Portraits: 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from The New York Times [Hardcover]

The New York Times Staff (Author), Janny Scott (Introduction), Howell Raines (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

Poignant and personal remembrances, celebrating the lives of the World Trade Center victims.

Few aspects of The New York Times's coverage of September 11 and of all that has followed have attracted as much comment as "Portraits of Grief." A page or two buried deep in the B section every day for 15 weeks, the series profiled the lives lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center and has become a story in itself, becoming required reading for many, the world over.

Beginning on Sept. 14, a half-dozen Times reporters began working from a stack of 100 missing person fliers collected from points around the World Trade Center site. They crafted profiles--stories containing short but signature details of the lives they strove to present. These portraits transcend race, class, and gender lines and tell of the old and the young, praising their individuality while at the same time cutting through their differences to capture the poignancy of their shared similarity: life cut short in an American tragedy. The stories have become a source of connection and consolation, a focus for the sorrow of readers both reeling from disbelief and searching for support. To paraphrase "Portraits" reporter Charlie LeDuff, there's more than one Ground Zero--there are thousands of Ground Zeros. Portraits: 9/11/01, a collection of the over 1,800 profiles published in the Times, helps us visit them all.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the days and weeks following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the nation and New York in particular struggled to find normalcy. Yet the city's desire to confront the terror and, in turn, work through its grief was palpable. The New York Times's series "Portraits of Grief" was one response to this need. Described by Times executive editor Howell Raines as "snapshots of lives interrupted as they were being actively lived," the profiles give a face to a number, a story to a name. By now everyone in the nation has read at least one of these portraits, heard the legacy of a loved one retold by a friend, or remembered the name of just one person who perished. As the series initially served to highlight the missing, it eventually lent itself to healing a nation by giving short, unglorified glances into the lives of everyday Americans. This book collects the portraits that ran from September 15 through February 5 in the paper's " A Nation Challenged" section, with the hope that future printings will include the rest of those who were remembered. Each page is filled with the kaleidoscope of perspectives and passions that were lost that day, with victims ranging from firefighters and mothers to waiters and financiers in an equality of bereavement. Unfortunately, the look and feel of the newspaper are maintained, along with the poor picture quality, detracting from the often poetic text. That aside, it is recommended for all public libraries, where there will no doubt be demand. [One copy will be given to each victim's family, and all proceeds from the book go to benefit the New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund. Ed.] Rachel Collins, "Library Journal.
- Rachel Collins, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Extraordinary . . . wonderful snapshots, full of tiny telling details. The sweetness of these severed lives is overpowering.” —Los Angeles Times

“In a story producing great journalism, none has been more exceptional than the New York Times’s ‘Portraits of Grief.’ They are profoundly moving.” —The Wall Street Journal

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 558 pages
• Publisher: Times Books; First Edition edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805072225
• ISBN-13: 978-0805072228
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the spirit of the victims, May 2, 2002

By 

AL1432 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portraits: 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from The New York Times (Hardcover)

In response to the reader below who was upset that the Times had not included all of the victims in its book, I think it might be helpful to read what the NY Times itself wrote, on December 31, 2001, about its "final daily edition" of the "Portraits" series:

"Through today's issue, The Times has published more than 1,800 sketches. The official count of those dead and missing in the trade center attacks stands at 2,937. Reporters have contacted, or tried to contact, relatives or friends of nearly every victim the paper was able to locate. Some have declined to give interviews; others said they were not ready to talk. (As more names become known and more families agree to interviews, the editors intend to publish additional profile pages from time to time.)" -- NY Times

With this in mind, I think that the Times has done a most admirable job, both in publishing the daily Portraits, and now in collecting so many of them into a single volume. The Times' book promises, and delivers, portraits of victims of the attacks; that it is not 100% inclusive is, to my way of thinking, neither a black mark for the Times, nor a detraction from the book itself. A future volume may be more inclusive, but even if this is the final version, we will still be moved by what we have here.

While they were being published, I was able to read some, but not all, of the brief bios presented in the "Portraits of Grief" series; they never failed to move me. I think that having a volume such as this available to all is a wonderful tribute both to the victims of the attacks, as well as to the brighter side of the human spirit.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Tribute, June 17, 2002

By 

Donna Reynolds (Syracuse, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portraits: 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from The New York Times (Hardcover)

I read many of these portraits when they appeared originally in the New York Times. Reading them became a daily habit almost a meditation for me. I would read the stories and then keep these people in my heart all day long. Sometimes I will hear a name of someone and remember having read about them.

This book is overwhelming to me. SO many lives interupted. The scope of the loss of life that day is dramatically illustrated just by the shear size of this book. But I get the same feeling reading the portraits again as I did when they were originally published. We lost some really extraordinary people that day.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent book, April 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Portraits: 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from The New York Times (Hardcover)

This is an excellent tribute. Features short bio & photo of almost 2000 of those lost in the 9/11 tragedy. A nice look into the lives of these people. Not all are included in this book, but hopefully the New York Times will publish a second volume. Highly recommended.