There have been several books written about 9-11 so what’s so different about this one? This one was written by two New York Times reporters, Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn. It is solely about the demise of the World Trade Center. The authors interviewed 200 people personally involved in that tragic day.

The book begins by profiling many of the workers in the two towers, detailing their daily routines on a seemingly normal day. The chapters are set up in a timeline fashion, and switch back and forth between the action of each tower. I found the switching back and forth a bit confusing. It was a bit difficult to keep the people whose stories they were telling placed in their respective tower.

The accounts of the survivors were interesting enough. It felt a lot like watching Earthquake or any other disaster movie where they give you a complete setup of all the character’s personal lives before the disaster hits. The detail and descriptions were quite graphic at times, making one feel like they were going through the disaster with them.

The MOST interesting aspect of this story however, is the revelation of the gross miscommunication and blatant sabotage among the various rescue groups. I guess I’ve been living inside a bubble, but I was not really aware of the longstanding rivalry between the New York City Police and Firefighters. The miscommunications and lack of guidance was so rampant, beginning with the fact that the out of precinct firefighters (many from New Jersey and beyond) who were unfamiliar with the area, kept reporting to Tower 1 when they were assigned to Tower 2. Another thing was the city had purchased new radios that were supposed to make it possible for the Fire and Police departments to communicate with each other but the agencies could not agree on which one was in charge of the frequencies, so they remained unused. These are just two examples of the many, many clusterf*cks that enveloped this tragic rescue attempt.

Another thing we learned in this account was about the design of the Towers themselves. The design focused on eliminating as much “dead space” as possible, allowing for more rentable space instead. This design removed stairwells from the outer edges of the buildings and instead centered them in the middle. Building code required the same number of exit stairways (3) for a building 75 feet tall as for one 1,350 feet high. So a 110 story skyscraper had to provide no more capacity for escape than a six story building!! And, though the foundation of the trade center was wrapped in a stupendous girdle of concrete, three feet thick and more than half a mile long and seventy feet deep, the stairways were clad in a couple inches of lightweight drywall! This all makes me wonder about the NEW buildings that are going to be erected on that ghost land. Are they going to follow the SAME building codes? Is there going to be adequate (and in my opinion, extraordinary) escape routes? You wouldn’t catch ME working in one like that after reading this story.

If you’re interested in a true and unbiased account of the fall of the Twin Towers, read this book. It has a few photos as well that are helpful by putting a face with the names of those profiled.

UPDATE: 3/30/05

Sent to Livonia, MI as trade.

Thank you for the swap. I am starting this book this evening :)

This is an incredible book. It will break your heart. I will pass this book onto a friend and possibly pass it about in a ring.

I am going to release this to my friend Julia and hopefully get her to hook up here : ) If not, I will get the book when she is done with it and I will release it : )

My friend Julia has it and will hopefully register that she has it :) I'm trying to luuuuuuuuure her here : ) Once I get the book back, I will release it.

Thanks for sending! I am very eager to read this one, it looks extremely interesting. There are no journal entries with names listed for this bookring. Who is next?

Great book! I read the entire thing last night. It still seems unreal to me, and the events in the book seemed too fictional and adventurous to have really happened. I can't imagine what those people in the towers must have felt while they were experiencing all that happened. Thanks for sharing! I will pass it along once I get the next name on the list from you.

Hello DreamSE22,

please contact retc for his/her addy. Could you please put a note in the book that everyone
can look at my bookshelf notes to find who is next on the list. Thank you. I'm so glad that you
enjoyed the book. I too found it hard to put down. It was such a sad account of what occurred.
I read the 9/11 Commission Report and although one may think that its really going to be a dry read, it
is actually very interesting and an easy read. It gives an in depth understanding as to what occurred that
day.

Thanks

Received this book ring about 2 weeks ago now. Went on vacation shortly after that so I forgot to journal. Anyway I am about 1/3 through.

Just finished this book. It was kind of odd. There were so many specific details and names that I had a hard time keeping track of things. I would get involved with the story of person X and then we'd skip around some and I'd forget person X's name and would never find out what happened to him/her. But there were a lot of compelling details and surprising facts I was unaware of. I have PMed Vannessave and will mail it off when I get a response.

RELEASE NOTES:

sent on its way - thanks!

The book is here. It arrived yesterday. I do have one bookring book before it but I plan to start it within two days at the most.

This book had a LOT of detail. I did get mixed up a bit with the people at time but I liked the little "facts". I will probably end up reading it again later. Near the end my mind was a bit consumed with the Hurricane Katrina events and I found it hard to get the people straight but I am glad I was able to read it.

I mailed it off today to aspenmoonlight

DC#03043490000072187671

Got it today. Thanks! Will read ASAP and sent off to bksfamly.

RELEASE NOTES:

This book was heart-breaking, but I'm glad to get some personal perspectives of this tragedy. I enjoyed the illustrations and time line of events which I referred back to often as I read (along with the photographs as well). This is now on its way to bksfamly.

book has not been mailed out by aspen, but is to go out by end of this weekend. Sorry for the delay.

ALSO, when updating my profile I ldeleted my participant list. I found the original forum and took the names from there. Your order has possibly changed.


Apsenmoonlight ( should mail out by 10-30-05)
Bksfamly
Luintaurien
Granny Ann


Please keep the book for 4 weeks. If you have other rings ahead of mine, please send this book on to the next person and I will just re-add you to the list. BUT, DO NOT KEEP IT and wait until you catch up.

I apologize for the delay in sending this out. To compensate for the delay, I have sent the box via Priority Mail to bksfamly (included with a separate bookbox that is also going to her). Thank you for including me in this bookring. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and apologize again for holding on to it too long. Thanks! :)

received in the mail today. Will start reading on Tuesday.

Wow, this is a very interesting book. I am about 1/2 of the way through the book and find it very heartbreaking, it is a little hard to read for to long a period without a break. The way the book is written you can just see and feel what the people in the towers are going through. It's hard to believe that the towers were created the way they were and know one envisioned such a problem.

almost finished with the book will PM Luintaurien
so I may send it on as soon as I am done reading

Got it today. Thank you. Will read and pass on ASAP.

Just getting a good start on this. Will try to be done soon.

Wonder ful book. Very emotional to read. Thank you for the chance to read it. PMed GrannyAnn for her address.

RELEASE NOTES:

Received in the mail today as part of a bookring. I'll be starting it tonight.
Thanks.

What a powerful story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things!

Thank you, emb, for putting this book out as a bookring. It will be on its way back to you via media mail tomorrow or the next day. Thanks again.

Received the book from Paperback Swap. Plan to repost at Paperback Swap when I finish reading. Book is in great shape. Lots of life left in it. =)

CAUGHT IN PUEBLO CO USA