The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 - Garrett M. Graff - ★★★★★

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AUTHOR: Garrett M. Graff
GENRE: History, Nonfiction.
PUBLICATION DATE: September 10, 2019
RATING: 5 stars.


Today marks the completion of 19 years since that devastating day when we realised for the first time that planes could be flown into buildings without regard to the sanctity of life or the concept of humanity, that a hijack doesn't necessarily involve one plane or hostage/ransom crises, that no country in the world is safe from partisan extremists. I'm sure I don't need to tell you the details of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks or their aftermath that continues to this day. It is one of those events in history that will always be remembered, the deadliest terrorist attack to date in terms of fatalities.

We've heard of the multiple hijackings. We've seen the second plane fly into the South Tower, the two towers collapse into the huge dust cloud, the shattered section of the Pentagon's distinctive structure,... But can you try imagining what would have ensued that day in the minds of the victims and the rescuers? As one of the responders states in the book, "This is beyond any training anyone has ever had." How they rallied to assist and support and rescue and coordinate and in some cases, just to survive, is a testament to the indomitable human spirit.

This book brings together the stories of all the key players involved in this tragedy: the plane passengers and crew members, the air traffic controllers, the firefighters, the police, the military, the families, the top brass of the government,... Putting all the personal experiences in a crisp, linear timeline is American journalist Garrett M. Graff, who has done his job adeptly. There are so many personal narratives in the book but not a single time does he seem to muddle up his sequence of events. Every chapter is narrated crisply from multiple povs and you feel like you are living the ghastly experience in real-time.

Calling this book simply brilliant would be doing it injustice. After a long long time have I read a truly heart-rending and harrowing nonfiction book. There are so many haunting narratives that will just make you tear up and won't leave you till long after the last page. It's a book that answers all of your questions but leaves you with many more whys and what-ifs.

I have heard that the audiobook is even better because of its multicast narration. I don't think I have it in me to go for the audio version now, but if you are into audiobooks, it seems to be a better choice for this book.

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