Captain Power-Waters covers every aspect of commercial aviation and brings the reader to the conclusion that it is a much more perilous means of transportation than generally suspected. Most of the material in this book has never been touched upon in any previous book on air safety. The following are a few of the subjects that are documented in this book: There are no U.S. airports that have adequate firefighting procedures. Mechanically impaired airliners are allowed to fly when, in reality, they should be grounded. The flushing of an airline toilet has imperiled the lives of passengers aboard the plane and people on the ground. The air traffic control system is near collapse caused by the "bumbling" FAA. Airline pilots are not thoroughly trained to recover from all modes of flight. The Boeing 737 is the most popular airliner ever built, but it is potentially the most dangerous. "Captain Power-Waters brings an understanding and appreciation of Air Traffic control from two perspectives: as a pilot operating within the system; and as someone who possesses a vast knowledge of the ATC's work." -William A. Faville, Jr., National Air TrafficControllers Association, President MKC. "If you are interested in the training of an airline captain, if you think your airline is safe, or if you think the FAA is totally interested in your safety, this is the book for you." -Carl T. Butterworth, Senior Captain, American Airlines, Ret. Brig. Gen., ANG. "You obviously have done an extensive job researching this topic, and more importantly, it is clear you have lived the issues. I congratulate you on your effort." -Robert Roach, Jr., General Vice President, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

"Sew another stripe on the arm of Captain Brian Power-Waters as the Conscience-in-Chief of America's flying industry. In "93 Seconds to Disaster," the story of the tragic post-9/11 crash of American Airlines A-300 Airbus flight 587 in Queens, NY, he takes us inside the cockpit on the fateful morning of November 12, 2001 as the plane gets caught in bone-jarring wake turbulence from the 747 in front of it. Stacking up facts, figures, black box transcripts, and his own profound expertise, Power-Waters criticizes the NTSB for its rush-to-judgment conclusion that the co-pilot caused the breakup of the plane. The author cites reports of 'popping noises' and shedding of plane parts after takeoff, and believes the Airbus either was not airworthy before takeoff or there was an explosive device on board. Power-Waters' probe flatly concludes that Airbus covered up evidence of the extreme sensitivity of the plane's rudder. He hammers at airlines, accuses the FAA of 'sleeping with the airlines', and once again tests the air industry's commitment to safety. "A must read "" --Alex Michelini, former Chief Investigative Reporter, "New York Daily News" "If you think your airline captain is trained to recover from any position that the airplane might encounter, you'd be wrong." --Carl T. Butterworth, Senior Captain, American Airlines, Ret. Brig. Gen. (ANG)

Tientsin in north-eastern China was known as 'The Ford of Heaven' as it gave travellers access to the Celestial City of Peking and the Emperor of Heaven eighty miles to the west. It was also a 'concession port' in the 1920s and 1930s, occupied by the foreign powers of Britain, France, Russia, America and Japan in the wake of the Opium War of 1860. This memoir evokes a childhood spent in this strange and exotic place. The world that Power evokes is a microcosm of the complexity and ferment that was China before the Second World War, yet seen through the fresh eyes of a sensitive child attuned to the people around him. This new edition of The Ford of Heaven (first published in 1984) contains a new foreword by Frances Wood, Curator of the British Library's Chinese Collection, as well as a postscript and inclusion of extensive additional material.