Synopses & Reviews
"I had not expected a semi-authorized history of the European aerospace industry . . . to be so good to read . . . the deceit; the rivalry; the gambles that put companies at risk; the confrontation with the Americans. It's all here. This is an engrossing story."-Bob Ayling, fomer CEO, British Airways
"A thorough, well-balanced recounting of the Airbus saga, written with flair."-Pierre Sparaco, Aviation Week
Veteran business journalist Stephen Aris (The Times,Economist,Financial Times,Newsweek) tells the in-depth story of Airbus, which, over the past 25 years, has come to challenge American preeminence in global aviation. A lively portrait of one of the world's most important multinational companies, which details the high global politics and billion-dollar gambles behind Airbus's bid to become the world leader.
Synopsis
Close to the Sun is an in-depth, fast-paced, and highly readable history of Airbus, the pan-European consortium that has edged past Boeing to become the world leader in aerospace. In doing so, Airbus has achieved preeminence in a field thats been dominated by U.S. companies since the first flight of the Wright brothers. Airbuss history, and especially the story of its competition with its American rivals, is a vivid illumination of how giant conglomerates compete around the world, in an arena distinguished by high international politics and billion-dollar gambles in cutting-edge technology. Its one of the most important stories today that illustrates how globalization is changing the international business landscape.