Rating: 
Summary: Crichton's expert craftmanship does it again!
Review: I would define Crichton as a cerebral author. All his books are written as though he is an expert in whatever subject matter the story revolves around: DNA and cloning in "Jurassic Park", deep sea salvage operations and time travel in "Sphere", the intricacies of an 1800's criminal mind in "The Great Train Robbery", and now flight dynamics and airplane construction in "Airframe". True to Crichton's style, "Airframe" starts off running with a catastrophic airplane accident happening within the first few pages, and he leaves the reader guessing until the last page--literally.The story is a successful mix of well developed characters, suspenseful intrigue and mystery, and enough detail to allow you to understand the complexties of airframe manufracturing without overwhelming you with too much detail. I will not summarize the plot since the book is too much fun to start reading it with prior plot details. Just make sure you don't mind neglecting the rest of your life because once you pick up this book, you won't want to put it down. I lopped off one star because the middle of the story wandered around a bit with one of the side stories focusing on a Union protest and teamster-type threats directed at the protagonist that was supposed to add an element of danger that wasn't really needed. Other than that one minor misstep, this tale is expertly written with all the Crichton-detail that make his books so enjoyable and (gasp) educational! You will not be disappointed with this one. (On a personal note, I particularly enjoyed the way he accurately portrayed TV journalists. Having worked in the TV news field for five years, I can assure you that his depiction is right on the money.)
Rating: 
Summary: Michael Crichton
Review: When I read words from Michael Crichton, I can visualize them all. I imagine visually the entire story. His stories are technical and flowing. This book is highly recommended. I won't bother to tell you about the book because you should read without knowing to make it more exciting. This book is for techincal thinkers who can visualize.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent plotline
Review: Many people don't like this book and think it's one of Crichton's worst, but I loved it. It had a good story to it, good characters, and I learned some things about air flight while reading it. This was the first Crichton book I read and I have read the majority of his other books because I liked this one so much. Although it's not my favorite, I would recommend it, especially to people who are interested in air flight and planes.
Rating: 
Summary: Not His Best
Review: This was a very quick read. It was a fairly enjoyable book, although not one of Crichton's best. I found it difficult to feel any empathy for the protagonist and most of the other characters were stereotypes. The plot was interesting enough to keep me going, but the ending was anticlimactic. A good book to read at the beach.
Rating: 
Summary: Weak and predictable story from beginning to end
Review: This is the first and last time I read a book from Crichton. The story is weak since the beginning. Everything is predictable. An example? a) The American woman sees the pilot leaving the cockpit, b) the crew leaves the airport in a hurry, like fleeing the scene, c) The airplane shows no defect, d)The flight instructor swears that it can't be human error because Chang is the best pilot he's ever seen... it's so hard to figure it out? If you need to go from page 10 (the incident) to page 340 (when Casey finally figures it all out) to get a clue, this book is for you. Otherwise, try something else. The characters are weak and artificial and since Crichton wants to show his famous research skills, every character is unnatural, they don't speak, they lecture. Good people are really good, shy and well-intentioned. Bad people are mean, greedy and false. Chinese are detailist, Korean are hardworking, the test piot had to be a bold Texan, of course, the engineer lives for his plane, journalists are hollow, etc. etc. He only forgot a couple of corrupt politicians to complete the plot! My recommendation? Stay away! This airframe will take you straight to boredom!
Rating:
Summary: Page Turner At 30,000 Feet
Review: This is not great literature. There is no point in describing the main character, because she has no more personality than any of the tens of thousands of parts that make up a Boeing 747-400. But despite the total lack of any human drama, I found myself sneaking into the bathroom during work hours to finish off the last few pages. I find anything to do with flying fascinating and have enjoyed reading a flight manual of an F-16 fighter. Crichton has certainly written a more interesting book than a flight manual, although without any more characterization. But anyone readng "Airframe" will both learn about and admire the engineering that goes into producing a large passenger aircraft. Crichton also makes a delighfully vicious attack on the "60 Minutes" type of news program. "Airframe" is a "page turner" in both the best and worse sense. It would be a great book to take on a long airplane trip and while away the long hours, if the subject matter didn't happen to be about a near plane crash.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best but still compelling
Review: I thought that this book was great but just not as good as his others. Maybe he ran out of ideas or didn't know as much about airplane buisness but on the other hand, it was very scary in a lot of parts. I recommend this book to adults.
Rating:
Summary: What can I say?
Review: Very Good. Gripping. I read this on a road trip. I couldn't put it down. You get enveloped in this story and the mystery that surrounds a troubled airliner, a company in peril, and an odd episode over the Pacific Ocean. And all the events that follow are excellent. Airframe follows the investigation, the media's reaction, and the top level management trying to cover everything up. It has lots of suspense and surprises at every turn. A story of Conspiracy, Politics, Business, and Business Tycoons on the loose. Cover-to-cover Heart pounder. You must own it.
Rating:
Summary: Nearly His Best
Review: This is one of Crichton's best books. The suspense is first-rate and it never lets up. Crichton writes in such a style that it is near impossible to put one of his books down once they are started, and this is no exception. Aiframe is a very good book, and I gurantee you that you will be hard-pressed not to read it in one setting. Also, as always with Crichton, you will learn a good deal about the subject matter of the book by the time you have finished it, a testament to his legendary research. You will learn about how airplanes are built, who makes them and what goes into making them, the various problems that an airframe manufacturer runs into, and more. Imagine that, educational fiction.
Rating:
Summary: never really got good
Review: It grabbed my attention at first, only to become kind of boring. I constantly expected something neater.
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