September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City: Interviews and Accounts

Rating:
Summary: How do you write about the worst of America's days?
Review: You could probably fill a library with the amount of books written about the events of September 11, 2001. For his own part, author Wilborn Hampton decided to write about that day in way that speaks to younger readers. Setting the age group ready for this book at about middle school onwards, Hampton tells a variety of different but true stories that took place on that day. In this book, the narrative is split between eight different groups of people. As the day progresses, some of the people presented are left in limbo, others escape their fate unscathed, and at least one person dies. When you write a book about this subject you're almost guaranteed that your tale will not be boring. The real question is, how well do you tell the events of that day with the respect they deserve? Hampton gives his story just the right amount of gravitas without plunging the narratives into hopeless despair. It's a delicate balancing act that he gets juuuust right.

The book is split into five sections. There is the Introduction, then chapters entitled, "The Attack", "Flight", "The Aftermath", and "Epilogue". We meet Jim Kenworthy and his wife Ginger Ormiston who both worked in the towers. We hear the story of Omar Rivera, a blind man that was in the 71st floor of the North Tower. We follow a squad of firefighters from Ladder Company 6, Rudy Giuliani, and even the author himself. Each story lends another glimpse into what was going on that day. With this method of storytelling, Hampton can gives us the point of view of people inside the towers when the planes hit, outside on the streets below, and at home watching television (as most of us were that day). He doesn't sacrifice narrative tension in the course of telling his story, and I appreciated that. The one part of the book I might have asked to have removed might be the section that follows hijacker Mohamed Atta that day. Though it's a good idea to show someone who instigated the day's horror (and Hampton fortunately doesn't enter into the mind of Atta at any point) he's the only Muslim in this book we ever see. In fact, of all the narratives in this tale, there is only one other person of color mentioned (and she appears as one of seven characters in her tale). A little more diversity would have been nice, especially since people from so many different races and creeds died that day.

In a way, I also wish that Wilborn Hampton's dedication to his child on the publication page was blown up and given more attention in the text. In this dedication Hampton says, "We did not pay enough heed to a divide that opened between the needy and the complacent; we did not listen with enough attention to the cries of frustration and despair from the other side. That divide opened into a chasm of enmity that led to the terrible events that occurred on September 11. It will be the task of your generation to begin building a bridge across this gulf of hatred. Hatred is born of fear. Do not be afraid". You could read this entire book and miss that tiny eloquent and ultimately true passage in its front. At least it's there if you know where to look.

The book contains a map of lower Manhattan, numerous black and white photographs, a Bibliography, a Filmography, and a good Index. Hampton has taken care to back up his sources and include many first hand accounts. The result is a multi-layered non-fiction text that any teen living in America today should read. After all, it outlines a day that has since affected American living in general and America's faith in its own security in particular. To understand what's going to happen, you need a book that explains what already has. This, for the young, is that book.