all the positive reviews are correct. Its a difficult book to read. If I thought I had a sense of what some of these people went through that day, I quickly realized I was wrong. no one can possibly imagine any of what they tell you in this book. Definitely a must read for the history of this day.

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11, Garrett M. Graff, author, Holter Graham and a full cast, narrators.
This book brings back every emotion and thought that one had on that day as if it was not in the past, but as if it were occurring now in real time. The tension is palpable because of the varied readers and familiar names sprinkled throughout. The recollections of flight attendants, air traffic controllers, firemen, policemen and government officials combine to make it extremely authentic. The research into the accounts of individuals and the placement of their comments throughout the narrative is well organized and is often heartrending.
As each person relates his thoughts that day, some on what they expected their day to be like, some remembering the thoughts they expressed to their loved ones and friends the last time they spoke to or saw them, and some relating their personal experiences on that day, the choices they made that determined who lived and who died, the reader may find themselves growing deeply, emotionally involved. In some cases, chance simply determined who survived, and happenstance decided one’s ultimate fate. In other cases, a victim survived because of the sacrifice of others on their behalf.
September 11, 2001, was witness to the birth of many heroes, along with the horrific deaths and injuries of many innocent victims. It was also the birth of an America that knew that evil existed and was alive and well. The reader will feel mixed emotions throughout, perhaps anger, perhaps fear, perhaps sadness, but for sure, the reader will feel gratitude to those in uniform who came to the aid of a country in danger, who ran into the violence engulfing the Towers, ignoring their own safety in order to protect those who needed to escape.
What struck me most was the calmness with which the trained professionals approached their situation. Although terrorized by the hijackings or terrified when trapped in a burning building, or facing their own imminent death, their disaster training kicked in, and they reacted bravely in order to save those who were placed in their care or to calm those who were panicked.
What also struck me was the depth of confusion that surrounded the attack on our country. I think that we should have been expecting it after the first attack in 1993, at the Towers, during Bill Clinton’s Presidency. Either our memories faded too quickly or in our arrogance, we simply believed in our own invulnerability. Surely, there were warning signs.
In 2001, our technology was not as advanced as it is today, so communication virtually stopped causing even more confusion. Phones didn’t work, some television stations were wiped out, and although the hospitals were prepared to take in casualties, in case of every kind of disaster, this was not one for which they had trained; anyway, their services were largely unnecessary because there were, in the end, far fewer survivors than expected. Still, it was reassuring to know that protocols were followed; the President was whisked away to a safe place, our security services were mobilized, our officials were protected, and so was our country and our way of life. We never lost control of the seat of government.
The times were different then. Although there had been a seriously contested Presidential election, decided ultimately by the Supreme Court, the Democrats crossed the aisle and supported the Republican President, George W. Bush. They did not obstruct his efforts to calm the nation. Today, as we suffer through a catastrophic pandemic, once again the Democrats are objecting to and denying the legitimacy of a President. Therefore they are obstructing his efforts to calm the nation, even ridiculing and blaming him for causing the disease that is infecting us, a disease whose origin was in China, a disease for which China is solely to blame.
So this book made me realize that we have two disasters to consider, and therefore, we are forced to consider the political atmosphere then and compare it to the atmosphere now. In both cases, the country was at war. In the first instance the war was with an ideology and in the second with a virus. Both are as dangerous to our country, our security and our future. Having lived through that time with family members who suffered economic consequences in their professional life, having their futures altered unalterably, I am reminded that today, people are also facing the same prospect of losing their economic security. Still, in 2001, in the face of the attack on our country, we united. In 2020, in the face of an attack on our country, we did not. Ultimately, history will be the judge of the political parties and how they dealt with the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, brought to us by China alone, and they will be judged by how they handled not only the disease, but also the concurrent violent protests occurring in our cities, protests about the moral fiber of our country, protests that seem to be brought to us courtesy of our own left-wing citizens, perhaps citizens who are also confused, as some were on 9/11. Is there a greater enemy facing us in our own country now, an enemy using a medical crisis to destroy our way of life? Is there an enemy within?
As the book seamlessly moves from one speaker to another, connecting the dots that were randomly scattered on that fateful day, one realizes that someday, someone will write a book about the current attack on our country. Someday someone will recognize again, that evil is alive and well, and it wears many faces and many masks.