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cjeanne99's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Well done audio book. Graff compiled oral histories from hundreds of people telling their first person 9/11 stories. Graff takes us through the day - moving from New York to Alexandria, VA to Sarasota FL to a field in Pennsylvania - and back. The audio of Betty Ong talking with American crisis center was chilling. Graff balances the horror of the day with stories of survival. Includes a chapter talking about the experiences of children from across the country - from a new born to college age students.
I can’t imagine trying to read this as opposed to listening. Such a well done production.
I can’t imagine trying to read this as opposed to listening. Such a well done production.
clubtwenty's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read and watched so much on 9/11, but there’s nothing like first-hand accounts. Even all these years later, I learned new things about that day from this book.
katnyaap's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
meganlatsch's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely amazing, listening to the audio version was perfect due to the interview style of the book.
heather_c_w's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Powerful to listen as an audiobook with each account given its own actors' voice.
Detailed account really brings home the horror of everything that happened and how world changing it was. Everything is set up chronologically so you hear the accounts of each individual in the moment and return to them at various points.
This oral history really captures the humanity and the heroism of the individuals involved
Detailed account really brings home the horror of everything that happened and how world changing it was. Everything is set up chronologically so you hear the accounts of each individual in the moment and return to them at various points.
This oral history really captures the humanity and the heroism of the individuals involved
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War
Minor: Suicide and Racism
libvin96's review against another edition
5.0
I was just four years old on 9/11/01. The only clear memory I have of the day was standing on the stairs in my family’s home in Rockville, Maryland as my father told me “Bad guys attacked our country.” My parents could see the smoke from the Pentagon from our home. Though I was too young to understand the events on that day, I grew up surrounded by the image of the burning Twin Towers, news reels of roadside bombs and air strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and collective commands to Never Forget September 11th. Graff’s book is an incredible resource for the members of the 9/11 Generation trying to grapple the emotions of that day. It brings to light just some of the sheer horror and despair we were too young to experience in full, and helps one begin to understand a glimpse of that collective trauma. Graff includes perspectives from beyond the steel beams, from schoolchildren in Arlington, to subway officers, to family members of airplane passengers, to ticket agents, to service members in submarines, to astronauts. This book is very emotionally challenging to get through, but it paints a detailed, honest, revelatory picture of a day that changed America for people of all walks of life, and rearranged the world into which we were raised. I hope Americans continue to read this collection and keep these people and their stories alive.