Airline Passenger Security Screening


Book Description

This book addresses new technologies being considered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for screening airport passengers for concealed weapons and explosives. The FAA is supporting the development of promising new technologies that can reveal the presence not only of metal-based weapons as with current screening technologies, but also detect plastic explosives and other non-metallic threat materials and objects, and is concerned that these new technologies may not be appropriate for use in airports for other than technical reasons. This book presents discussion of the health, legal, and public acceptance issues that are likely to be raised regarding implementation of improvements in the current electromagnetic screening technologies, implementation of screening systems that detect traces of explosive materials on passengers, and implementation of systems that generate images of passengers beneath their clothes for analysis by human screeners.




Whiskey Women


Book Description

Shortly after graduating from University of Glasgow in 1934, Elizabeth “Bessie” Williamson began working as a temporary secretary at the Laphroaig Distillery on the Scottish island Islay. Williamson quickly found herself joining the boys in the tasting room, studying the distillation process, and winning them over with her knowledge of Scottish whisky. After the owner of Laphroaig passed away, Williamson took over the prestigious company and became the American spokesperson for the entire Scotch whisky industry. Impressing clients and showing her passion as the Scotch Whisky Association’s trade ambassador, she soon gained fame within the industry, becoming known as the greatest female distiller. Whiskey Women tells the tales of women who have created this industry, from Mesopotamia’s first beer brewers and distillers to America’s rough-and-tough bootleggers during Prohibition. Women have long distilled, marketed, and owned significant shares in spirits companies. Williamson’s story is one of many among the influential women who changed the Scotch whisky industry as well as influenced the American bourbon whiskey and Irish whiskey markets. Until now their stories have remained untold.




Assessment of Technologies Deployed to Improve Aviation Security


Book Description

This report assesses the operational performance of explosives-detection equipment and hardened unit-loading devices (HULDs) in airports and compares their operational performance to their laboratory performance, with a focus on improving aviation security.




Rum Curious


Book Description

Rum Curious takes the reader on a tour of the world of rum, teaching the reader how to taste rum and appreciate all its glorious variety.




Ask the Pilot


Book Description

Though we routinely take to the air, for many of us flying remains a mystery. Few of us understand the how and why of jetting from New York to London in six hours. How does a plane stay in the air? Can turbulence bring it down? What is windshear? How good are the security checks? Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author of Salon.com's popular column, "Ask the Pilot," unravels the secrets and tells you all there is to know about the strange and fascinating world of commercial flight. He offers: A nuts and bolts explanation of how planes fly Insights into safety and security Straight talk about turbulence, air traffic control, windshear, and crashes The history, color, and controversy of the world's airlines The awe and oddity of being a pilot The poetry and drama of airplanes, airports, and traveling abroad In a series of frank, often funny explanations and essays, Smith speaks eloquently to our fears and curiosities, incorporating anecdotes, memoir, and a life's passion for flight. He tackles our toughest concerns, debunks conspiracy theories and myths, and in a rarely heard voice dares to return a dash of romance and glamour to air travel.




The Transparent Traveler


Book Description

At the airport we line up, remove our shoes, empty our pockets, and hold still for three seconds in the body scanner. Deemed safe, we put ourselves back together and are free to buy the beverage we were prohibited from taking through security. In The Transparent Traveler Rachel Hall explains how the familiar routines of airport security choreograph passenger behavior to create submissive and docile travelers. The cultural performance of contemporary security practices mobilizes what Hall calls the "aesthetics of transparency." To appear transparent, a passenger must perform innocence and display a willingness to open their body to routine inspection and analysis. Those who cannot—whether because of race, immigration and citizenship status, disability, age, or religion—are deemed opaque, presumed to be a threat, and subject to search and detention. Analyzing everything from airport architecture, photography, and computer-generated imagery to full-body scanners and TSA behavior detection techniques, Hall theorizes the transparent traveler as the embodiment of a cultural ideal of submission to surveillance.




Terror, Security, and Money


Book Description

In seeking to evaluate the efficacy of post-9/11 homeland security expenses--which have risen by more than a trillion dollars, not including war costs--the common query has been, "Are we safer?" This, however, is the wrong question. Of course we are "safer"--the posting of a single security guard at one building's entrance enhances safety. The correct question is, "Are any gains in security worth the funds expended?"In this engaging, readable book, John Mueller and Mark Stewart apply risk and cost-benefit evaluation techniques to answer this very question. This analytical approach has been used throughout the world for decades by regulators, academics, and businesses--but, as a recent National Academy of Science study suggests, it has never been capably applied by the people administering homeland security funds. Given the limited risk terrorism presents, expenses meant to lower it have for the most part simply not been worth it. For example, to be considered cost-effective, increased American homeland security expenditures would have had each year to have foiled up to 1,667 attacks roughly like the one intended on Times Square in 2010--more than four a day. Cataloging the mistakes that the US has made--and continues to make--in managing homeland security programs, Terror, Security, and Money has the potential to redirect our efforts toward a more productive and far more cost-effective course.




Flying with Confidence


Book Description

Does the thought of flying fill you with dread? Do panic attacks leave you feeling scared and vulnerable? If so, this book could change your life. Written by top flying experts from British Airways’ Flying with Confidence course, this reassuring guide explains everything you need to know about air travel alongside techniques for feeling confident and in control from take off to landing. In easy-to-follow sections, you'll learn how to recognise cabin noises, manage turbulence and fly in bad weather conditions. As your knowledge grows, so will your confidence, with the fear of the unknown removed. · Takes the terror out of common flight fears · Includes techniques for controlling anxiety, claustrophobia and panic · Will help you feel safe, calm and secure when you next take to the skies.




Bourbon Curious


Book Description

"The world has been waiting for this book." —Jeffrey Morganthaler, author of The Bar Book and Drinking Distilled In Bourbon Curious: A Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker, award-winning whiskey writer and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Fred Minnick creates an easy-to-read interactive tasting journey that helps you select barrel-aged bourbons based on your flavor preferences. Using the same tasting principles he offers in his Kentucky Derby Museum classes and as a judge at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Minnick cuts to the chase, dismissing brand marketing and judging only the flavor of this all-American whiskey. Bourbon Curious groups bourbon into four main flavor profiles—grain, nutmeg, caramel, and cinnamon. While many bourbons boast all four flavor notes, one delicious sensation typically overpowers the rest. This book reveals more than 50 bourbon brands' predominate tastes and suggests cocktail recipes to complement them. In addition, Minnick spends some time busting bourbon's myths; unraveling its mysteries; and exploring distiller secrets, disclosing the recipes you won't find on a bottle's label. This updated edition contains all the best new bourbons and revised tasting notes on any bourbons that have undergone a substantial change since the original edition. And like good-tasting bourbon, Bourbon Curious is approachable to all!




Behind The Flight Deck Door


Book Description

Ever wondered what goes on inside the cockpit of a passenger plane? Ever wanted to know how a jet engine works or what happens if a plane is struck by lightning? Behind the Flight Deck Door provides insider knowledge about everything you have ever wanted to ask a pilot! Since 9/11, flight decks of modern airliners have become off-limits to the flying public. This is despite the fact every year more people take to the skies than ever before. Pilot Brett Manders wants to help you become a savvy traveller by providing insider tips, expert knowledge, and an understanding of what goes on behind the scenes to get you up in the air. All told with a dash of humor, this book will demystify the art of airline travel, address those urban legends, and settle the nerves of any anxious flyers. Simple, concise explanations cover a multitude of things passengers have asked Brett and his colleagues over the years. What is a small technical delay? Can the cabin door be opened mid-flight? How much do pilots really earn and do they get free flights? Can you get stuck to the toilet? Is it still possible to view the flight deck? Brett Manders is a pilot with an Australian Airline. He has over 10,000 hours flying experience on Airbus A320, A321, A330 and Boeing B787 Dreamliner aircraft. Praise for Behind the Flight Deck Door "Brett's uncomplicated, honest, and easy to understand book is a welcome addition on any flight. It offers an enlightening point of view of the all-important necessity of air travel with rare glimpses of the secret world airline pilots inhabit." JULIE POSTANCE, AUTHOR, BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIERS "I really enjoyed reading this as it is an easy read, and really relatable and quite entertaining. As a nervous flyer myself it was quite interesting and reassuring to read all the different things that go on behind the scenes and learn about the ins and outs of flying." SARAH EMERSON, NERVOUS FLYER "This book has so much valuable knowledge that every passenger wants to know and ask. So many things about aircraft, airlines and airports are such a mystery to many people, it is nice to have it explained is simple terms. After reading, I feel lots of little things that bothered me have been put in perspective and it has helped my fear of flying significantly. Behind the Flight Deck Door is a must have book for anyone who travels on airlines!" NISHA SHARMA, NERVOUS FLYER