Shootdown: Flight 007 and the American Connection

Johnson, R. W.

ISBN 10: 0670812099 / ISBN 13: 9780670812097

Published by Viking Adult, 1986

About this Item

No Stock Photos! We photograph every item. moderate edge wear to jacket, light edge wear to boards, some light soiling and foxing to page ends; On September 1, 1983, a Soviet fighter plane shot down Korean Airlines Flight 007 as it flew through Soviet airspace. With information that casts grave doubts on the integrity of the Reagan administration, Johnson demolishes the official explanation and argues that Flight 007 was on a government intelligence mission. 10 maps and 10 photos.

Seller Inventory # 031598

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Shootdown: Flight 007 and the American Connection
• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Publication Date: 1986
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0670812099
• ISBN 13: 9780670812097
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Weight: 22 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

Presents evidence that the Korean airliner shot down by the Soviet Union was on an American intelligence mission

Reviews

When Korean Airlines flight 007 was shot down by a Soviet fighter in 1983, many questions and contradictions emerged that still haven't been answered. Johnson's absorbing study explores the complex affair from various angles and provides a broad context, including an assessment of the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, the use of civilian airlines for espionage and the way international crises are handled by the Reagan administration. Presented here are the four major theories of what happened and why: that Flight 007 strayed off course by accident; that the pilot tried to take a shortcut to save fuel; that the Soviets lured the plane off course through electronic interference with navigational equipment; and that 007 was, as the Soviets have claimed, on a surveillance mission. In the book's piece de resistance, Johnson reruns the sequence of events surrounding the flight as if hypothesis four were true, and most readers will likely agree that it is the only one that makes sense. Johnson is a Fellow in Politics at Oxford. Photos. 50,000 first printing. (June
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Johnson, an Oxford political scientist, reviews publicly available information on the 1983 Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, and critically evaluates hypotheses put forward to explain the many mysteries still surrounding the tragedy. While acknowledging that the evidence remains incomplete, he concludes that KAL 007 was most likely on a U.S.-directed intelligence mission designed to reveal Soviet air defense radarsa finding similar to that of Alexander Dallin's Black Box ( LJ 5/1/85) and at odds with Richard Rohmer's Massacre 747 (Paperjacks, 1984). Readers will find more detail on many points than in earlier analyses as well as an accusation of Reagan Administration dishonesty on the matter. A readable and useful contribution to the debate. Recommended for most libraries. James R. Kuhlman, Univ. of Georgia Lib., Athens
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.