This was a remarkable account of all 4 plane attacks that terrible day. Mitchell Zuckoff did a wonderful job of making each victim come alive again. There were several victims that I was not aware of their story and reading them broke my heart. Zuckoff did a fantastic job of being respectful to the victims and their families while giving a thorough account of the day. ( )

A Quote from the author that I found on Goodreads:

Nearly five years ago, it became apparent to me that a clear and troubling gap existed on the crowded shelf of 9/11 books. Many of the books already published were excellent, but no one volume told the complete narrative of the day itself, covering key events, issues, and timelines (all four hijackings, the immediate results of the crashes, and the initial chaotic military and government response). I also thought it particularly important to do so in a way that focused on individuals at the center of these events. When I combined those realizations with the knowledge that an entire generation had no independent memories of 9/11, the task became clear. Almost as soon as I began my research, I recognized that some people who had never been ready to tell their stories had reached a point where they considered it important to do so. As a result of those factors (along with several others, but that would be a much longer reply), I became convinced this was not only the right time to write this book, but also that it would be much richer than it would have been if I had begun my work a decade earlier. Mitchell Zuckoff

Every year in September I try to find a book to read with 9/11 as the subject. It is just my own personal way of holding true to "Never Forget". Out of all of those books this one and (The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland) are the very best on the subject. [a:Mitchell Zuckoff|328012|Mitchell Zuckoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1369073880p2/328012.jpg] was a reporter for The Boston Globe on September 11, 2001. Along with the help of 6 other reporters, after the attack, he wrote a narrative entitled Six Lives . That article is the basis for this book.

What is different about this book? The book is divided into to 3 sections. The Sky (Fall From The Sky ), The Ground (Fall To The Ground) and the Aftermath (Rise From the Ashes). A lot of the stories, of people who lived through this, we have all heard before. Trust me when I say there are things you did not know, people you have not heard from. Trust me when I say, you will gasp as you read, you will cry. Another difference in this book: It is about the families who suffered the greatest loss imaginable-Politics never enters the narrative. President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are only bit players here. There were resources (The trial of Zacarias Moussaoui one of the conspirators of the attacks. Testimony from families and heartbreaking interviews) that were not available earlier. Zuckoff obtained access to these and other important documents and used them with the utmost reverence in his writing.

If you only read 1 "more" book covering 9/11, let it be this one. Mitchell Zuckoff is a superb writer and story teller. ( )

I felt this was a great book. Zuckoff takes readers on a (mostly) minute-by-minute journey of the story of Sept. 11, 2001. He narrates details about the lives of the people on the planes and in the towers/Pentagon, which is painful to read naturally, but I feel it's necessary to include those stories, lest they be lost forever. Also painful to read are the transcripts of the phone calls made to loved ones from people we know are about to be silenced forever. A different sort of pain comes from his straightforward telling of the many communications problems plaguing the FAA, military, FDNY, and NYPD, as well as the failure of our country's intelligence and screening services. Definitely don't read this one before you have to get on an airplane or visit a tall building! I wish Zuckoff would have spent more time dealing with the many conspiracies that have grown out of the event. Just a simple search online turns up multitudes of people who question not only Zuckoff's retelling of the event, but of the event itself. That was not his main goal, but another chapter on that topic wouldn't have been a bad thing in my view. ( )

A minute by minute history of that one day--9/11--not from a political or historical perspective, but from the very personal perspective of the people who lived through or died that day. This is narrative nonfiction at its best. It is heart-breaking and compelling, but I can imagine it would be difficult or impossible to read if you or loved ones were in NYC or DC that day, as the book does nothing less than force you to relive these events.
5 stars ( )

This detailed account of September 11th tells stories about the victims, terrorists, and witnesses from September 10th through the 12th. Mitchell Zuckoff's meticulously researched retelling left me filled with anxiety as I remembered my own experience. This book doesn't cover the Afghanistan or Iraq wars, and it doesn't address any conspiracy theories.
If you're looking to learn the specifics of what happened on the actual day, this is the book for you. I would also suggest it to younger adults who were too young to experience it, or who - yikes - weren't born yet. Take a lot of breaks, drink a lot of water. ( )