Name: Richard Dawson's review of Fall and Rise by Mitchell Zuckoff
Item: Fall and Rise
Rating: 5
Author: Richard Dawson

Mitchell Zuckoff

Years in the making, this spellbinding, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting narrative is an unforgettable portrait of 9/11 This is a 9/11 book like no other. Masterfully weaving together multiple strands of the events in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Fall and Rise is a mesmerizing, minute-by-minute account of that terrible day. In the days and months after 9/11, Mitchell Zuckoff, then a reporter for the Boston Globe, wrote about the attacks, the victims, and their families. After further years of meticulous reporting, Zuckoff has filled Fall and Rise with voices of the lost and the saved. The result is an utterly gripping book, filled with intimate stories of people most affected by the events of that sunny Tuesday in September: an out-of-work actor stuck in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center; the heroes aboard Flight 93 deciding to take action; a veteran trapped in the inferno in the Pentagon; the fire chief among the first on the scene in sleepy Shanksville; a team of firefighters racing to save an injured woman and themselves; and the men, women, and children flying across country to see loved ones or for work who suddenly faced terrorists bent on murder. Fall and Rise will open new avenues of understanding for everyone who thinks they know the story of 9/11, bringing to life—and in some cases, bringing back to life—the extraordinary ordinary people who experienced the worst day in modern American history. Destined to be a classic, Fall and Rise will move, shock, inspire, and fill hearts with love and admiration for the human spirit as it triumphs in the face of horrifying events.

The Story of 9/11

Fall and Rise

Richard Dawson

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'The farewell calls from the planes... the mounting terror of air traffic control... the mothers who knew they were witnessing their loved ones perish... From an author who's spent 5 years reconstructing its horror, never has the story been told with such devastating, human force' Daily MailThis is a 9/11 book like no other. Masterfully weaving together multiple strands of the events in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Fall and Rise is a mesmerising, minute-by-minute account of that terrible day. In the days and months after 9/11, Mitchell Zuckoff, then a reporter for the Boston Globe, wrote about the attacks, the victims, and their families. After further years of meticulous reporting, Zuckoff has filled Fall and Rise with voices of the lost and the saved. The result is an utterly gripping book, filled with intimate stories of people most affected by the events of that sunny Tuesday in September: an out-of-work actor stuck in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center; the heroes aboard Flight 93 deciding to take action; a veteran trapped in the inferno in the Pentagon; the fire chief among the first on the scene in sleepy Shanksville; a team of firefighters racing to save an injured woman and themselves; and the men, women, and children flying across country to see loved ones or for work who suddenly faced terrorists bent on murder.Fall and Rise will open new avenues of understanding for everyone who thinks they know the story of 9/11, bringing to life - and in some cases, bringing back to life - the extraordinary ordinary people who experienced the worst day in modern American history. Destined to be a classic, Fall and Rise will move, shock, inspire, and fill hearts with love and admiration for the human spirit as it triumphs in the face of horrifying events.

A humanising account of one of the most important days in modern history

The prospect of reading a book where the final moments of 2,977 terrorist attack victims are recounted in minute-by-minute detail is tough, but was ultimately my most rewarding non-fiction read of 2019.

Nothing makes me feel older than speaking to someone and they were too young to remember watching the towers fall on TV. I think that’s why I found this book so interesting, it’s such a significant day in history that occurred in my lifetime. Reading this gave me details of the fallout I was too young to understand at the time.

As the title suggests, the book is split into two parts: ‘Fall’ and ‘Rise’ (for anyone daunted by the size of the book, at least the final 100 pages are appendices and an index of the victims). The pacing of ‘Fall’ often reads like a thriller, where you unfortunately already know the tragic outcome. By going into the details of the lives of some of the passengers, airline staff and people working in the twin towers and Pentagon, it accentuated the scale of the tragedy. The flight attendant who almost missed her morning bus to the airport, the passengers that had extended their weekends away and rescheduled to travel on September 11th instead… so many twists of fate that ended disastrously.

‘Rise’ details the rebuilding of the towers and what happened to the survivors after the attack. The shocking lack of aftercare for the emergency service workers that were involved, and the trauma and guilt experienced by those in the towers that survived. I visited New York in November 2019 and seeing the names of some of the people I had read about engraved into the memorial and their belongings on display in the museum added extra gravity to an already reflective and emotional experience.

‘Fall and Rise’ is not a light read. I actually read another book at the same time when I needed a break from the bleak details the attack. I am so glad I read it though, it gave me a whole new appreciation of the resilience of the people of New York and made my visit to the museum even more impactful. The whole story was handled very sensitively, avoiding gratuitous descriptions of the terror that was inflicted but not shying away from the realities of September 11th. An essential read and one of the most engaging non-fiction books I have ever read.

Jeremy Anderberg

As we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the subject remains incredibly hard to write about. The complexity and confusion and scope of the attacks does not lend itself very well to a compact, single-volume narrative. There are books about Al-Qaeda and the lead-up to 9/11 (the unmatched and extraordinary The Looming Tower), books about the ensuing hunt for bin Laden (Manhunt), books about individual stories (The Red Bandanna) and single incidents (Flight 93), but very few that have tried to get the whole picture between two covers.

Mitchell Zuckoff’s new work does so admirably. Fall and Rise functions as a memorial in book form to both those who lost their lives and those who heroically saved or comforted others.

I have so many thoughts, and am having a really hard time organizing them, to be fully honest. I couldn't stop reading this book once I started, and I can't stop thinking about it now that I've finished.

I have a couple primary reactions and one story, though, that I'll pass along:

First, Zuckoff masterfully shows just how ordinary the victims of 9/11 were. These weren't soldiers in a war; these were people heading out on vacations, people on their first day of a new job, people commuting into a part of NYC they wouldn't normally be in for the sake of a business meeting. The sheer innocence of the 2,977 victims (not including the hijackers) is overwhelmingly tragic, and makes the stories in Fall and Rise that much more difficult to read.

The other part of the narrative that really struck me was the utter confusion of every facet of 9/11. From air traffic controllers who couldn't fathom a multiple hijacking scenario, to people on the upper floors of the towers who died never knowing what had happened (many thought it was a bomb or a gas leak explosion), to citizens of Shanksville, PA who suddenly saw a large aircraft flying upside down followed by a loud crash and a smoke plume, to military leaders who had no idea if the hijackings ended at four aircraft.

The total evacuation of lower Manhattan and the grounding of every single US flight—for the first and only time ever—were testaments to this confusion.

One story in particular stood out from Fall and Rise has really stayed with me: 40-year-old Jennieann Maffeo was waiting for a bus when the North Tower was struck 93 floors above her. Without any warning other than perhaps a few seconds of confusion at the sound of an explosion, Jennieann's whole body was ablaze. A fireball of jet fuel had rained down and struck her. Though she had no idea what had just happened and why she was basically melting, she remained conscious and staggered around, ultimately being helped by hero Ron Clifford, who helped her find medical assistance. (In an unbelievably sad twist, Ron's sister and niece were in fact on that plane that struck the North Tower, though of course he didn't know it at the time.) Jennieann's body was 90% covered in 3rd degree burns, and while she held on for 41 days, she ultimately passed away from her injuries.



I know that's not a pleasant story. But it's an important one, ya know? The picture above (Ron in the yellow tie; Jennieann in the white sheet) displays both the unconscionable evils of terrorism and the heroic spirit that lives in all of us.

The sheer number of people impacted makes it hard to remember individual faces and stories. Zuckoff tells a number of those stories, while also capturing the larger context, and it's not overwhelming. Sometimes accounts like these can feel overloaded with names and viewpoints, but Zuckoff gives each such compassion that they remain very memorable.

Fall and Rise is a visceral, necessary, remarkable read that ultimately shows the best of humanity and the best of the American spirit. Gut-wrenching, yes, but should absolutely be required reading. I'm saving this one for my kids to read one day to understand what happened when the world changed on a sunny morning in September of 2001.

Alex Spurrier

Marissa Nicole Davidson

Nele

Rebecca Laparra

Ruth Parker 

Ellen H

Katie Squires

Years in the making, this spellbinding, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting narrative is an unforgettable portrait of 9/11. This is a 9/11 book like no other. Masterfully weaving together multiple strands of the events in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Fall and Rise is a mesmerizing, minute-by-minute account of that terrible day. In the days and months after 9/11, Mitchell Zuckoff, then a reporter for the Boston Globe, wrote about the attacks, the victims, and their families. After further years of meticulous reporting, Zuckoff has filled Fall and Rise with voices of the lost and the saved. The result is an utterly gripping book, filled with intimate stories of people most affected by the events of that sunny Tuesday in September: an out-of-work actor stuck in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center; the heroes aboard Flight 93 deciding to take action; a veteran trapped in the inferno in the Pentagon; the fire chief among the first on the scene in sleepy Shanksville; a team of firefighters racing to save an injured woman and themselves; and the men, women, and children flying across country to see loved ones or for work who suddenly faced terrorists bent on murder. Fall and Rise will open new avenues of understanding for everyone who thinks they know the story of 9/11, bringing to life—and in some cases, bringing back to life—the extraordinary ordinary people who experienced the worst day in modern American history. Destined to be a classic, Fall and Rise will move, shock, inspire, and fill hearts with love and admiration for the human spirit as it triumphs in the face of horrifying events.

Richard Dawson &
Fall and Rise by Mitchell Zuckoff

Reviews

Join the club

Richard Dawson &Fall and Rise by Mitchell Zuckoff

Reviews

Join the club

Richard Dawson &
Fall and Rise by Mitchell Zuckoff