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Skyfaring

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About this listen

In Skyfaring, airline pilot and flight romantic Mark Vanhoenacker shares his irrepressible love of flying on a journey from day to night, from new ways of mapmaking and the poetry of physics to the names of winds and the nature of clouds. Here, anew, is the simple wonder and transcendent joy of motion and the remarkable new perspectives that height and distance bestow on everything we love.

©2015 Mark Vanhoenacker (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd Adventure Travel Travel Writing & Commentary Adventure Aviation Air Force

Critic reviews

"Read it, and you’ll find yourself requesting a window seat every time you fly." ( Bookseller)
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I loved the authors articulation of the marvel of flying and aviation. He offers an amazing perspective from the other side, that of the the aircrews and their relationship with flying. Mark's love affair with flying has made me understand a lot of what I felt and experienced whenever I flew as a passenger but was unable to articulate into ideas and concepts which make me marvel the spectacle of aviation Everytime a plane leaves the ground or lands back on it. Must read for aviation enthusiasts and also those who are not there quite yet.

Made me understand more of my love for aviation

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very emotive and enlightening , has definitely rekindled my love of flight and planes .

Excellent read

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Listening, I was strongly reminded of one of Bill Bryson'sc books. The same mixture of the personal and the informative, gently delivered in a way that keeps your attention and paints a vivid picture. The voice of the (excellent) narrator contributed to this. If Bryson had been an airline pilot and wanted to share his life, his love for the air, the details of his craft, and what I can only call his philosophy of world travel, this would be the book. And all this, I hasten to say, is a compliment.

Bryson of the Air?

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I read this book but hearing mark resd the words to me made the miles as I was driving just fade away.

such a brilliant book

For pilots

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not really. There are some really good parts and if it was abridged by a good editor then I think it could be a much better book for the casual listener. As it stands though, it is very wordy in parts and in the end just goes on a bit too long. After 12 hours I was ready for it to finish (and soon!).

Would you be willing to try another book from Mark Vanhoenacker? Why or why not?

Possibly, but I only have so many credits which means probably not. Why not? Well, much like some other reviewers I think Mark just tries a bit too hard in places. I've nothing against the guy (and I liked some of it very much), but I didn't need the literary references to appreciate that he is a very educated guy. Read one of Feynman's memoires if you want an example of an overpowering intellect who never strays from plain English.

Have you listened to any of John Moraitis’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but I have no complaints about the narration.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

No - and to be fair I think this would be a difficult subject to do justice to in a film.

Any additional comments?

Mark is obviously a smart guy - He mentions his education, followed by the career in management consulting and I think that's maybe the underlying issue here. I can imagine what he would have been like giving a presentation - at the end of it you would have been made fully aware of just how smart he was. Perhaps that seems a little unfair, after all I did like a lot of the book. I do think that as a 5 hour book minus the flowery bits it could be a really good book.

Good in parts

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