Grounded: Frank Lorenzo and the Destruction of Eastern Airlines

by Aaron Bernstein

The inside account of how Frank Lorenzo took over a sputtering Airlines and flew it into the ground. With access to the major players -- the guarded Lorenzo and his inner circle, former Eastern Airlines president Frank Borman, Peter Ueberroth, and union boss Charlie Bryan -- author Aaron Bernstein explains how Lorenzo brought a corporate raider's mentality to running a business, and how its failure marked a watershed in the 1980s "Age of Greed."

Genres: Aviation, Nonfiction

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Aaron David Bernstein (6 April 1812, Danzig – 12 February 1884, Berlin) was a German Jewish author, reformer and scientist.

His translation of the Song of Songs (published under the pseudonym of A. Bernstein, 1834) and his publication of Young Germany (German: Das junge Deutschland) established his reputation as a writer among the literary critics of Berlin. He was the author of two Ghetto stories, Vögele der Maggid and Mendel Gibbor, being one of the originators of this genre of modern fiction.

He was also a publicist. In 1849 he founded the Urwählerzeitung, in which (in 1851) he published some ultra-democratic articles which brought about his imprisonment. The paper was finally suppressed in 1853, and Bernstein established the Volkszeitung, a journal devoted, like its predecessor, largely to the dissemination of democratic views.

His History of Revolution and Reaction in Prussia and Germany from the Revolution of 1848 up to the present (German: Revolutions- und Reaktionsgeschichte Preussens und Deutschlands von den Märztagen bis zur neuesten Zeit; 3 vols., 1883–1884) was a collection of important political essays. In the middle of the 19th century Bernstein took an active share in the movement for synagogue reform in Germany.

Reviews

[Basia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written, but the story itself was interesting. Worth a read for anyone interested in what happened to hasten the demise of Eastern Airlines. Interesting view of labor relations in the mid-80s.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author goes round in circles and repeats himself. Had some interesting aspects. Most of the book was boring, due to the author writing about the union potentially purchasing Eastern.

[George Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed account of the step by step destruction of a major airline before the other majors in turn were gutted by varied economic pressures, internecine conflicts and questionable management/union skills and motives. if you wish to see where and how the decline started, this is the book. For those who think this narrative is dated, I would suggest that we are currently seeing a series of replays and should expect more frequent headlines of safety lapses and as John Golia, former NTSB Board Member, would say " pencil whipping". Just the thing to discuss when you are stuck in the center seat of your next flight and you want to irritate your companions.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible. Seems like the airline business would be very interesting. But this book seemed to pay more attention to where the judge and Lorenzo went to dinner then the customers/employees experience with a rapidly ailing airline.

I did learn how the two men (Lorenzo and the head of the machinist union) let their egos conquer common sense, and that was interesting, however.

[Cws]

387.7