"The High and the Mighty" spent 57 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List, from May 1953 to June 1954, peaking out at number three. The success of the novel led to the creation of a Hollywood film directed by William A. Wellman and starring John Wayne and Robert Stack. The novel/film is considered the original airline disaster story, sparking a new genre of film with the likes of the Airport movie series and the spoof comedy Airplane! series. The novel won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Club of California's 23rd Annual California Book Awards for 1953 fiction.