Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11

On September 11, 2001, 2,996 people died in a series of four carefully planned, skillfully executed attacks against the United States, notably at the sites of the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia. Then a Boston Globe reporter, Zuckoff (Sumner M. Redstone Professor of Narrative Studies, Boston Univ.; 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi) wrote the lead story on the day of the attacks. Here, he reconstructs the event using a series of vignettes about the four planes and the tragedy that resulted, relating survivors' stories interspersed with what is known of the last minutes of those who perished that day. The author also mentions some of the lasting mental and physical injuries experienced by survivors and first responders. The facts overall are well known, but Zuckoff succeeds in humanizing the terror. He mostly avoids the domestic and international response, instead choosing to focus on the victims and their stories.