Concorde

By: Mike Bannister

Narrated by: Mike Bannister

Brought to you by Penguin.

The definitive account of the rise and fall of the world's fastest plane from British Airways' former Chief Concorde Pilot.

October 24th, 2023 will mark 20 years since Concorde disappeared from our skies. Yet still Mike Bannister, the last Concorde Chief Pilot, faces the same questions:

• Why is she no longer flying?
• Where is her replacement?
• And what really happened on that tragic afternoon in July 2000, when the crash of Flight 4590 grounded the Concorde forever?

Concorde is an enthralling personal account of what it takes to fly planes faster than the speed of sound, and of the events that lay behind 114 needless deaths—the 113 victims of the crash and, ultimately, Concorde herself.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Mike Bannister (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Absolutely loved it

This book made me hope for a new supersonic passenger plane soon!

Wonderful story and great structure.
I will be revisiting it in the future.

Finally understand the Concorde story

I always wondered what happened to the Concorde and this story provides the details. Well done.

Absolutely Amazing

Mike Bannister’s book detailing his time with the Concorde was so well done. The story he tells of this wonderful aircraft, the people with whom he worked, and it’s final retirement is so engaging you won’t want to stop listening… What really stands out is him narrating his own story - you can’t help but feel as if he is sitting down and talking with you around a campfire on a warm summer evening…..

And - the accident… Woah, I thought I had a complete understanding of what happened that fateful day ( as do most of us I suspect )… There is a story here within a larger story about what really happened, explained in a very understandable way…

I cannot say enough good things about his work on this book and it’s presentation… I hope you will give it a listen

A Masterpiece!

Captain Mike Bannister takes you on his journey through the early days of Concorde right up until the final verdict of the courts over a decade after the accident that sealed its fate.

Any aviation enthusiast or history buff will enjoy this audiobook. Brilliantly narrated by arguably one of the most fortunate pilots to have ever lived.

A very satisfying journey that makes you feel the emotions of what it would have been like to pilot such a machine in a time when cockpit doors were open and Supersonic flight was a realistic future.

I HIGHLY recommend this audiobook!

A must read for Concorde enthusiasts

This book was recommended by Commander Gareth at the Manchester Runway Visitor Park after touring Concorde. I was delighted that it was available as an audiobook and have enjoyed listening to it very much. Mike clearly has a deep love and respect for Concorde which was beautifully conveyed. I enjoyed the technical information, as well as the mushy feel good stuff. I learned a lot and hope to see the remaining Concorde’s spread around the world.

Worth reading and listening

The author is a rare bird. He writes well and he has a great voice for narrating books. His book gives a great perspective and insight into Concorde. It also highlights my sadness at never having flown abroad her. Like him and many others I fail to understand why Concorde remains the only commercial SST. It makes no sense that no other major country and country has developed their own SST. The story is written by someone that obviously loves the Concorde and loved flying it. Did I say I am sad not to have flown on her. The reverence he shows the aircraft is on clear display. Concorde was not just beautiful but a remarkable achievement. Airbus should build a new one. Boeing appears incapable of doing so. Leaving Airbus as the only company to do so. The few companies trying to build one now are half hearted efforts. Concorde flew Mach 2.2 not 1.7. And the fact that she could not over fly the United States was a US problem. I suspect in the vastness of our country an effort to find a suitable flight path for her could have been successful. No matter this book is in my view worth a read/listen.

Simply Fantastic! Bravo Capt Bannister!

Loved this wonderful book! I really appreciated the insight into the AF crash. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. As a pilot, I felt as if I were on the flight deck with you all for those amazing trips you chose to share with us.

So Much Better Than I Anticipated

I am an aviation enthusiast, which is why I read this book. I thought it would be OK, but it was so much better. It is an autobiography wrapped around late 20th Century aviation history and a real life mystery: What caused the Air France Concorde crash.

This book is well-written and really moves along--appropriate for its subject matter. More surprisingly, the Captain is an outstanding narrator, which is unusual in books read by the author.

Great read and lots of information.

Epic

Captain Bannister’s account of his life in aviation, career and many years flying Concorde is absolutely fascinating, his affection for its performance, how exhilarating it was to fly and it’s sheer beauty is obvious and his enthusiasm is contagious


His skills as a pilot are obvious but he has matched these with one of the best books I have read in any field and it’s certainly the best on Concorde.


He has managed to cleverly and simultaneously weave an autobiographical account of his experiences flying this incredible aircraft alongside a parallel narrative
of the tragic Concorde crash, his involvement in the investigation and eventually his role as an invaluable technical adviser


He does this in great detail yet in an easy to understand manner that has finally clarified to me what really caused this accident


As sad as the accident was this book is really a celebration of Concorde, a beautiful, revolutionary aircraft that was ahead of its time and one of the finest engineering achievements in aviation


Neil Armstrong said that putting Concorde into passenger service was technically as difficult as landing on the moon, it was an amazing achievement and this book puts you in the pilots seat like no other

outstanding book

Hearing the stories of Concorde directly from the mouth of Former BA Concorde Chief Pilot was extraordinary.