Sand Trap Books: Golf Books: Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
"There is no center to this day, no middle or end. All its remaining minutes and hours will be collapsed into that single instant at 8:48 a.m. when September 11, 2001, became the saddest day of our history," writes Dennis Smith, a retired New York City firefighter. Shortly after the two planes hit the World Trade Center towers, he volunteered to help in the rescue effort. In this diary of the three months following the attack, Smith combines his own observations with interviews of those involved in the work, creating a detailed day-by-day history of the massive effort to find life among the ruins. His 18 years of experience in the field and considerable writing skills (he is the author of Report from Engine Co. 82 and nine other books) make him uniquely qualified to cover these events. To say the book is moving is an understatement--it is often overwhelming and difficult to read. Report from Ground Zero exacts an emotional toll on the reader; writing it must have been heartbreaking. In chronicling the hope, courage, and compassion embodied by all of the rescue workers, Smith has performed yet another service to his country. Note: A portion of the proceeds from sales of the book will be contributed by the author and publisher to the Foundation for American Firefighters. --Shawn Carkonen

Product Description
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 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 more than five thousand 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 has had on their families and their companies. 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.

Customer Reviews: Read 77 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Report from Ground Zero October 3, 2008
Report from Ground Zero, Moving, heartbreaking,proud -- FDNY's finest hour! Never, ever forget! A "must" read -- on every anniversary of 9/11/2001 FVFD #214

2 out of 5 stars

Have you forgotten ? February 11, 2005
5 out of 17 found this review helpful

Mr. Smith portrait the tragedy so realistic that we can also feel it...thats probably the commonest review sentence, I think, more or less.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, the author failed to focus on his role in the drama. He inserted several "political" comments, especially on the first pages, which I think useless and damage the message. To make it worse, the comments contain early and premature suspicions which until now can not be completely proven, besides all well-known conspiracy theories by the American leaders themselves. The author should have tightly focused on his expertise, on his role, to provide a REAL REPORT FROM GROUND ZERO.
Mr. Smith depicted the useless comments for describing the horrifying tragedy, as if only Americans have suffered from such a tragedy. As if Americans have forgotten the destructions their leaders and soldiers have caused for the last century. As if Americans have forgotten the magnitude and sufferings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, which is hundreds of times more considerable than 911.
Finally...in my opinion, this is a bad book, especially for foreigners.

5 out of 5 stars

Read it ~ More Than Once July 24, 2004
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I read this book shortly after it was published and I make it a point to read it once a year. I don't want to forget how I felt, how my fellow NYers felt, and how America felt. I will never forget.

This book was put together perfectly. Each firsthand account brought forth a new wave of emotions. I read the book through tears and at times I needed to take a break. It can be overwhelming. It is difficult to read first hand accounts of very real devastation and sorrow. I learned alot about the firefighters and their camaraderie.

My heart goes out to the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11 and their families who will miss them forever. And I thank Dennis Smith for creating this novel and giving the general public an insight to what was happening.

5 out of 5 stars

We HAVE forgotten & Dennis Smith reminds us November 9, 2003
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

After 9/11 the rallying cry was "We will never forget". Reading that book two years later reminded me that we have forgotten so very much about that day.

In fact there are things about that day we never really knew. I've never recommended a book to such a wide variety that I have. I think it is a must read. It also proves that the media (TV & radio) doesn't give us a total and unbiased picture. They tell us and show us what they want us to see and hear. Some of the facts that are in this book, to me as well as my son who also read it, were stunning. Facts that were either not reported or under-reported, and glossed over.

Make no mistake that this is a book about the emergency service personnel. That is the purpose and the focus. Dennis Smith provides a wonderful forum that allows those who have no experience in the field to get a real feel of what they mean when they say "brotherhood" and talk about their *family* in the houses. Yes, many other every day people lost their lives, but the emergency workers and their families experienced a high number of fatalities of people that were close to them, as well as having to deal with the subsequent search of the very site that took family and friends. They delayed their grief to continue doing their job-not for only their 'brothers/sisters' but for 'anyone and everyone'. And yet others went back to their houses and continued to answer calls to help others unrelated to 9/11 as they do to this day.

As another reviewer stated you will cry when you read this book and you will. But when you finally put it down, you will be glad that Dennis Smith wrote it so that you could read it. Glad for the men and women that allowed him to include their words and experiences. It is a powerful insightful book.

5 out of 5 stars Best of the lot September 29, 2003
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

It took me nearly a year to work up the courage to read this book the whole way through. And even then I could only read the aftermath part. It was absolutely riveting. Mr. Smith made you feel you were right there at Ground Zero. One could only imagine the sights and sounds of that place, but Mr. Smith took you by the hand and led you. Just recently I felt ready to read the first half of the book, and found it equally well written and intensely interesting. That may sound funny, but to a lot of people the events and pictures of 9/11 are still very fresh even after 2 years. I wept at parts, marveled at the courage of both emergency service personnel and everyday people. In whole, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in an accurate and intelligent portrayal of that awful day.

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