From Library Journal
In words as devastatingly heartbreaking as the photo on the book's cover, Smith uses his skill as a writer to capture the horrors of September 11, 2001. Smith is a retired New York City fireman and author of the bestselling Report from Engine Co. 82, so he is able to convey the mind-set of this "brotherhood." The firefighters, rescue workers, and police personnel who responded to the World Trade Center attack all went into this cataclysm to do their job-to rescue as many people as they possibly could. The author captures the raw emotion of the event as seen through the eyes of people who survived and also as a participant during the search and rescue mission. A cast of actors present the testimonies of survivors, making this work even more gripping. Excellently performed, Report from Ground Zero is highly recommended for all libraries.Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., RussellvilleCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
Dennis Smith, an 18-year veteran of the NYC fire department and a bestselling author, combines his personal 9/11 experiences with those from various members of the fire and police departments, as well as emergency medical teams to create a chronicle of "the saddest day of our history." The narrators recreate these emotional interviews with accounts of the horror suffered by these survivors while simultaneously revealing their unselfish acts of heroism under the extreme conditions of war on our own soil. With dignity and respect, the narratives reveal heartbroken yet courageous individuals who instinctively manifested a fighting spirit of good vs. evil, as well as love for their fellow humans. This is a tragic yet inspirational testimony well performed in light of the still fresh memory. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Download Description
"The definitive account-with a new afterword-from the author of the classic Report from Engine Co. 82 The tragic events of September 11, 2001, forever altered the American landscape, both figuratively and literally. Immediately after the jets struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Dennis Smith, a former firefighter, reported to Manhattan's Ladder Co. 16 to volunteer in the rescue efforts. In the weeks that followed, Smith was present on the front lines, attending to the wounded, sifting through the wreckage, and mourning with New York's devastated fire and police departments. This is Smith's vivid account of the rescue efforts by the fire and police departments and emergency medical teams as they rushed to face a disaster that would claim thousands of lives. Smith takes readers inside the minds and lives of the rescuers at Ground Zero as he shares stories about these heroic individuals and the effect their loss had on their families and their companies. "It is," says Smith, "the real and living history of the worst day in America since Pearl Harbor." Written with drama and urgency, Report from Ground Zero honors the men and women who-in America's darkest hours-redefined our understanding of courage."
Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center FROM OUR EDITORS
Dennis Smith, the acclaimed author of the bestselling Report From Engine Co. 82, was among the many who volunteered to help in the rescue efforts on September 11, 2001. Smith, an ex-fireman himself, had a personal stake: Many of the 343 missing "Bravest" were friends and colleagues. There's no one more qualified to chronicle the three-month rescue effort at Ground Zero.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Immediately after two hijacked jets struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, Dennis Smith, a retired firefighter who had served eighteen years with the New York City Fire Department, reported to Manhattan's Ladder Co. 16 to volunteer in the rescue effort. Among those missing in the tragedy were 343 firefighters, many of whom were his friends and longtime colleagues. Having spent his career as both a respected writer and a member of one of the city's busiest firehouses, Smith became determined to use his unique background to tell the story of the disaster and its aftermath with the empathy and understanding that only an insider could bring to it." Report from Ground Zero is a narrative of this three-month period, a time that has permanently altered the landscape and character of America.
FROM THE CRITICS
Entertainment Weekly
No matter how well told, insightful, or compelling the stories are—and almost to a one, they fit that description—the book demands breaks.
New York Times
Smith has captured the horror and chaos of those first terrifying hours, and the ensuing anger and grief and determination.
Library Journal
In words as devastatingly heartbreaking as the photo on the book's cover, Smith uses his skill as a writer to capture the horrors of September 11, 2001. Smith is a retired New York City fireman and author of the bestselling Report from Engine Co. 82, so he is able to convey the mind-set of this "brotherhood." The firefighters, rescue workers, and police personnel who responded to the World Trade Center attack all went into this cataclysm to do their job-to rescue as many people as they possibly could. The author captures the raw emotion of the event as seen through the eyes of people who survived and also as a participant during the search and rescue mission. A cast of actors present the testimonies of survivors, making this work even more gripping. Excellently performed, Report from Ground Zero is highly recommended for all libraries.-Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
Dennis Smith, an 18-year veteran of the NYC fire department and a bestselling author, combines his personal 9/11 experiences with those from various members of the fire and police departments, as well as emergency medical teams to create a chronicle of "the saddest day of our history." The narrators recreate these emotional interviews with accounts of the horror suffered by these survivors while simultaneously revealing their unselfish acts of heroism under the extreme conditions of war on our own soil. With dignity and respect, the narratives reveal heartbroken yet courageous individuals who instinctively manifested a fighting spirit of good vs. evil, as well as love for their fellow humans. This is a tragic yet inspirational testimony well performed in light of the still fresh memory. B.J.P. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
New Yorker
The first-person narratives in this account of the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center constitute a tremendously powerful chronicle of September 11th. The language of the firefighters and police officers is blunt and vivid, the details are sharply etched, and the fractured stories -- particularly of those who were inside the towers but somehow escaped -- offer a Cubist vision of the day's chaos. The book's description of the disaster's aftermath is less successful: Smith conveys the ritualistic and sacramental nature of the search for the victims' remains, but he lapses too frequently into sentimentality and abstract meditations on patriotism and courage. The author, who also wrote the gripping "Report from Engine Co. 82," does best when he lets the images speak for themselves: the airplane luggage scattered across the plaza; the waves of firemen disappearing into the stairwells; the indelible sound -- "like an M-80 firecracker," one man says -- of bodies hitting the ground; and the moment when suddenly there was "nothing but dust."
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