By Jozsef Torocsik
Publisher: Athenaeum
ISBN: 978-963-293-123-4
We usually only review books written in English but every now and then an exception is warranted as in the case of Jozsef Torocsik’s wonderful book about air traffic control in Hungary. I hope an English translation will be available soon because it is simply unfair that non-Hungarian speakers should be denied the pleasure of reading what is arguably the most enjoyable account of ATC in Central Europe.
The beauty of this book is that whether you have an aviation background or not, you will understand every detail Jozsi is talking about as he takes you to the secret world of air traffic control and the wider pastures of ATC training in Hungary.
His own background in air traffic control comes vividly alive and we travel with him to Riga for training and get tears in our eyes when he relates the inevitable tragedies that are also part of life in this otherwise superbly safe industry.
The title of the Hungarian version of the book is of course not Emergence… this is just my attempt to translate the cute play on words the original Hungarian title represents. They took the Hungarian equivalent of “Emergency” (Veszhelyzet) and removed the V whereby it became Eszhelyzet, something that could best be translated as a “Mindful Situation”.
I know the environment Jozsi is writing about well and I can tell you, his stories are spot on.
If you are a Hungarian speaker, get a copy. If not, check back often, we will tell you when the English version becomes available.
In the meantime, why not read some more stories from Hungarian ATC in the Same time, same place… category of Roger-Wilco.