Flight MH370: The Mystery

by Nigel Cawthorne

A top true-crime journalist takes on a confounding current mystery offering up a new theory with international implications

On March 8, 2014, at 41 minutes past midnight, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. At 1:19 a.m., the plane and its 227 passengers vanished from the skies. No trace has been found. The disappearance of Flight MH370 has horrified people across the globe. In an age where a stolen smartphone can be pinpointed to any location on earth, the vanishing of a cruise liner and 227 passengers is the greatest mystery since the Mary Celeste. Experienced author and journalist Nigel Cawthorne has researched with incredible swiftness and thoroughness to reveal the most compelling explanations behind the mystery gripping the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Aviation, History, Mystery

246 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2014

About the author

Nigel Cawthorne is an Anglo-American writer of fiction and non-fiction, and an editor. He has written more than 80 books on a wide range of subjects and has contributed to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph Daily Mail and The New York Times. He has appeared on television and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".

One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.

Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).

Reviews

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently I have found myself very interested in conspiracy theories.

The disappearance of Flight MH370 is one I find very interesting. This book shed light on some theories I had never heard of.

If you want to learn more about the disappearance of Flight 370 I highly recommend you read this!

[Sean Peters (A Good Thriller) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slightly different book for me, not a action thriller, or thriller of any kind.

But the true mystery behind flight MH370 The Mystery.

Does this book have answers, no, but absolutely massive amounts of facts on so many more flight accidents, terrorism, explosions, fires, pilots and their stories.

I would say not a book to read while on a plane flight or just going on a plane.

But a book that puts a face to so many that died/disappeared on Flight MH 370.

It makes you realise that their is a history behind each passenger, a story and so many sad family stories from passenger from all over the world.

Okay, I am used to a book that grips me with a thrilling plot, but the truth is good as well.

Three stars from me.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

About a week ago, the search for Flight MH370 was officially called off, and the plane never found. This book explores all the possible theories of what might have happened to the flight. It uses examples of other planes that went missing or crashed, and also tells about some of the passengers on the flight. A very interesting book, but one that may make anxious fliers (like me) never want to fly again.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was riveted, not because it was the best book ever, but because anything about plane crashes scares me shitless and I can't put it down. It was written in 2014, before the finding of wreckage in Reunion, Mozambique and Mauritius, so it is an incomplete story but it conveys all of the theories and possibilities. It also relates many other air crashes and compares their causes with the known facts of this mystery. One big downside to the book was lack of a map, I had to consult an atlas to make sure my understanding of the movement of the plane was correct. For example, the plane's detour north west of Malaysia doesn't make sense until you look at a map and see it was apparently avoiding going over Indonesian airspace, once it passes the tip of Indonesia it turns south again. It helped me come to a better understanding, but I lowered the score due to lack of a map.

[Edgarr Alien Pooh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't give this four or five stars because for the most part it is a rehash of what we have already heard. The three stars are for those theories that have not been common - the plane is secretly hidden in the Pakistani jungle. While these theories can be far fetched they are supported with factual information - like the "ping rate" of the plane, last communications and even the lifestyle of the pilots. No technical engineering reports so the book is an easy and interesting read. Of course as I write this it is still not found - one day you may be reading this and the answers have all been uncovered

[Subhro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it’s still a mystery on what happened to MH370. This book gives a lot of speculation on what may have happened. The author may have put some maps of probable search areas, this would have given the book a little more edge. Worth a read to understand what would have been a probable cause. Like the family members of the ill fated MH370, I too pray they recover the flight wreckage and puts a complete end to this Mystery of 21st century.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in two minds about reading a book on this subject expecting it to be based on wild theories and conspiracy, however I was pleasantly surprised.
The author has presented an insightful overview based on facts and doesn't draw any wild conclusions leaving it to the reader. I found the book to be very interesting and well written especially how it compares MH370 to other historical airline incidents such as Lockerbie.

[Connie Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lot of facts about other plane crashes and not as much about MH370 I guess that is because no one really knows what happened. I personally would have liked less about other crashes and disappearances. I hope one day the mystery is solved especially for the families of the passengers on board.

[Vienna Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book! The book covers so many possible theories about MH379. It includes a through description of all the evidence and events leading up to, during and after the disappearance in a chronological order. A great book, a little slow to read but overall very interesting.

[TimFei Your Father · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book
Lots of useful information about MH370

MH370, We are waiting for you to come back!

[Michael Rainheart · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like conspiracy theories, go ahead and read this, as for me I can't really say I enjoy this book. In my opinion, it contains lots of unnecessary information. The good news is, this book will give you broad cases of airplane accidents and comparing the possible cause on the theories given with the current missing of MH370.

[Terence Kong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since MH370 disappeared in 8 March 2014, every aviation geeks including myself continue to wonder what series of events made it to become one of the mysterious aviation incidents of all time.

I've read Richard Quest's book The Vanishing of Flight MH370: The True Story of the Hunt for the Missing Malaysian Plane and it was superb. However, I wanted to gain more information from another author's perspective. Nigel Cawthorne differentiated his book by well incorporating descriptions of the lives that the relatives of those on board MH370 had went through during the 1st few weeks after the plane's disappearance. Not only that, it guides readers about the theories proposed by aviation experts around the world and the real accidents that each theories were based on.

While reading this book, I noticed that the author is quite repetitive with his statements, making the story less interesting. In addition, the introduction wasn't as I expected. However, the plot improves as I delved deeper into the story and it ends with a conclusion that until the plane is located, it will forever remain as a mystery and will not bring the families of those on board near any closure they hoped for.

What I find most heart-moving about this book is the roller coaster of emotions that the families and friends of their lost loved ones went through. That mix of uncertainty, anger and frustration due to inconsistent and contradictory information by the Malaysian government and Malaysian Airlines. Just like the those deeply affected by this unfortunate event, I do believe that the Malaysian authorities and its national airline is hiding the truth from the public and that they are keeping a slice of informational cake for themselves, never to be given to the general community.

Overall, I won't say this is a highly recommended book but it is a good read with some intriguing views that will make readers ponder about till the aircraft is finally found.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if I should rate this a 3 or a 4. This was a very detailed account of MH370 and it's disappearance in 2014, there was lots of information in the book I hadn't heard or read about before. Having finished the book, the mystery of the plane remains, although debris that has been linked definitively to the 777 has been found since this book was published.

It was very sad reading about the ordeal the families went through and all the misinformation and miscommunication really is surprising in the information age and really makes you wonder what did happen and if we'll ever know.

There were a few editing errors and spelling mistakes in the book, but nothing too bad.

[Ayushi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had all these bestsellers ( including Flight MH370, It all adds up, Ace against odd, Super 30 ) in my mail through giveaways. I never cared to unpack them and the pile kept on increasing. As these days, there isn't much to do, I made it a point to read them one a day. It's been 4 days since and despite the lesser than average quality of writing in each of them, I feel enriched and more the wiser than before. But I guess this is where I stop because pulp fiction ( well non-fiction in this case ) doesn't pay the bills. I need to do some serious reading now and get back to living. And, oh, did I mention I had a severe head cold these 4 days?

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Put it this way - if you´re a nervous flyer, then this book is *not* for you.

Considering the mystery surrounding this aircraft´s disappearance, this is a well though out book, and brings a lot of the stories / theories together into one concise, well written format.

It doesn't´ linger on the conspiracy theories that seem to abound on the Internet at the moment, and allows people in the know (former pilots and safety experts - one of them being David Learmount) to put forward quite feasible ideas.

[Surupa Mukhopadhyay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say one thing, this book will make me question flights all my life after all the facts and conspiracy theories read.

The only disappointment for me was as to how overtly expressed the possibility of a terrorist attack was, and it seemed to dominate the book a lot. Nonetheless, it is the truth, that the terrorist angle was investigated a lot, alright.

[Jeff Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy-to-read collation about the turmoil surrounding the disappearance of MH370. The author also adds extraneous detail about other plane crashes.

[Elisa Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book and seeing the various theories on what happened to Flight Mh70.

Hopefully one day we will get some clear answers

[Syida Mrs Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hope we will get the true answer.