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Summary: This book is a must have!
Review: This book is amazing! The heroism and raw thoughts, fears, and courage that Richard Picciotto shared are incredible. For those of you who have loved ones that are firefighters, or for those of you who simply want to catch a glimpse of how amazing these heros are day in and day out, this is a fabulous read!!!
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Summary: One Man's Journey Through Hell
Review: Richard Picciotto's story is so horrific that I found it in places almost unbearable and almost put the book down. However, I decided if this man could live through this awful day and write about it, I could finish his story. This is the account of Chief Picciotto and other New York Firefigters' heroic rescue of many people in the north tower of the World Trade Center, then the tower falling around them, their being trapped for 3 or 4 hours in a tiny space, not knowing if they would ever get out, and thank God, their ultimate escape to safety.The book is very well done and is full of painstaking details. For example, we learn that the sky was totally clear that awful day; otherwise the misguided monsters would not have been able to fly into the tower. As Picciotto and other firefighters are clearing the tower, he comes across on a twenty-seventh floor "a well-dressed broker-type hunched over at his desk, typing crazily on his keyboard. . . at first I thought I was seeing things." (Can you believe this?) There is also the account of the rescue of a group of disabled people who had somehow gathered on the same floor. When Chief Piccioto first sees them, he doesn't realize that they are disabled. "And as they moved toward me, I thought I was seeing things. There were people in wheelchairs, people on crutches, people moving with the aid of walkers and canes, people hardly moving at all. There were people old enough to have been my grandparents--and they moved with the kind of hurry you usually find in tortoises." When the tower falls and Chief Piccioto stops moving, he is in a small space in total darkness. "I thought I was dead. Really, I actually wondered if this was what it felt like to be dead. Think about it: It was pitch dark. There was no sound, no movement, no nothing." For me this is one of the most touching passages in the entire book. So we have yet another account of one decent man of many responding with valor and courage in an impossible situation. This is as good as anything I've read about the awful events of September 11.
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Summary: In his own words and unedited (or so it seems)
Review: It is obvious from his style of writing that Richard Picciotto is a no nonsense, plain speaking, man. He is someone used to being in charge. Though rough, his style communicates honest emotion and no "poetic license". At many points I found myself looking for more guidance from his contributor, Daniel Pisner. Finally I realized that it is just not the style of Richard Picciotto to be edited. He is a person used to defining the world from his own perspective since this is the vantage point most familiar to him. This is the kind of person he is and I imagine has always been. "Last Man Down," gives an insiders view of the collapse of WTC I. Picciotto's graphic descriptions of the raw terror of the moment the tower came down are riviting. The book does leave the reader wanting more though. I especially would like to read an account by the "civillian" rescued by then trapped with Picciotto and his men.
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Summary: Bravery and Courage of New York City Bravest.
Review: I bought New York City Chief Richard Picciotto's book on a Saturday evening and couldn't put it down. I thought the "colorful" personal account of courage and bravery of New York Bravest made me feel if I was among the firefighters at Chief Picciotto's Firestation as he told his story of that tragic day events. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in wanting to read of heroism. Be Warned ! Call your Doctor...your heart will be moved:)
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Summary: A truly amazing account
Review: I picked up this book to read on the plane. I can't explain the range of emotions that I encountered over the three hours it took me to read it. This man is a hero beyond words. He was in a amazing situation and it seems to me was able to still put thought into the big picture. Another reviewer wrote that he did not care about joesphine, i got the impression that he knew she was being cared for and wanted to look at what he could do to get everyone out of there. Also about his family, to be perfectly honest i'm not sure if i would call my family until my feet were on solid ground, just a thought, i wouldn't want them to have imagine where i was trapped.
This book is an amazing historic account of a truly horrible day and one of the individuals that was able to rise above the horror. i hope that the commander gets to enjoy the rest of his life in a relaxing way. And if he ever doubts any of his actions, i hope he remembers the millions of people around the world that are telling there children all about him, in hopes they grow up to be the type of person that risks his life for anothers.
"There is no greater love then to lay down your life for your fellow man"
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Summary: Humbling awakening
Review: Stark reality of the incredible events of Sep 11 and the courage + tribulations of those whose daily actions we take for granted.
A highly personal account - warts and all.
Maybe individual memory differs from others - so what?
Here is a leader from the front, doing what he knows best + helping us understand a little more of this great and awful tragedy.
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Summary: a great summer readI
Review: I picked up this book expecting to learn about what went on with the rescue workers in the World Trade Center. I learned this and so much more. This book described firefighters in sights and dedication to saving lives. I could not put it down. Even though the subject is so serious, The way it is written is inspiring. I highly recommened reading this book
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Summary: Firemen Are So Brave
Review: My God this Batl.Commander was such a brave superior officer. Fire Officers no matter their rank lead their men in front ...My son a cop was at the World Trade Center when the second plane hit.He and many firemen and cops were knocked back by the blast and searing heat.They rose off the ground and back to assist....So very brave firemen and fire commanders such as this author does not startle or surprise my family ...What the Batl. Chief presents in his book does not surprise me because I know and my son certainly knows firemen and certainly Batl.Chiefs are very brave dedicated men. God bless New York's Finest.
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Summary: Perhaps Piccioto should have hired a fact checker...
Review: My brother was one of the first Firefighter's killed on 9/11. Mr. Piccioto incorrectly addresses him as Lieutenant Daniel Suhr. My brother was a Firefighter who loved his job completely & swore he would never become an officer. Also, he incorrectly states that Father Judge died while giving last rites to my brother. Anyone that saw the Naudet video or read Dennis Smith's book could plainly see that Father Judge died just off the lobby of Tower One at the bottom of an escalator. It seems to me that the truth of that day was powerful enough without embellishment. God Bless the FDNY! Sincerely, James Suhr
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Summary: Who knew the FDNY made their own tool belts from dead cars?
Review: I certainly didn't until I read this book. Seems the department had suffered some severe cutbacks, so the only tool belts most of the men have are made from seat belts taken from old cars. Their communications system doesn't work so well either, which surely would have saved more firemen on 9/11. I can't believe the city of New York lets this go on after 9/11. The book is fast-paced and well written. It reads more like Picciotto is talking to you than writing about what happened. I don't think he's patting himself on the back, as some reviewers have said, just giving us the facts. I'd have some disdain for the city of NY, too, if I risked my life in my job routinely and I had to scrounge around for the tools to do my job.
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