Never Forget: An Oral History of September 11, 2001

Rating:
Summary: boring and forgettable
Review: A boring and forgettable collection of well known details about this incident. Not worth your time or money. Don't bother.

Rating:
Summary: Never Forget
Review: After reading several books regarding September 11, 2001, I found this book to be the most graphic and true to details from the many interviews with people from many different backgrounds.
A very touching and descriptive account of this event. A well written and very graphic in the account of this day in history.
The details of the interviews went far beyond any other accounts of this event that I had read. Highly recommended !!

Rating:
Summary: Compelling and Moving
Review: I find these accounts of the day's tragic events and happenings to be compelling, moving and absolutely heartwrenching. As I read each individual story I somehow felt as if I were there....almost feeling the horror and pain each and every one of these people were experiencing. I cannot imagine how any human being could endure the horrific events of September 11 but, somehow, it seems they have. Some of the descriptions of events are quite graphic and horrific, but that is what happened on September 11, 2001. The Media and the Government possibly "spared" the public from some of the actual/graphic things which occurred that morning during the coverage of these events, but this book and the participants descriptions of what they lived that day do not. This book is factual and does not sugar coat it by any means. My heart goes out to each and every one of the brave and unselfish people who were able to and who took the time to sit down with Mitchell and Lois to share their feelings, and stories with us. I still say a prayer every night for all those who were involved in the multiple, murderous attacks and for their families and loved ones who have survived them. These short stories bring it all close to home...they make it very "real". God Bless them all. Carole Baker

Rating:
Summary: Never Forget
Review: I have read several books on the September 11, 2001 event, and this is by far the most outstanding book of all. It was well written and the personal interviews from the many different people of different backgrounds was very complete snd descriptive.
The events described were very graphic and told in a way that I had not read about in any of the other accounts of this event. Highly recommended to those who want complete story of the untold events in this day in history. A book that you just can not stop reading.

Rating:
Summary: A personally meaningful, emotionally powerful read
Review: I'm writing this review, but I really don't think it is possible to put this book into words. Never Forget: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 is by far the most personal and emotionally compelling book I have read about the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I honestly think every American should read this book - now more than ever. Some people seem to be forgetting the inhumane horror and emotional trauma of that day, and this book takes you back, quite vividly, to what you saw and felt during and after the terrorist attacks. The husband and wife team of Mitchell Fink and Lois Mathias interviewed a great number of people connected to the deadly events, from witnesses and survivors to emergency services personnel to Ground Zero volunteers and the families of Flight 93 passengers. Eighty one personal accounts fill the pages of this book.

I have only recently been going back and reading about 9/11 - suddenly, I finally felt ready to revisit what happened that day. I am learning that the personal tragedy and horror was much more extensive than I realized. The personal stories in this book introduce a number of observations and facts that were too gruesome to make it in to any news broadcasts. I knew that a number of people jumped to their deaths, but I did not realize the number of jumpers was as high as it actually was. I had also never thought about the danger those jumpers posed to rescue workers trying to get into the Twin Towers that morning. One fireman, for example, was killed by a falling body. The newscasts didn't talk about what happened when those bodies hit the ground, but the witnesses in this book do, and it's pretty gruesome stuff. Then you have descriptions of the carnage seen by rescue and recovery teams, and it's just unimaginably awful. The things these witnesses describe will break your heart, but their stories are also full of heart-warming stories of heroism and selflessness. Everyone knows the story of Josephine Harris and the miraculous survival of the Ladder 6 team she was with, but this book is bursting with personal acts of heroism by ordinary men and women who epitomize the unsung hero. Virtually everyone who survived the attacks credits someone else with saving his/her life. One account that sticks out in my mind is the group of men who transported their handicapped coworker down dozens of flights of stairs to safety; they could have abandoned him and worried only about saving themselves, but they didn't. The man whose life they saved makes a profound point: if they had been a little slower or unlucky and died that day, no one would ever have known about those selfless acts of heroism. It makes you realize that some of the greatest acts of courage and sacrifice that took place that day will be known only in heaven.

Many of the individuals whose stories are recorded here talk about the emotional effects of the experience. Many ask why they lived when those around them died, and they talk about the emotional trauma (and, for some, sense of guilt) that will be a part of their daily lives from now on. In the same vein, a few give voice to some profound perspectives. It is awful that a fireman was killed by a jumper, but one individual points out that it probably saved the lives of the firemen who carried their fallen comrade to safety because it kept those men from entering the building just before it collapsed.

Many of these accounts come from policemen, firemen, Port Authority personnel, emergency service workers, and those who worked tirelessly to recover bodies in the days and weeks following the tragedy. I was also happy to read about some of the 300 search dogs who contributed so much to the effort, as well. A majority of the book relates to the attack on the World Trade Center, but there are also a number of accounts from those on site at the Pentagon as well as loved ones of the brave passengers of Flight 93. I was actually most interested in the stories of regular people who lived through the events, though; those are the stories I can most easily identify with, especially when I ask myself how I would have reacted in their situation. So many of those people showed great bravery and humanity, and it's really uplifting to read about those "little" but powerful stories that you never heard about on the news. It renews your faith in humanity and really drives home the point that the terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children without a single twinge of guilt will never achieve their goals.

Rating:
Summary: boring and forgettable
Review: This book really was the pinnacle of excellence. I knew people had suffered and died, and I also knew there were miracles at Ground Zero. However, hearing the stories from survivors, workers, and family members truly made me feel as if I was there. I could not be there because I was defending my state, but I feel as though I am closer to the people because they opened up and talked about their experiences. People say that to get the most accurate account of an event, you must get it from the witnesses. This is the most accurate account, because it is the writings of the witnesses. Each page, each word is dripping with emotion. I would recommend this book to anybody.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly powerful..
Review: This book tells the stories of many people who were present at the scene of the 9-11-2001 terrorist attacks or who were involved in the aftermath. The book gives first person accounts which are terrifying and touching. Once you read this book, one thing is certain, you will never forget the events of that day or the people to whom you meet in the book. Highly recommended reading!

Rating:
Summary: Vivid, Moving, Chilling, Inspirational
Review: This is the first book I ever read about September 11th and, quite possibly, my last simply because the authors did such and outstanding job with the interviews that I have no need to pick up another.

Never Forget is not a very long book at all and I can usually get through a book this size in about two to three days. However, the sheer horror and devastation described by many of those interviewed brought me such grief that I was forced to put it down several times, making it the most difficult book I have ever tried to get through.

Mr. Fink divides the book into three parts: events just before and leading up to the crash and how many were able to escape the towers, accounts of the NYPD and the FDNY, and the resuce and recovery accounts of many volunteers. There is also testimony of Flight 93 passengers as told by their loved ones right before the plane crashed and a few accounts of the devastation left at the Pentagon. The eyewitness accounts of the New York Police and Fire departments get a little repetitive at times when different officers give their own versions of the same stories, which to me seemed unneccesary.

The most memorable accounts in my opinion belong to civilians--those who escaped the towers and their horrifying descent down countless flights of stairs to get outside. Equally engaging is LT.Col. Ted Anderson's account at the Pentagon and those of the passengers of Flight 93 and the AirFone telephone operators, the flight attendants and the family of those lost, the volunteers and the construction workers.

Never Forget is not an easy read, but I can't imagine not doing so in order to fully understand and empathize with those who were there and needed us to listen to their stories of that fateful day.

Rating:
Summary: Well done, but there is just this feeling ....
Review: You cant beat eyewitness accounts. Its that simple.
I would have like to seen a few more civilian accounts and maybe some colour photos.

Regardless, it was a great buy.