Tower stories : an oral history of 9/11

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Title:

Tower stories : an oral history of 9/11

ISBN:

9781595800213

Edition:

[Expanded 2nd ed.].

Publication Information:

Santa Monica, Calif. : Santa Monica Press, c2007.

Physical Description:

524 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

General Note:

Edition statement from book jacket.

Contents:

At the towers: Tom Haddad -- Florence Engoran -- Nancy Cass -- Jan Demczur -- Arlene Charles -- Gabriel Torres -- Homicide detective Y -- Outside the towers: Anna Bahney -- Jesse Lunin-Pack -- Alberto Bonilla -- Huston Stewart -- Ellen Shapiro -- Drew Nederpelt -- The Turner family -- Mike X -- Dr. Walter Gerasimowicz -- Nell Mooney -- "Joseph" Afse -- Ground Zero and the volunteers: Nick Gerstle -- Roger Smyth -- Slavatore S. Torcivia -- Nicole Blackman -- Tony Rasemus -- Cassandra Medley -- Antonio "Nino" Vendome -- Bobbie-Jo Randolph -- Rick Zottola -- Mike Potasso -- The aftermath: Jessica Murrow -- Vincent Falivene -- Patrick Charles Welsh -- Lauren Albert and Karol Keasler -- Kevin Killian -- Christopher Cass -- Scott Slater -- Brendan Ryan and Kristin Irvine Ryan -- Mark Lescoezec -- Omar Metwally -- Ken Longert and Fred Horne -- Jean Knee and Michael Carroll -- John McGrath -- Viewpoints: Muqtedar Khan -- Stanley Gohen -- Fawaz Gerges -- BJ Ward -- Cody Maher -- Contributing photographers -- With thanks to ... -- And with special thanks to ...

Subject Term:

September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 -- Biography.

Added Author:

DiMarco, Damon.

Summary:

Including follow-up interviews which track contributors' lives since 9/11, as well as never-before-published photographs, this expanded second edition of a literary time capsule preserves a monumental tragedy in American history through the voices of the people who were in Lower Manhattan and elsewhere in New York at the time of the attack. The diverse stories chronicled here include a small group of people who made it safely down from the 89th floor of Tower 1, a paramedic who set up a triage area 200 yards from the base of the towers before they collapsed, and ordinary citizens trying to get on with their lives in the days following the tragic event. Voices represented include police, firefighters, paramedics, reporters, volunteers, eyewitnesses, the bereaved of 9/11, World Trade Center structural engineers, political experts, political dissidents, and children who witnessed the events.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	363.32 TOW	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Oakdale Library	363.32 TOW	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	363.32 TOW	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Damon DiMarco's Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11 eternally preserves a monumental tragedy in American history through the voices of the people who were in Lower Manhattan and elsewhere in New York City on that fateful day.

The stories DiMarco has collected come from a diverse group of human beings: individuals who managed to escape from the Towers; the bereaved of 9/11; the policemen, firemen, paramedics, reporters, and volunteers who risked their lives to help others; eyewitnesses who stood in shock on the streets below the Towers; WTC structural engineers, political experts, political dissidents, small business owners, and, of course, children whose lives will be forever impacted by the horror and chaos they witnessed.

In the tradition of Studs Terkel, DiMarco's moving oral history chronicles the stories of everyone from the small group of people who miraculously made it safely down from the 89th floor of Tower 1 to the New York Times reporter trying desperately to fight her way through the fleeing crowds into Lower Manhattan, to the paramedic who set up a triage area 200 yards from the base of the Towers before they collapsed to the ordinary citizens of New York City who tried to get on with their lives in the days following the tragic event.

This expanded second edition of DiMarco's literary time capsule includes follow-up interviews that track contributors' lives in the years since 9/11, as well as dozens of never-before-published photographs.

Author Notes

Damon DiMarco 's oral histories include Heart of War: Soldiers' Voices from the Front Lines of Iraq , a collection of first person narratives from U.S. veterans of the War in Iraq. DiMarco also collaborates on biographies, having penned Out of Bounds with Roy Simmons, the first former NFL player to publicly announce that he is HIV positive; and The Actor's Art & Craft with William Esper, an exploration and elaboration on the famous acting techniques pioneered by legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner (forthcoming from Random House in fall of 2007). DiMarco currently teaches in the theatre arts department of Drew University. He lives in New York City.

Thomas Kean is the chairman of the 9/11 Commission.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The only widely available oral history of 9/11 from the perspective of New Yorkers, this monumental work (originally released by Revolution in 2004) has been updated for the sixth anniversary of the national tragedy. In the weeks following the World Trade Center attack, DiMarco, in the tradition of Studs Terkel, wandered Manhattan collecting the stories of Gothamites who survived the collapse of the towers, came to help or simply bore witness-whether from elsewhere in the city, across the country or overseas. Two major themes emerge, the first concerning the heroism of common decency: Florence Engoran, five months pregnant on the day of the attack, was helped down 55 flights of stairs by near-strangers, "two men [who] promised that they were gonna stay with me the whole time down, which they did." In the same vein, Jan Demczur relates how he used his window washing tools to save himself and an elevator full of people, and Dr. Walter Gerasimowicz tells of the men who aided him when he was forced to evacuate without his crutches. The rigors of loss and mourning make a second theme: Patrick Charles Welsh, whose wife perished on Flight 93, says, "I was so devastated by this unheard cry of souls... This moan of humanity going straight up to heaven." Though a good idea, the scholarly essays that close the book, concerning the U.S.-Middle East relations, feel off-puttingly distant compared to the stories that precede them. DiMarco?s contribution to the memory of that horrific day is enormous; the testimonies collected here form an amazing, one-of-a-kind account. Photos. (Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal Review

Most oral histories are compiled by a person classified as editor. That DiMarco (theater arts, Drew Univ.) is labeled as author, as for his Heart of War: Soldiers' Voices from the Front Lines of Iraq, causes unnecessary confusion. (The Library of Congress CIP rightly clarifies that he is the editor.) Although the book's value as primary source documentation of a transforming catastrophe is diminished by its lack of an index, the material it offers is unique, a multitude of firsthand experiences preserved as few other 9/11 books have done. This second edition is expanded with many more photographs and with updates about a number of the witnesses interviewed. Recommended for all public and undergraduate libraries.-Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Library Journal Review

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