Unsafe at Any Altitude: Exposing the Illusion of Aviation Security

This groundbreaking work of investigative journalism goes behind the scenes at our nation’s airports and penetrates the government to paint a picture of a Transportation Security Administration that is remarkably inept, and reveals the great lengths that U.S. air carriers and their lobbyists have gone in order to make certain that serious airline security has not been instituted in this country. The authors also tell the secret histories of security failures along a continuum that led directly to 9/11: the hijackings of passenger jets to Cuba decades ago, Iran—Contra, Hezbollah’s bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, its hijacking of TWA Flight 847, and the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie tragedy. These dramatic, riveting stories expose lessons from our nation’s history that we still fail to heed. Unsafe at Any Altitude also tells the breathtaking story of the Bush Administration’s efforts to limit the political fallout from 9/11 by scapegoating others.