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A review by sarahweyand
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 by Garrett M. Graff
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
This book took a lot out of me, mentally and emotionally, but it's something I'm glad I did. It feels wrong to 1) put this is my favorites of the year because it wasn't but also 2) rate it anything lower than what I'm rating it. No matter what number rating I give, this book will stick with me for a long time, probably forever.
I was born in 1999, alive for 9/11 but not old enough to remember it, no personal connection to the tragedy but somberly informed and taught about it every year for my entire primary education. This book taught me things I didn't know and gave a much more personal account of the various events of the day. The oral history is long, and 90% of it takes place on September 11. There is slight discussion of September 12 but not of any events past that date, which I think is important to place the proper emphasis and respect on the heroes and events of the attack itself.
Everyone knows what this book will be about going into it, so you know it isn't an easy read. However, if you can stomach it, I near demand you listen to the audiobook. It's wonderfully read by a full cast of voice actors who fully do the oral history justice; I fully believe it's how this book was meant to be consumed. Some air traffic controller transcripts, phone calls, and briefings use actual historic audio, which can certainly be triggering but add so much. ***Note on this: emotional personal phone calls or other disturbing audio is not used; I definitely would not have been able to handle the inclusion of that material. Audio inclusions are done tastefully and respectfully; any anecdotes regarding personal messages or last words are paraphrased and read by voice actors.
If you can, I would add this to your list and give it a listen or read when you feel you're in the headspace to do so. Its importance and impact really can't be overstated.
I was born in 1999, alive for 9/11 but not old enough to remember it, no personal connection to the tragedy but somberly informed and taught about it every year for my entire primary education. This book taught me things I didn't know and gave a much more personal account of the various events of the day. The oral history is long, and 90% of it takes place on September 11. There is slight discussion of September 12 but not of any events past that date, which I think is important to place the proper emphasis and respect on the heroes and events of the attack itself.
Everyone knows what this book will be about going into it, so you know it isn't an easy read. However, if you can stomach it, I near demand you listen to the audiobook. It's wonderfully read by a full cast of voice actors who fully do the oral history justice; I fully believe it's how this book was meant to be consumed. Some air traffic controller transcripts, phone calls, and briefings use actual historic audio, which can certainly be triggering but add so much. ***Note on this: emotional personal phone calls or other disturbing audio is not used; I definitely would not have been able to handle the inclusion of that material. Audio inclusions are done tastefully and respectfully; any anecdotes regarding personal messages or last words are paraphrased and read by voice actors.
If you can, I would add this to your list and give it a listen or read when you feel you're in the headspace to do so. Its importance and impact really can't be overstated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail