Schiavo was Inspector General of the United States Department of Transportation for six years, and resigned in 1996 shortly after the ValuJet Flight 592 airline crash in the Florida Everglades.

Some individuals within the airline industry claimed the book contained factual inaccuracies, and this was investigated as part of a class project at George Washington University.

[6] Schiavo resigned from her position at the U.S. Department of Transportation in order to blow the whistle on what she saw as deficiencies in safety practices by the federal government's oversight of the airline industry.

[7] She was publicly critical of high-ranking U.S. aviation officials regarding the ValuJet Flight 592 passenger jet crash in the Florida Everglades which resulted in the deaths of all 110 people aboard.

[12] The first portion of the book is a critique of deficiencies in safety practices by the Federal Aviation Administration and United States Department of Transportation, and the inherent problems with the closeness between these agencies and the airline industry.

The book is an exposé of what Schiavo saw as fraud, corruption, waste, mismanagement, and dangerous negligence in the aviation industry and the FAA as a crusader for flight safety.

Schiavo describes how the FAA uses a formula ascribing specific monetary value to human lives, and how the agency allows numbers to decide whether the cost of extra safety is worth the additional expense.

She concludes with a list of recommendations for how individuals can effect change at government agencies including the FAA, and how to address concerns of conflict of interest between air safety and inspection and the airline industry.

[17] In a review in The Washington Post, Judy Mann called the book "a scathing -- and frightening -- indictment of the FAA, the multibillion-dollar airline industry and its lapdogs in Congress".

"[19] R.J. Ignelzi gave the book a positive recommendation in a review for The San Diego Union-Tribune, and commented: "Mary Schiavo's candid evaluation of the Federal Aviation Administration, airport security and air traffic controllers will give even the occasional flier some apprehension.

[26] In 1998, Instructor Darryl Jenkins of George Washington University decided to assign a class project in a graduate course he was teaching on airline economics for students to fact-check statements made by Schiavo in the book.