Customer Reviews

Beyond Stone and Steel: A Memorial to the September 11, 2001 Victims

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This book was like none other I have ever read... the author seemed to digest this tradegy and somehow turned it into something beautiful. It has reminded me of all that I have, how easily it could be gone and to cherish every moment we are here. It has truly changed the way I see my life. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it to everyone.

In this book, the author examines the possible last thoughts of the victims of the Sept. 11th tragedy. In doing so, he helps those who were left to mourn the victims with a ray of hope. Many last thoughts could have been our own, were we faced with the reality of death. His book puts into perspective the things in life that are really important. I was reading this book and I was there, in New York, and it hit me really hard. It explained fear I've never known. But it also reminded me of what is really important in life. I hope like so many other things in the lives of Americans that Sept. 11th doesnt simply "blow over" That the people who were killed and the people still grieving and those of us left in the aftermath, will learn from our mistakes. Not mistakes about protecting our freedoms and airports from terrorism, but the mistakes of not living life and placing inferior priorities above love and time spent with family and experiencing life for all of the wonderful things it holds. Thank you Brian, Mr. Vaszily, for your healing words.

Where were you when the World Trade Center collapsed? We as a nation are deeply scarred by the events of that day. Yet in the hands of author Brian Vaszily, we also have the opportunity to revaluate those lost lives as a gift of life affirmations. Indeed, Vaszily creates an intensely personal work that will touch all American hearts in BEYOND STONE AND STEEL.

Vignettes capture the intensity of the moments before death. A man on the stairs in the World Trade Center turns back to help a fallen woman, only to realize the tower is about to collapse. We've heard the stories of the heroes who brought down Flight 93, but there were others on that flight and others paralyzed by fear, by the realization of impending death who are equally missed. Each voice combines with the rising chorus of loss, reminding those of us left behind of the beauty in living.

I felt myself identifying with Vaszily's personal narrative as he describes how his horror and shock over such a monumental event as September 11th displaced the personal crises he faced in his life. Suddenly unemployment, bankruptcy and other mundane matters took a backseat to the appreciation of life, love and family. The voices of these fictional victims bring about the profound realization of the beauty in living, and the goodness and tremendous potential in the people around us.

"Beyond Stone and Steel" by Brian W. Vaszily recounts a personal passage from one mental state to another far better one, describes the slow, step-by-step trudge often required by events much larger than ourselves.

That event might be death.
That event might be the loss of a job.
That event might be rejection.
That event might be bankruptcy.
Or the event might be national loss.

For this author, all of these experiences played a part in his transformation. Right from the first chapter, Vaszily makes no secret of the result; what he discovered on his path down misfortune's lane is that he is "a lucky man" in spite of the hardships he has suffered.

This slim volume may be difficult to take, depending on the reader's status with recovery from the events of 9/11. Regardless of one's recovery status, though, it may be just what the doctor ordered.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

Mr. Vaszily has crafted an incredibly powerful read that you will not want to put down until you've turned the last page. Trust me, no matter how difficult you might think it will be to relive those horrifying moments again, you will quickly come to realize how deeply your own soul craves some healing. The beautifully rendered hopes and reflections of Mr. Vaszily's characters allow each of us to come to terms with those tragic events by feeling, not merely thinking, our way through the emotional confusion it left behind. In so doing, I learned an enormous amount about myself as well as what really matters in life. No American will ever be the same after September 11, but Mr. Vaszily offers each of us the opportunity to heal a little and grow a great deal. This highly original effort and fitting memorial leaves its readers with those very things the terrorist acts were meant to destroy, a love of life in America and a strong affirmation of hope that happiness will forever remain within our grasp.

This book was just what the doctor ordered for my 15 year old to help her understand the events of September 11th. It was very inspiring and helped put things in perspective. Brian Vaszily writes about fictious characters and what they might have gone through during this tragic event. It is not morbid, but more of a reflection on what life is and what it means to people. It is a quick read that will leave you feeling ready for the future. Thank you Mr. Vaszily for a wonderful release! Hope to see more soon!

Mr. Vaszily has rendered a poignant homage to the victims
and heroes of the Tragedy of September 11, 2001. In his
touching, thoughtful, and sometimes humourous prose, he
reminds us all that behind the horrific images and sounds
that the world witnessed were people like you or me - people
with families, loves, fears, and dreams - people whose
lives and dreams were cut incomprehensibly short. This book
recalls the very human element of this tragic day, and
reminds us to look beyond the drudgery that everyday life
can present us with and to fiercely cherish that which
is truly dear to us.

This slim volume greatly humanizes the lives, hopes, fear and dreams of those about to die. It is fiction...no real names are used. It reminds us that of the thousands who died, every one of them was a living, breathing person, just like us. This is a small masterpiece and deserving of your attention.

I've had this book a long time. I've read it many times. Each time I experience an expanded and enhanced spiritual and psychic understanding of an event I thought I'd come to terms with long ago. Probably because he doesn't journalistically report exactly what happened; probably because he presents the psychic reality of his personal experience: that experience enlarges our own. I was watching a local Spanish station at the time because, of course, the antenna for regular major news media broadcasting was destroyed. At the time I worked in an international on-line network. I remember being physically discomfited by others, elsewhere in the country/world, speaking as though they had some inherent legitimate authority to tell me what was happening less than 3 miles away (by flying crow). But that fortuitous allegation reminded me that the unthinkable event had happened to the "World" Trade Center - not the "New York" Trade Center. I remembered that New York Harbor was a major trading center, a stock exchange in physical goods dating back to the 1600s and housed in the Custom House which is still there. The traders were Dutchmen. I, too, have a semi-tangible psychic reality about the entire 400-year time line. We live in a spiritual world and there is still much that we really don't understand but we do get glimpses of it along the way.

Beyond Stone and Steel brings back all the emotions we all felt on Sept. 11. And it brings them back in the form of what the victims might have felt and thought in their final moments. Their stories are just like ours. They had dreams, hopes, goals, bills to pay, jobs to do and families who loved them.
Although it is a fictional work, it really humanizes the horror of the events of Sept. 11, and the cold, statistical numbers we've all heard in the aftermath. It reminds us that the 3,000-some people who died were as real as you and I.
It's an easy read at only 98 pages.