Sully: My Search for What Really Matters

I wasn't sure what to expect at first from this book, after all we probably all watched the news on that fateful day.It didn't come out quite as I expected, and I found it to be a much more personal and inward looking view of the life of this modest and extremely professional pilot, almost spiritual in some ways. It goes into some depth about his personal family life, sometime so much that you feel almost embarrassed to be reading such person thoughts and details.There is a huge overriding theme of professionalism, love of flying and respect of the flying gods who decide ultimately who survives and who does not. I feel humbled by his modesty and openness and sometimes feared for the safety of his marriage given the amount of time spent away, but ultimately the amazing bond between Sully and his wife and children shone through, even in the toughest times which were actually after the accident. What I never expected from this book is that it really made me look inwards at my own relationship with own my wife and children and examine my own professional and private life, to see where I could be a better person.Sully himself said that he doesn't consider himself to be a hero, and I have to say I agree, with the greatest of respect. He was thrown into a situation not of his own choosing, with no alternative, and no option to choose to do nothing. He had no choice but to bring all of his years of training and experience to bear to try and save his own skin and those he was responsible for that day. It is an automatic reaction and I am sure that any pilot would have tried just as hard. Not all would have made the right decision as to where to go, picked the right speeds or flap settings or even remained in control, which could have changed the outcome completely, but all would have been just as much a hero for trying. Sully is a consummate professional in his business, and I doff my cap to his abilities.This is no self-indulgent book solely about Sully, in fact it is often self-deprecating as he reflects on his own weaknesses and limitations. He goes to great length to re-iterate that it was a team effort, so the rest of the members of the crew are not forgotten, and the support of his wife both before and after clearly contribute greatly to the making of the man.If you read this you cannot fail to be moved and humbled and to think, "I want Sully on my next flight".

I ordered this for a b-day present for a friend of mine. Her b-day? June 29. She hadn't started listening to it until three days ago. She called and said she was having trouble with the audio. I took it to be that she was not doing something correctly on her playback system. Her observation was painfully apparent. 1) There is no Table of Contents or any other piece of information about this book/disk. It would be helpful if there would be a point of reference. 2) The actual words "Chapter Five" didn't show up until half way through the second disk. No other chapters were identified as they were read. There were stories being told that were never completed--cut off at the end of the disk and never picked up on the following track or disk. 3) The tracks would never play in order unless you were right there with a mouse to highlight the next chapter and click on it before another starts, i.e., track 3 would be followed by track 18. I realize that it is past time for refunds. I'm not even sure if giving something like this to a charity has any merit or not. It would only serve to frustrate another recipient. The best place is down the garbage chute. I could actually think of other ways I could throw away the price of an audio book. And I 'can't rate the subject matter of which the book is supposed to capture. I couldn't get enough tracks in order so as to tell a coherent story.

I downloaded this because I was supposed to go see the movie for work to understand Sully's approach to leadership and didn't. I wanted to at least be able to convince my boss that I knew what was going on, so I dug in.Sully, in his own words, walks you through the first time he relished he wanted to fly airplanes to the time after his heroic landing in the Hudson. I haven't seen the movie, but I don't know that I want to after reading this. Hollywood uses so much glamour in events like this and I'm afraid it would take away from Sully's authenticity, which is what actually makes this book.He revisits the event we've all heard about in the need on and off throughout the book, drawing comparisons from the training he had as a fighter pilot and the values he was raised with as a child. It easily could have read like a disjointed mess, but I really appreciated the way the book intertwined it all.I'd consider this a book that tells us much more than a story about birds flying into the engine of a commercial flight and more a story of who Sully I really is as a person that just happened to also be a heck of a pilot.

In a nutshell, the parts of Sully's life that deal with his upbringing, first learning to fly, attending the Air Force Academy and insights into life as an airline pilot (and of course the actual takeoff and landing) were very good. Troubles having a children, his enjoyment of hiking with his wife up a mountain, and the countless tales of adoration he receives I could really have done without. I remember thinking, okay now we are finally hearing about the landing; its getting good and I was 60% through the Kindle version.

This biography of a singular event in the United States consciousness doesn't just tell of the event on that fateful day. Much more importantly, it delves into a lifetime of details that all contributed to the successful outcome. Sully doesn't mince words when it comes to sharing things that should have been set up differently by his employer. When they put materially deficient products into the cockpit, Sully tells us what the cost in convenience, confusion and time wasted as a result was. He tells of the many doubts he experienced after the safe landing. He tells about how his experience in landing safely catalyzed people around him, people who he never met, people who found new hope in an amazingly successful result when the most likely outcome should have been disastrous. The only thing that seemed 'off' was the sheer volume of content that seemed unrelated to the story and the outcome. This book is well worth the time to read. Inspirational would be the one word descriptor.

Excellent read. Where the film concentrates on events after the water landing in the Hudson, the book focuses far more on the life of Captain 'Sully'. Includes insights into his love of flying, his training including time in the military, his interest in safety and teamwork and his fears for pilots training and working in commercial airlines today. A must read for anyone interested in human factors in the workplace.

I very much enjoyed the film so thought the book would give me more insight into the what happened on that day. One thing I'd particularly wanted more info on was the post-landing investigation, but this was almost completely missing from the book which was disappointing, Also in Kindle format it's not possible to see the Appendices clearly showing the flight path and cockpit transcript. Aside from that it was a hugely enjoyable and informative book and I now know that Sully was a great pilot and human being.

Enjoyed this book all in all but it wasn't what I expected. There is very little about the actual events of the accident, or the aftermath. It is mostly about his relationship with his family and his early life and career. Still a mildly interesting read but I was glad to finish it.

An excellent book that tells us all about a position none off us would ever want to be in and also of who we would want to be with us if it did.Not many people take so much notice of life's lessons.Thank God this man does.

I believe this pilot was extremely efficient and certainly knew his job. I watched the landing in the Hudson River when he landed this plane. I could NOT believe that no one was hurt. I am glad Captain Sullenberger wrote this book. Great read from a very modest man but someone who is very gifted as a pilot.

This is a very interesting book about an amazing, skilled, American airline pilot. There can be few people who missed seeing this air accident on the TV News. What Captain Sullenberg did that day was truly amazing and to read his story is a great and interesting read.

Like many others I watch events on Jan 15, 2009 unfold on the news screens. Having read the book I can think of no better man being in the right place at the right time.No only are the passengers and crew members thankful to Sully but we the travelling public should be too.Well done Captain Sullenberger you are an inspiration to many.

Bought it after watching the film. Superb pilot. Reads as an autobiography. I found parts a bit boring tbh.

👍 ✈️ 📺 📖 📚 ⛵ Love this book is very well written, cannot take my eyes Off it, learned an lot from this book. 👍 ✈️ 📺 📖 📚 ⛵

Excellent book, a joy to read and understand the life experiences of this man.Saw the plane and the film while visiting friends in Charlotte North Caroliner. An amazing feat and an interesting life.

My husband thoroughly enjoyed the insights into being a pilot. He read the book within a week and couldn't put it down.

Enjoyed the book, it explains the reasons behind his decisions that day.

a good read and made a great film top marks for mr hanks and scully

Such a great story.

Must see movie of an event that really shouldn't have ended the way it did!!