When the Ears Have Had It

By Jos

CEDARHURST ALLEY by Denison Hatch. 250 pages. Eriksson. $6.95.

Problem: Your newly acquired $70,000 family home in fashionable Cedarhurst, Long Island, turns out to be right under the most popular jet approach alley to J.F.K. Airport; the planes banshee by at 600 ft. so often that your 21-year-old daughter is driven autistic. Solution: float a war-surplus barrage balloon 1,500 ft. above the house and let the jets squall where they may.

It is a great idea as a stunt in civil disobedience. But as a book, the balloon does not hold up quite so well, though it may fascinate people who daydream about becoming system saboteurs. Author Hatch has helped his story by including a fine short course on the myths and truths about jet planes, their noise and their impact on human beings. One old saw neatly skewered: the aviation industry's contention that man can adjust to any noise level. That is simply medically false. In response to such facts, sufferers of noise pollution can only sound a loud "Hear! Hear!"

sb Jose M. Ferrer

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.