“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the steep glide began, people rose, fell, collided, swam in their seats. Then the serious screaming and moaning began. Almost immediately a voice from the flight deck was heard on the intercom: "We're falling out of the sky! We're going down! We're a silver gleaming death machine!" This outburst struck the passengers as an all but total breakdown of authority, competence and command presence and it brought on a round of fresh and desperate wailing.”

American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist

Donald Richard DeLillo is an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. He is known for fiction that takes on modern life and its pressures, from consumer culture and television to politics, economics, sport, and the digital age. Across novels, stories, plays, scripts, and essays, DeLillo returns to the systems and language that shape public and private life. His work also engages with nuclear war, art, and mathematics, often tracing how ideas, media, and technology affect the way people think and speak.