The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor (ePUB+)

An air freighter carrying 14 men from a North African oil town crashes in the Sahara Desert during a violent sandstorm. Two passengers are killed instantly, a third is dying, and the rest struggle to survive brutal heat by day, cold at night, intense thirst and slow starvation. Communication with the outside world is cut off and when no rescue mission arrives, the choice becomes stark: die or find a way to build a smaller plane from parts of the damaged vehicle. Only one man may have the know-how to create a new plane out of the wreckage of the old one. But getting this group of men to cooperate under these hellish conditions seems next to impossible, as fears, anger and rivalries surface. The London Evening Standard called it: “Tense, exciting . . . horribly vivid.''

This classic novel, made into the 1965 movie starring Jimmy Stewart, Sir Richard Attenborough and Ernest Borgnine, remains one of the finest, most astute novels of human behavior under stress. In the midst of starvation, excruciating thirst and angry confrontations -- from the brilliant, steely-eyed young aircraft designer to the aging, bitter pilot -- Elleston Trevor offers insights into human conflict and what men will do to survive. One of the few novels to have two films inspired by it.

Known for his popular "Adam Hall" Quiller novels narrated by a complex, lone wolf undercover agent working for a secret department of the British government , Elleston Trevor has authored such classics as BURY HIM AMONG KINGS and remains one of the great writers of 20th century fiction.

"A master … one never doubts the absolute reality of every page he writes.”
- The New York Times

''Trevor is extremely deft with taut thrilling novels originally and unexpectedly plotted.''
- The London Times

“A master of showing the behavior of men under stress.”
- Books and Bookmen

"Few writers handle action as excitingly..."
- The Houston Chronicle

about the author:
Elleston Trevor’s novels, plays, and short stories range from light, witty mysteries to dramas, usually about ordinary individuals experiencing extraordinary situations. To cover a wide diversity of subject matter Elleston wrote under various pseudonyms: Adam Hall, Trevor Burgess, Roger Fitzalan, Simon Rattray, Mansell Black, Caesar Smith, Howard North, Warwick Scott, and even a woman’s name, Leslie Stone. Elleston is best known for his classic, The Flight of the Phoenix, and for his nineteen novels about a spy named Quiller. In 1966, The Quiller Memorandum won the Edgar award for the best mystery of the year. The Flight of the Phoenix and Quiller Memorandum both became major motion pictures. The author was born Trevor Dudley Smith in London on February 17, 1920. He died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on July 21, 1995.