger with McDonnell Douglas to the successive sociopathic Jack Welch disciples that take charge of the C-suite。 While Robison holds up some products and aspects of the old Boeing's engineering culture in a favourable light， I don't think he's overly hagiographic， especially since the philandering of the older executives tends to paint them in a less favourable light。 The book had me gritting my teeth a number of times。 Even before the Max crashes happen， you have so many of the 'greatest hits' of everything that's wrong with modern business， from dumping all the company's resources into stock buybacks that are almost entirely contrary to its self-interests （all the while slashing employee benefits， of course）， to abandoning its hometown multiple times， to chasing tax incentives from non-union states and vigorously union busting， to a bible-thumping CEO who doesn't seem to see any incongruity between the good book and merciless layoffs and profiteering， to a terrifying level of regulatory capture。 He then neatly pulls together the threads of the 737 Max affair itself， shading in some details that I didn't recall or read during contemporary reporting， such as how primitive and unhelpful the cockpit instrumentation was compared to almost any other contemporary airliner， and just how lazy/obsessive the company was at carrying over elements from the existing model to avoid new pilot training at all costs。Audiobook performance: As usual， Feodor Chin is a capable and confident narrator。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
Sobering and not inaccurate。
Chris
，