Synopses & Reviews
A bestselling author tells the terrifying and inspiring story of the plane crash he survived
Around midnight on June 17, 1979, Air New England flight 248 crashed into the woods on Cape Cod. The pilot died but the copilot and eight passengers survived with trauma both physical and emotional. Robert Sabbag, at the height of his fame for his bestselling book Snowblind, was among them.
Down Around Midnight is Sabbag's gripping account of what exactly happened on that foggy night and his candid attempt to come to terms with the emotional ramifications of the crash. He reconnects with the other survivors and their rescuers for the first time in thirty years, weaving the narrative between past and present to create a thrilling and affecting story of survival and recovery.
Like the best survivor tales-Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and Joe Simpson's Touching the Void-Down Around Midnight is fast paced and mesmerizing. It is also a meditation on healing and the things we do to compartmentalize traumatic memories. Few people experience a plane crash and live to tell the story. Sabbag brings his striking, economical style to this personal tale of learning how to remember and how to endure.
Review
"Sabbag examines the crash both as an outstanding reporter investigating an old story, talking to those involved and meticulously piecing together the evidence, and also as a survivor confronting his own demons and the inevitable vagaries of memory... A compelling and tightly written reconstruction of the crash and his struggle to come to terms with the near-death experience."
-Boston Globe
"Sabbag has a knack for thumbnail portraits and sardonic humor... eloquent..."
-Time
"His most emotionally resonant book... A remarkably powerful, human story not merely of a plane crash but of the impact that one brief moment can have on an entire life... "
-Booklist
"Wonderfully readable... Sabbag has a journalist's eye for detail and a sardonic style that would be entertaining no matter the topic... The conclusions he comes to are thought-provoking and wise."
-Minneapolis Star Tribune
Synopsis
In 1979, the plane author Sabbag was riding in crashed into the woods on Cape Cod. Several passengers survived, with both physical and emotional trauma. He candidly attempts to come to terms with the emotional ramifications of that crash.
Synopsis
A bestselling author's terrifying and inspiring story of survival In this extraordinary book, the author of such bestsellers as Snowblind and Smokescreen uses his journalistic gift to portray his own heartstopping brush with death. Around midnight on June 17th, 1979, Air New England flight 248 crashed into the woods on Cape Cod, killing the pilot and leaving nine survivors- including Robert Sabbag-wounded and stranded in the woods.
Based on interviews with fellow survivors and his own recollections, Down Around Midnight is Sabbag's gripping account of what happened on that foggy night and his attempt to come to terms with its impact. The result is a survival tale in the tradition of Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and a deeply personal story of learning how to live with what can never be forgotten.
About the Author
Robert Sabbag is the author of
Snowblind, Smokescreen, and
Too Tough to Die. He is a regular contributor to
Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications. He lives on Cape Cod.