laurengiac02's review against another edition
5.0
This book was hard to read in a good way. If you were alive at the time, you can probably picture where you were (freshman studies class) and what you were doing (listening to Mr. Hartwig discuss science things). Then we all rushed across the hall to the combined LA and SS room, and the tv’s were on. Some students called their aunts in NY or called parents who were traveling.
This book recounted SO many of the people who survived reactions, thoughts, memories…. So many transcripts of the conversations and calls between the flight attendant on the aircraft that was going to crash. I cannot imagine listening to this audiobook because reading it made me feel so sad all over again.
The research that had to have gone into this book is monumental. It recollected so many different view points and the president and the attack on DC and so many aspects of the minute by minute decisions that were laid out. A day no one could ever forget but this book did a great job of putting it all together. A long, but powerful read.
This book recounted SO many of the people who survived reactions, thoughts, memories…. So many transcripts of the conversations and calls between the flight attendant on the aircraft that was going to crash. I cannot imagine listening to this audiobook because reading it made me feel so sad all over again.
The research that had to have gone into this book is monumental. It recollected so many different view points and the president and the attack on DC and so many aspects of the minute by minute decisions that were laid out. A day no one could ever forget but this book did a great job of putting it all together. A long, but powerful read.
katiez624's review against another edition
4.0
I usually shy away from books with alternative formats (i.e. [b:Daisy Jones & The Six|40597810|Daisy Jones & The Six|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580255154l/40597810._SY75_.jpg|61127102]), but this particular topic seemed like one that I could make an exception for. I felt pulled to read this book in early September, not at all thinking about the uncanny timing and why I may have felt inclined to read this book now.
The oral accounts given in each of these chapters provide an all-encompassing glimpse at the horrors of that day and the people who were intricately involved and affected. Perspectives are given that I would never have considered, and the enormity of this event is displayed in full. We hear firsthand accounts from passengers on the plane, family members of victims, first responders, government officials, traffic control, workers in the buildings, and many others directly involved with this day.
As a child who was not directly affected by the events of the terrorist attack, I was not able to fully grasp the magnitude of the tragedies that took place that day. I knew it was disastrous, but I could not even begin to put myself into the shoes of the victims and those who were directly involved in managing the chaos.
What Graff managed to do with this compilation of oral accounts is remarkable. The shock and terror are palpable; as well as the bravery, kindness, and overall humanity that was demonstrated. In the face of adversity, what persevered was love and benevolence.
The oral accounts given in each of these chapters provide an all-encompassing glimpse at the horrors of that day and the people who were intricately involved and affected. Perspectives are given that I would never have considered, and the enormity of this event is displayed in full. We hear firsthand accounts from passengers on the plane, family members of victims, first responders, government officials, traffic control, workers in the buildings, and many others directly involved with this day.
As a child who was not directly affected by the events of the terrorist attack, I was not able to fully grasp the magnitude of the tragedies that took place that day. I knew it was disastrous, but I could not even begin to put myself into the shoes of the victims and those who were directly involved in managing the chaos.
What Graff managed to do with this compilation of oral accounts is remarkable. The shock and terror are palpable; as well as the bravery, kindness, and overall humanity that was demonstrated. In the face of adversity, what persevered was love and benevolence.
roksyreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
fedak's review against another edition
5.0
An exhaustive compendium pulled from several thousand firsthand accounts of the events surrounding 9/11. Interviews with literally everyone from the one American to view the events from the space station, to the victims, to the responders, news/media and government officials and everyone in between. Included a ton of stuff that I had never known (or had forgotten in the intervening 20 years) and prompted a lot of diversions over to YouTube to rewatch the coverage of some of the specifics.
crimson_crusade's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.5
almartin's review against another edition
4.0
lol I have somehow aged into the demographic that reads 9/11 history books (new york area history dads). this was pretty engrossing, honestly. it's a straight ahead retelling of one day, 9/11/2001 (nothing before, essentially nothing after). gives you a much different perspective on the day than the geopolitical stuff - turns out that there's just a lot of sorrow and weird disruption caused by two 100-story buildings (and a 48-story building!) collapsing into lower manhattan. whole companies essentially vanished. people had to get back home to summit and westchester and wherever, but no trains were running (and they were covered in building dust). lots of weird happenstance and detail that makes a day that once felt omnipresent immediate again. the lady who was laid off from her job @ WTC on the afternoon of sept 10th is a representative odd wrinkle documented Only Plane in the Sky:
Oddly enough, because I was laid off in the afternoon on September 10th, and because the Human Resources Department all died, I was never taken off the payroll. I went back to work again—it’s not like they had to rehire me. I was never gone.
jayfr's review against another edition
5.0
“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children.” —former President George W. Bush
Everyone should read this book. It's heart-wrenching, achingly honest and brutal, yet at the same time it's uplifting tales of heroism and sheer determination show that the events of 9/11 have shaped modern history unlike any other.
I'm a Brit, and I remember watching the events unfold on Sky News. For hours I sat transfixed, staring at the screen thinking "no, this can't be happening". 9/11 affected everyone across the globe and stands as a lesson in humanity.
18 years have passed since that fateful day and I still remember the feeling of shock and heartfelt prayers for those that lost their lives.
Would I recommend... Yes - wholeheartedly
Would I read again... Yes, but in a few years.
Everyone should read this book. It's heart-wrenching, achingly honest and brutal, yet at the same time it's uplifting tales of heroism and sheer determination show that the events of 9/11 have shaped modern history unlike any other.
I'm a Brit, and I remember watching the events unfold on Sky News. For hours I sat transfixed, staring at the screen thinking "no, this can't be happening". 9/11 affected everyone across the globe and stands as a lesson in humanity.
18 years have passed since that fateful day and I still remember the feeling of shock and heartfelt prayers for those that lost their lives.
Would I recommend... Yes - wholeheartedly
Would I read again... Yes, but in a few years.
weebulls's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
gracey8's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This was such a poignant and deeply emotional read, and I think it's incredibly important and sobering to hear these stories of survivors, those who lost loved ones, and those who experienced 9/11. Throughout so much of the book, the heaviness brought tears forth and produced genuine shock and sadness in me. I was not quite 2 when 9/11 happened, so I have no personal memory of the events of this day- in that sense, this book feels all the more important as a historical and emotional tie to this day and to so many people involved. I might make this annual reading, even. I'd recommend this to anyone!