How to Land a Plane

Get in the cockpit, take the controls and experience the enormous wonder of how we, as a flying species, come home. And with Mark Vanhoenacker as your guide, you're guaranteed a smooth landing.

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The Daily Mail and the Spectator Book of the Year (2017)

'Perfect inflight reading ... Brilliant' The Sunday Times

'This couldn't be more highly recommended' Alain de Botton

'Explains simply and clearly the abiding mysteries of flight' Daily Mail

'A work of humorous and outright poetic travel geekery' National Geographic Traveler

'Illuminates the practical reality of piloting in a concise and useful manner' Times Literary Supplement

Do something amazing and learn a new skill thanks to the Little Ways to Live a Big Life books! By the author of the acclaimed international bestseller Skyfaring, the Economist's 'Best book of the Year' and a New York Times 'Notable Book', and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week

So, hello! Welcome! Honestly, you look surprisingly relaxed. That's great to see. Have a seat on the left side of the cockpit - that's the captain's seat. Yes, that's right, you're now the captain, and yes, that's the runway down there. Fasten your seatbelt, order yourself a cup of tea, and let's get cracking.

Mark Vanhoenacker, the airline pilot who makes poetry out of the science of flight technology, hands over the controls. Walking and talking us through the nitty-gritty of an approach and touchdown, he builds our understanding of flight from the ground up (or rather from the sky down), offering a new perspective of one of the more challenging and rewarding tasks ever.