How well do you remember the events of 9/11? Are your memories a result of the TV coverage you watched that day and the many days that followed? Perhaps your memories have been shaped by movies, documentaries and conference presentations about the heroic actions of firefighters, police officers, paramedics and citizens who responded to the Twin Towers, Pentagon and field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Maybe you have visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City or countless other museum exhibits and memorials across our great country.
Many books have been written about the events leading up to September 11, 2001, the tragic events of the day and the transition from rescue and recovery into a decades-long global war on terror. But only a few of those books were written by, or primarily about, the firefighters, police officers and paramedics who ran toward the danger. These books will reinforce your memories of heroism and replenish your faith in the willingness of first responders to go above and beyond, even in the face of unprecedented catastrophe.
As you review this list, including several New York Times best sellers, please let us know why one of these books is your favorite or worth rereading. Also, please recommend titles we might have missed.
FDNY Chief Joe Pfeifer was the first chief to respond to the 9/11 attacks. This book is an intimate memoir and a tribute to those who died that others might live told through the eyes of Chief Pfeifer. The book continues with him and his fellow firefighters through weeks of rescue efforts and months of numbing grief, as they wrestle with the meaning of heroism and leadership.
This is Dennis 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, a former firefighter, 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.
The First Responders: The Untold Story of the New York City Police Department & September 11th, 2001
Within minutes of the attack, 36 Emergency Service Unit cops of the NYPD responded to the scene. They divided into six Teams. The first five Teams entered the Towers, and the sixth Team headed for the helicopters to attempt a daring air rescue. Fourteen of them would not survive. For the first time, here are the details of what the Emergency Service Unit teams did and saw as they climbed the burning Towers.
Lt. Steve Kanarian, a member of the FDNY Bronx EMS command, deployed with the US&R team at Ground Zero to find and rescue victims. Read the stories of the EMTs and paramedics who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11.
This book is a collection of first-person stories told by female firefighters, police officers, paramedics, EMTs, and others who responded to the events of September 11 and its aftermath. Women at Ground Zero provides a unique perspective on the events of that terrible day through the eyes of women rescuers who risked their lives to save others. Through their heartbreaking and inspiring stories, the voices of female rescue workers and their contributions at Ground Zero are heard.
Dog Heroes documents the historical and noble efforts of our canine patriots, search and rescue dogs. A testament to man’s best friend and his most critical role in American history, Dog Heroes of September 11th profiles 80 canine heroes and their handlers, telling their heart-stirring stories and capturing many defining moments of the days that followed September 11, 2001.
On September 11th, 2001, Port Authority Police Officer, William Jimeno, lay crushed beneath the Twin Towers’ 220 stories of concrete, steel, and glass. Most of his team had already died. He and his sergeant were helplessly trapped. The pain and anguish had only begun. Will has teamed with clinical psychologist, Michael Moats, to share his message of faith, hope, and love and how these three things helped him navigate the unchartered waters of learning to live again after the tragedy of September 11th.
On September 11, 2001, FDNY Battalion Chief Richard “Pitch” Picciotto responded to the North Tower. In the smoky stairwells, he heard and felt the South Tower collapse. He made the call for firefighters and rescue workers to evacuate, while he stayed behind to help evacuate a group of civilians. And it was in the rubble of the North Tower where Picciotto found himself buried—for more than four hours after the building’s collapse.
This book is a gripping account of ordinary men and women braving the inferno at the Pentagon to rescue friends and co-workers, save the nation’s military headquarters, and defend their country. Granted unprecedented access to the major players in the response efforts, the authors take readers through the harrowing minutes, hours, and days following the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. Firefight provides fascinating personal stories of the firefighters and rescuers and a 16-page insert of dramatic photographs.
This book chronicles the cleanup of the World Trade Center site from 9/11 through its closing ceremony, told by Lieutenant William Keegan of the Port Authority Police Department—one of the four operations commanders at the site. Closure tells the unforgettable story of their sacrifice and valor, and how Keegan led the smallest of all the uniformed services at the site to become the most valuable.
The New York City Fire Department’s official commemorative book for the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks draws on exclusive photos, some never seen before, culled from the Department’s official archive and interviews with dozens of FDNY members who responded on 9/11 and worked in the aftermath. The book also chronicles, through photos and words of FDNY members, the department’s efforts to rebuild since Sept. 11.
Shortly after the September 11th attacks, a large-scale mental health response within the FDNY swung into action, initiated by staff in the department’s Counseling Services Unit. This book tells the story of this ongoing response from the perspective of those who put it into practice. Using narrative, case studies, and other real-world examples, this unique new resource lays out a roadmap for applying innovative approaches to disaster response and the prevention of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Follow the ascent of Battalion Chief Orio Palmer as he climbed higher than any other first responder on 9/11. This raw, unflinching account strips away the veil of time to reveal the brutal reality faced by those who ran towards danger when the world was running away. This book reconstructs Palmer’s final hours, from his calm assessment of the situation to his last breath on the 78th floor of the South Tower. Through exclusive interviews and research, experience the heat, smoke, and sounds of a building on the brink of collapse.
A firefighter’s look back at the days of 9/11 and time spent at Ground Zero. Read pages of his journal, kept during search and recovery. Interviews of other rescuers, family members of victims, survivors and eye witnesses. A story of one man’s journey and struggle back from the nightmares and his ultimate discovery of salvation and peace of mind.
On September 11, 2001 no one in the south tower survived. Yet sixteen firefighters were ordered into the building moments before it collapsed, and thirteen of them are still alive. This is the story of Daniel Suhr, the firefighter who saved them. Daniel Suhr was a member of Engine Company 216 and was the first FDNY firefighter to perish on 911. This book takes us from the kitchen table in the firehouse, to the response of Engine 216 into Manhattan, to the arrival at the World Trade Center, to the catastrophic collapse of the towers, to the desperate search for survivors, and to the days and weeks that followed.
Seen through the eyes of four generations of a firefighter family, Five Floors Up is the story of the modern New York City Fire Department. From the days just after the horse-drawn firetruck, to the devastation of the 1970s when the Bronx was Burning, to the unspeakable tragedy of 9/11, to the culture-busting department of today, a Feehan has worn the shoulder patch of the FDNY. The tale shines the spotlight on the career of William M. Feehan. “Chief” Feehan is the only person to have held every rank in the FDNY including New York City’s 28th Fire Commissioner. He died in the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.
FDNY Lieutenant Mickey Kross (Ret.), 9/11 survivor, and firefighter Ron Parker crawl through the 110 stories of mangled steel, clouds of smoke and fire in an attempt to rescue thousands of civilians and first responders trapped beneath the fallen twin towers.
Gerald Sanford, a former New York City police officer and FDNY firefighter retired to Florida. Retirement didn’t take and while working again he stumbled on an antique FDNY fire helmet. Sanford presented the helmet to the FDNY the day before the terrorist attacks. With the city in ruins, Sanford volunteered to serve the FDNY in one of his former roles. In this memoir, he recalls volunteering after 9/11 as well as his earlier years working for the NYPD and FDNY.
The dramatic and moving account of the struggle for life inside the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, when every minute counted. New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn draw on hundreds of interviews with rescuers and survivors, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts to tell the story of September 11 from the inside looking out.
In November 2002 the United States Congress and President George W. Bush established by law the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. This independent, bipartisan panel was directed to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks, identify lessons learned, and provide recommendations to safeguard against future acts of terrorism. This volume is the authorized edition of the Commission’s final report.
