Report from Ground Zero [Hardcover]

Dennis Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 2002

September 11th changed the face of America, but it also revealed the true face of heroism. The men of the New York Fire Department fought with courage and endurance to save others. This is their story, told by a veteran firefighter.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In words as devastatingly heartbreaking as the photo on the book's cover, Smith uses his skill as a writer to capture the horrors of September 11, 2001. Smith is a retired New York City fireman and author of the bestselling Report from Engine Co. 82, so he is able to convey the mind-set of this "brotherhood." The firefighters, rescue workers, and police personnel who responded to the World Trade Center attack all went into this cataclysm to do their job-to rescue as many people as they possibly could. The author captures the raw emotion of the event as seen through the eyes of people who survived and also as a participant during the search and rescue mission. A cast of actors present the testimonies of survivors, making this work even more gripping. Excellently performed, Report from Ground Zero is highly recommended for all libraries.
Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

In words as devastatingly heartbreaking as the photo on the book's cover, Smith uses his skill as a writer to capture the horrors of September 11, 2001. Smith is a retired New York City fireman and author of the bestselling Report from Engine Co. 82, so he is able to convey the mind-set of this "brotherhood." The firefighters, rescue workers, and police personnel who responded to the World Trade Center attack all went into this cataclysm to do their job-to rescue as many people as they possibly could. The author captures the raw emotion of the event as seen through the eyes of people who survived and also as a participant during the search and rescue mission. A cast of actors present the testimonies of survivors, making this work even more gripping. Excellently performed, Report from Ground Zero is highly recommended for all libraries.
Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville
(Library Journal )

September 11 2001 was one of those terrible, defining moments in world history that imprints itself on to the subconscious in such a way that most people will always be able to recall exactly what they were doing when they heard or saw the first reports of the planes striking the World Trade Center. Furthermore, there are those people for whom their actions at the time they heard the news became the defining moments of their lives - the firefighters who were called - or volunteered - to go to the scene and become part of the rescue effort, many of them tragically losing their lives at the scene. For most of us, it is incomprehensible that a human being would be able to put aside their fear in the face of such a terrible disaster and walk towards the heart of the inferno instead of fleeing in an attempt to save their own life. For a firefighter in the New York City Fire Department, it was inconceivable that he would not do so. Dennis Smith, dubbed 'the Poet Laureate of Firefighters' by the New York Post, is a former New York firefighter who published his classic bestseller, Report from Engine Company 82, in 1972. At the time of the terrorist attacks he was 60 and retired from active service, yet when he heard the news on September 11 he rushed to the scene and worked tirelessly alongside the rescue workers for several weeks. Among the dead were former colleagues and the sons of his friends. Perhaps because Smith is a friend and former comrade, the men who survived the tragedy were able to open up to him in a way that they would not to an outsider. The book is presented as a series of vignettes as the men - and a few women - recall their experiences on that day and during the desperate weeks that followed. He has a gift for capturing the rhythms and cadences of normal speech, yet using the juxtaposition of the accounts to present a terrible, vivid picture of exactly what it was to be there on that day amid the falling bodies and the smothering dark dust and the heat of the flames, exposed to sights most of us could not imagine in our worst nightmares. He captures the fading hopes of the relatives, and their anger when the rescue efforts were scaled down; yet most of all, he captures the unique brotherhood of the New York City Fire Department, son following father into the service for generation after generation, and conveys the enormity of the loss of 343 of their comrades. It is not a comfortable read, yet it is strangely compelling, and the main theme that shines through the book is a positive one - the power of goodness in the human spirit. A proportion of the royalties will go to the relevant charities. (Kirkus Reviews (UK) ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (March 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385604653
• ISBN-13: 978-0385604659
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,319,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Respectful, sad, insightful and loving, September 20, 2002

By 

Shelly Tavenner (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center (Audio CD)

I commute into DC everyday and I like to spend my time listening to audios. I am one of those people that have not been able to hear or see anything about 9/11/01 that doesn't bring tears to my eyes or makes my heart ache. I work at a bookstore and happened to read the inside jacket of the hard-cover edition and I thought, "This sounds like something I can handle."
Dennis Smith, a retired FDNY firefighter, wrote the book with compassion, respect and love for not just the victims, but also their families, the rescue workers and for everyone who was affected in one way or another.
The audio contains personal accounts from people who were directly involved. Most of the stories are from firefighters and they are told so eloquently it's amazing. I believe there are approximately six different readers for the CD edition and the emotion they infuse into it is incredible. This story talks about the wonderful "brotherhood" amongst firefighters and the emotional and physical toll they went through as humans.
The stories made me grin in parts and made me cry in others. It helped me to begin to deal with my feelings about that day and gave me, I don't know if hope is the right word, but a warm fuzzy feeling.
I do believe that if you are personally familiar with the "brotherhood" of firefighters (my father is a volunteer firefighter in our community) this will strike a chord of understanding.
I just can't say enough good things about this. You won't be disappointed in this cd.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic, Journalistic, Compelling, October 5, 2005

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Report from Ground Zero (Paperback)

"Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center" by Dennis Smith provides a poetic-journalistic look at a tragedy which still continues to shake America. You'll find the book stronger in intensity than many of the photographic collections of September 11, 2001.

Why? Dennis Smith was a fireman who understood tragedy from an experienced viewpoint. Like all of us, he saw the worst of humankind crash into the World Trade Center. Then, he saw the best of humankind enter those same buildings to save the victims.

Now, three years later, after many in America have preferred to see terrorism as a political event and not one of evil and hate, it is important to remember the violent images, and the tender responses to the hurting and scared. America was in one its greatest moments in those torrid days, and we should never forget.

Smith's descriptions are more than photo-realistic versions of what he saw, but brings forth the anguish and passion, and the smell of wet ash and burning debris. Smith manages to connect with the reader beyond the hype and politics. You will not be able to read this unaffected.

The people in the high-rises, on the planes, and the policemen and fireman all were real people. Even the foolish young men who hijacked the planes, the ones who believe Bin Laden -- all real people who died for another man's lie. Smith draws out the real, draws out the essence as well as the actual accounts of the awful events.

I fully recommend "Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center" by Dennis Smith.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Report from Ground Zero, June 12, 2003

By 

Sarah Carotenuto (Westfield, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Report from Ground Zero (Paperback)

An outstanding book written by Dennis Smith.
It brings you back to the day and gives you chills.
This is a must have book. It honors those that lost their lives and brings you closer to them. God Bless America