Book Review: The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

by Garrett M. Graff (973.931 Gra)

 

Pause to consider — It has been 20 years since the terrorist/jihad attacks of September 11, 2001 on the eastern United States. It was one of those moments where time froze as soon as you learned what was happening.

Four jumbo-jet passenger airplane flights were hijacked and then aimed at: the Two Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, which were ultimately completely destroyed; The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., heavily damaged; a 4th unrealized target somewhere in that same area, thwarted by brave passengers at the cost of their lives. So many people lost, but tens of thousands of survivors, too.

 

This painstakingly assembled documentation is at once starkly cognizant of the senselessness of it all while also recognizing the courage, fortitude, and optimism that characterize this still-hard-to-comprehend catastrophe. Heartbreaking and yet hopeful, we journey back to the fateful event in the voices of those who lived through it and a number of those who died, as well as catch up with how some have dealt with it up to now (2019).

The title derives from the eventual fact that Air Force One, with then-President George W. Bush on board, was the only non-fighter airplane traveling in the sky that day after all other air traffic over the U.S. was grounded. Although there are a couple of chapters which focus on this, there is much more of the content that deals with the New York and Pentagon aspects. Nebraska will always be connected to this day as the place where the President came in to Offutt Air Force Base for a couple of hours and video-conferenced with government and military leaders who were hunkered down in the Nation’s Capitol before returning there himself once the threat appeared to be contained.

 

The book was made possible in large part by the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Many of the survivor narratives can also be accessed in the newly-released 6-part documentary “9/11: One Day in America” on National Geographic television, which I found even more affecting due to also having the visual impact of the narrators’ emotions involved.

 

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson, or 102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn.]

 

( publisher’s official The Only Plane in the Sky web page ) | ( official Garrett Graff web site ) | ( ( National September 11 Memorial and Museum ) | ( 9/11: One Day in America — streaming On-Demand — requires a cable or streaming service, which you must log into )

 

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

 

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