The High and the Mighty Summary
Ernest K. Gann

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The High and the Mighty Summary

Death and survival concern Gann in all his works, from the near-documentary Island in the Sky (1944) to the nearparable The Aviator (1981), as well as the autobiography and the superb Fate is the Hunter (1961). In The High and the Mighty, Gann explores the ways in which his various types of people face death, ranging from the newly-wed couple, the Bucks, to the disease-ridden Frank Briscoe. As Garfield, the operations manager, observes the disembarking passengers, he reflects, "you are astonished that there is always a thing so real and near as death.

It is, as you have possibly observed ...

a clever device for the measurement of all men." For some, the experience will change them; for others, it will be a mere memory; while still others will revert back to their original lives.

While one can guess the reactions of some of the passengers, the collapse of others comes as...

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