Differing views
Balzer's book is a disturbing example of self-delusion and his account, which included portraying himself as the victim of a tyrannical captain (me), provoked a firestorm of letters from NWA pilots and Flt Attendants.
Some 67 letters went to the publisher but the most telling of all was a single letter from the President/CEO of NWA (at the time of the incident) that said if even a miniscule bit of his portrayal of me had been true I'd never have been brought back to fly at Northwest.
I later (Nov '11) published a memoir entitled "Final Approach" in which I told the nakedly true story of what took place, which includes my role in it. I make no excuses, blame no one, and I lay it all out as it actually occurred. Unlike Balzer, I did not take any creative license and manipulate the truth and the facts.
His account is so horribly fictitious with invented events that never took place and conversations that never occurred, that I was hard-pressed to find anything at all that was marginally recognizable from the standpoint of truth. And even then, they were so hyper embellished and exaggerated that they did not fall within the zone of truthfulness.
Balzer has since fallen on some more hard times of his own making but I wish him well. No one enjoys watching someone suffer...but he's been his own worst enemy since our fateful flight.