Highest Duty
My Search for What Really Matters
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“Gripping and genuinely heartwarming.”
—New York Daily News
The inspirational New York Times bestselling autobiography of a true American hero, in Highest Duty Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger—the pilot who miraculously landed a crippled US Airways Flight 1549 in New York’s Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 passengers—shares his thoughts on leadership, responsibility, and service along with his riveting life story. Written with Jeffrey Zaslow, coauthor of The Last Lecture with Randy Pausch, Highest Duty is a remarkable true-life story that the Washington Times says, “Screams to be required reading for all young people, or anybody else who needs confirmation that courage, dignity and extraordinary competence can still be found in this land.”
On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed one of the most remarkable emergency landings in aviation history when Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the surface of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide. To Sullenberger, a calm, steady pilot with forty years of flying experience who is also a safety consulting expert, the landing was not a miracle but rather the result of years of practice and training-wisdom he gained in the cockpit of U.S. Air Force jets and in his Texas boyhood.
Born to a World War II veteran and dentist father and an elementary school teacher mother, Sully fell in love with planes early. He learned to fly as an eager 16-year-old from a crop duster, an older neighbor in north Texas, who took off and landed his fragile plane on the grass field behind his house. While Sully′s father encouraged his interest in flying, he also imparted stern advice he′d learned from his Navy service during World War II: a commander is responsible for everyone in his care-and those words have shaped Sully′s life and work and continue to guide him today.
HIGHEST DUTY reveals the important lessons Sully learned through childhood, in his military service, and in his work as a commercial airline pilot. At heart, it is a story of hope and preparedness-that life′s challenges can be met if we′re ready for them-reminding us that, even in these days filled with war, tragedy, and economic uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for.
A few weeks after the crash, Sully discovered that he′d lost a library book about professional ethics, Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability, in the downed plane′s cargo hold. When he called the library to notify them, they waived the usual fees. Mayor Michael Bloomberg replaced the book when he gave Sully the Key to the City in a New York ceremony.
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Author Extras
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Critical Praise for
Highest Duty
“Sullenberger’s all-American life story is so compelling that it screams to be required reading for all young people, or anybody else who needs confirmation that courage, dignity and extraordinary competence can still be found in this land.... [A] remarkable life story.”
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Washington Times
“As demonstrated by the subtitle, [Sully has] been intent on using his newfound fame to promote his own code: Doing things well, doing them right, the way he did the day he used ‘a lifetime of knowledge to find a way to safety,’ his written description of the feat of flying those 150 passengers to safety.”
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San Francisco Chronicle
“The reader waits until page 207 to strike those birds, but once there, I defy most to hold a resting pulse. Sullenberger’s account of gliding his crippled jetliner down safely onto the Hudson River is a wingdinger.... The tone is gently folksy first-person.... Sullenberger comes across as an honorable, courageous man.”
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Cleveland Plain Dealer
“It’s no big surprise that Sullenberger’s book—a gripping and genuinely heartwarming account of the splashdown—manages to portray everyone involved as more heroic than himself.... Sullenberger’s account of Flight 1549 is a Capra-esque ode to American competence and decency.... The book includes details that add a compelling new dimension to the tale.”
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Daily News (New York)
“Rushed to print...books by unlikely heroes who hit the front page are always suspect. But as Sullenberger grows from a 5-year-old who wants to fly planes, to a fighter pilot, to a 57-year-old “gray-haired man with my hands on the controls of an Airbus A320 over Manhattan,” it’s clear there’s a story here to tell.... Sullenberger speaks frankly of the toll the public spotlight has taken on his marriage, as well as the difficulties he and his family have endured throughout his commercial aviation career. Zaslow’s contributions should not be overlooked; as with Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture, he invisibly assists Sullenberger in going beyond the moment that sparks readers’ interest.... The result is as dramatic as it is inspirational.”
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Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Sullenberger has emerged as an appealingly modest, straightforward guy, a demeanor maintained here in his easygoing, no-frills account of his Texas boyhood, his early infatuation with flying, his years at the Air Force Academy, his peacetime military career and his experiences as a commercial pilot, where safety procedures became somewhat of a specialty.... Valuable for anyone interested in how a life lived with integrity prepares a man for the ultimate challenge.”
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Kirkus Reviews
“One of the remarkable facets to emerge about Sullenberger was his prior professional activity to improve flight crew performance during emergencies, which echoes Winston Churchill’s famous remark in The Gathering Storm (1948) about saving Britain in 1940, ‘that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.’...This memoir-drama imparts insights about the piloting professional as it enthralls readers with its exultant plotline of disaster averted.”
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Booklist
“As Sullenberger grows from a 5-year-old who wants to fly planes, to a fighter pilot, to a 57-year-old “gray-haired man with my hands on the controls of an Airbus A320 over Manhattan,” it’s clear there’s a story here to tell.... Sullenberger speaks frankly of the toll the public spotlight has taken on his marriage, as well as the difficulties he and his family have endured throughout his commercial aviation career.... The result is as dramatic as it is inspirational.”
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Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Interwoven with experiences in various places are many stories about the life lessons he learned along the way and his urge to make a difference when he had a chance to… I enjoyed his linkage of family and flying and how much a family can suffer from the wear and tear when a dad and husband are often gone. However, Sully relates many touching family incidents with his girls and wife Lorrie and how precious spending time with them has been… Don’t miss reading this on—-Sully’s story is great. His humbleness is noteworthy.”
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Times Record News (Wichita Falls, Texas)
“This is exactly the kind of book you would expect the now-legendary Sully Sullenberger to write. In his memoir, the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, which set down so memorably on the Hudson River in January, is earnest, controlled and exacting. Sullenberger is not prone to flights of fancy—in fact, he is the very pilot you’d choose for the job if you had any say in it. His book reflects the same qualities.”
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BookPage
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Making a Difference
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Highest Duty
On January 15, 2009, the world witnessed a remarkable emergency landing when Captain "Sully" Sullenberger skillfully glided US Airways Flight 1549 onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. His cool actions not only averted tragedy but made him a hero and an inspiration worldwide....
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