When Eero Saarinen s TWA Flight Center opened at New York s Idlewild (later John F. Kennedy International) airport in 1962 it was a sensation. It represented a significant change in architectural thinking. Trans World Airlines (TWA) initial commission to Saarinen was for a building suiting the airline s operational requirements to serve a fast growing number of passengers as efficiently as possible. At the same time, Saarinen s emblematic bird-like design allowed TWA to polish its image among air travelers, clearly distinguishing the company from other airlines in the intense competition during the early days if the jet-age in aviation. TWA clearly succeeded in capturing public attention for their architectural jewel, as Saarinen s iconic design got great publicity throughout its operational life until it closed in 2001 following TWA s takeover by American Airlines. Such use of a signature building has become very common in marketing for corporations, cultural institutions, and also for entire cities, e.g. Bilbao with Frank O. Gehry s Guggenheim museum. Although the TWA Flight Center was regarded an icon of the jet-age, it never really suited operational requirements. When Boeing introduced the B747 Jumbo Jet in 1970, the building already proved outdated and inefficient for the number of passengers using it. The new book "Designing TWA" for the first time tells the entire story of Saarinen s TWA Flight Center. The author Kornel Ringli, architect and publicist, has carried-out extensive research and brought together vast documentary material. He documents the terminal s architecture in the evident area of conflict between flight operations, design, and public relations. He also investigates how it remained an icon of jet-propelled aviation while never properly serving its purpose for just that industry. The book features a wealth of high-quality images showing TWA Flight Center in all its glamour and beauty, alongside many documents and plans. The concise text offers much detail and reaches far beyond many articles and previous smaller publications on one of the world s best-known pieces of architecture."

NOT THEORY—FACT! A MISSLE SHOT DOWN FLIGHT 800! On July 17, 1996, minutes after take-off, TWA Flight 800 was blown out of the sky, killing all 230 people on board. What happened? It took federal investigators nearly a year and millions of tax dollars to point to a fuel tank explosion. But the investigation was riddled with questionable procedures. Was the government hiding a huge military embarrassment? Was the plane shot down by a missile? The Indisputable Evidence. . . Reddish residue from missile fuel on passenger seats Clean entry and exit hole in forward cabin 34 certified eyewitnesses to airborne projectile not allowed to testify FAA radar tapes or projectile in path with Flight 800 Government documents confirm Naval testing in area that night And more! Who launched the missile? How much did the government know and when? Was it simple bureaucratic incompetence or the most massive cover-up in U.S. history? Ex-cop turned acclaimed investigative reporter Jim Sanders exposed the shocking truth in 1997. Despite unremitting threats to his life, he has recovered even more evidence the FBI tried to suppress about the true history of TWA Flight 800. Include explosive photos!

On July 17, 1996, about 2031 eastern daylight time, Trans World Airlines, Inc. (TWA) flight 800, a Boeing 747, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York. TWA flight 800 was a scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, New York, to Charles DeGaulle International Airport, Paris, France. All 230 people on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The weather was good. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was an explosion of the center wing fuel tank, resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank. Contributing factors to the accident were the design and certification concept that fuel tank explosions could be prevented solely by precluding all ignition sources and the design and certification of the Boeing 747. The safety issues in this report focus on fuel tank flammability.

Flying in the face of adversity... Howard Hughes was known during his lifetime as one of the most financially successful individuals in the world. Funded by his considerable wealth, he formed the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1932 and spent the remainder of the decade setting multiple world air speed records. The enigma that was Howard Hughes and the saga of the mighty airline he ruled ruthlessly for two decades are combined in this unique corporate history that reads like a thrilling work of aviation fiction. Movie stars and moguls; airline chieftains and staff, from pilots to skycaps - these are the colourful characters that grace the pages of this anecdote-filled book that pulls no punches. In the course of researching the TWA story, author Robert J Serling interviewed more than one hundred individuals, many of whom knew Hughes personally. The result - a portrayal of the eccentric billionaire that has never been seen before. This is the first full account of the great air carrier that the moody, mysterious Hughes first saved from extinction and then nearly destroyed in the process... Praise for Robert J Serling 'Aviation buffs will revel in this thoroughgoing chronicle' - Kirkus Robert J Serling (1918-2010) wrote aviation fiction, as well as some non-fiction, his whole adult life and received the 1988 Lauren D. Lyman Award for distinguished achievement in the field of aviation and aerospace journalism. Formerly residents of Washington, D.C., he and his wife moved to Tucson, Arizona. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 92.

A book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a country!