Books to Get You Thinking

In remembrance of the thousands of lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City , near Shanksville, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, of the many fallen heroes who came to the rescue with unimaginable acts of courage and bravery, this September column features a collection of books and audio video materials in our Library system that may help us see past the darkness of that fateful day and enable us to reflect, hope and feel inspired by the indelible strength of the human spirit that arose from the ashes of that day. Each of the books focuses beyond the sorrow and despair of September 11, 2001, to the extraordinary sense of community, selfless heroism, and vitality of spirit that brought a nation and the world together.

Heart of a Soldier: a Story of Love, Heroism, and September 11th by James
Stewart

The author, a Pulitzer Prize winner gives readers a compelling portrait of a hero who stands out during the attack on the World Trade Center. Rick Rescoria, the security officer at Morgan Stanley defied orders and successfully evacuated all 2600 employees of the company. Returning to the Towers one last time to ensure no one was left behind he lost his life when the structure of the Towers collapsed. The book is rich in details about Rick Rescoria’s life going back to his childhood in England, his courage and valor during the Vietnam War and the great love of his life Susan Greer. In the end, faced with a choice between life and duty, he chose the latter.

Among the Heroes : The Story of United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew who Fought Back by Jere Longman

The author, a reporter with New York Times writes a riveting account of the selfless courage and amazing heroism of a group of people aboard the hijacked United Flight 93. The passengers, ordinary citizens from widely differing backgrounds cast aside their fears and stormed the cockpit to directly confront the armed hijackers. In doing so they put their lives on the line so they could save the lives of many more. The author has reconstructed the events for the book through countless interviews with the families of the passengers and crew of United Flight 93.

A Place of Remembrance: Official Book of the National September 11 Memorial
by Allison Blais and Lynn Rasic foreword by Michael Bloomberg

National

Geographic has published this beautifully illustrated book that covers the making of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum on Ground Zero that was unveiled on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers . The book covers not just the horror and anguish of September 11 but the heroic untiring rescue and recovery efforts by people from all 51 states of the United states as well as from other countries, and the efforts to create a lasting monument to the memory of all those lost, a structure whose design would reflect hope for the future and the resilience of the American spirit.

Rebirth by Jim Whitaker

A unique 110 minutes documentary film that chronicles and follows the lives of nine different people from different walks of life, each impacted by the September 2001 attacks. The common theme that runs through these compelling stories is that of letting go of the grief and trauma suffered, and the strength of the human spirit – the stories span the ten years since 2001 and viewers get a glimpse of the lives and struggles of the people who lost a loved one on 9/11 through a series of annual in depth interviews that Jim Whitaker has conducted. At the same time twenty four 35 mm cameras positioned at Ground Zero have been used to document and capture the historic rebuilding of the Memorial at Ground Zero.

9/11: The World Speaks: Tribute WTC Visitor Center by Lee Ielpi, Tom Brokow (Preface), Rudolph Giuliani (Foreword)

In 2006 Lee Ielpi a New York firefighter who lost his son in the 2001 attacks co founded the WTC Visitor Center across from where the World Trade Center stood. Since then more than two million visitors from all over the United States and over 120 countries have visited the Center to pay their homage and tribute to the fallen victims of the September 11 attacks. The book has collected the thoughts, words and pictures left on the visitor cards at the Center and pieced them together to provider readers with an inspiring volume that displays the oneness of humanity in its outpourings of grief but also in its reflections on hope and peace.

- Nita Mathur