The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff

 

            Reviewed by Christy

 Everyone of a certain age remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. I was 15 years old, and stuck in gym class followed by lunch. After initial rumblings of “something” happening, it was several class periods before I got any real information. (It was before smartphones after all.) While I remember those two classes vividly, the rest of the day is a total blank.

            In the subsequent years, I’ve watched retrospectives and read survivor accounts but I wanted to better understand the lead up to that day, as well as the devastating aftermath that reverberated throughout the world. For that, however, I will have to read something else. Fortunately, the author warns in the prologue that this was not that kind of book so I adjusted my expectations. The Only Plane in the Sky focuses on the stories of ordinary people on probably the most extraordinary day of their lives. We do hear from some big names such as Dick Cheney, Rudy Giuliani, and even Robert DeNiro, but mostly it’s every day folks who share their experiences.

            It probably goes without saying that this is an extremely difficult read. I think most people, listening to these stories, try to put themselves in others’ shoes. But it’s almost unfathomable. We hear from widows and widowers, schoolchildren whose nearby schools were evacuated, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. One man called his parents to tell them he was okay, and then went back into the World Trade Center to try to help others. He never came out again. The stories lay heavy.

            However, it is a worthwhile read. I appreciate the way the narrative was organized. It’s roughly chronological, jumping back and forth between the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It also has a small section from the perspective of those who were children or young adults on 9/11 – from a couple of months old all the way up to college students. It briefly touches on a few Muslim children (and adults) who almost immediately began experiencing prejudice after the attacks. I appreciate that it was addressed but it does feel slightly glossed over.

            The Only Plane in the Sky is a valuable resource for learning the stories of regular citizens on an unprecedented, historical day. Most of us can pinpoint the moment we learned of the attacks. With books like these, we can start to step outside of our viewpoint.

World Change: Tipping Points

Some of the Nevermore readers enjoy challenging topics and what could be more challenging than changing the world?  That was the topic of a new book The Miracle of Freedom:  Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World by Chris and Ted Stewart which postulates seven events which, they believe, were pivotal to creating free societies.  These events include the discovery of the New World, the victory of the Greeks over the Persians at Thermopylae and Salamis and the failure of the Mongols to conquer Europe.  Agree or disagree, the book serves as a good jumping off point to discuss other crucial points in history.

The American Civil War might well be the choice of many, and with this being the 150^th anniversary of the start of the war, there are many, many new books out on the topic.  One such is 1861:  Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart which examines the start of the war as seen by lesser known folk in New York or Maryland instead of through major politicians and generals.  Do you know who Elmer Ellsworth was?  You will after you read this book! Goodheart is a journalist and historian who revisits events we think we know and shows them from more of a cultural perspective, as people are forced to re-examine what they believe and why.

 

Playing the Race Card:  Melodramas of Black and White from Uncle Tom to O.J. Simpson by Linda Williams is an examination of the way race has been portrayed in America.  Most of the emphasis is on film portrayals going back to “Birth of a Nation” but Williams includes the media coverage of the Simpson trial in her analysis. She is particularly interested in showing how stereotypical images have been used to promote harmony as well as segregation or reinforce prejudices.

World War II is considered by many to be another crucial point in history. There have been numerous books on that topic, fiction and non-fiction.  Most of them try to answer the question, “How did people like Hitler and Mussolini come to power?”  or “How could the concentration camps and death camps have existed?” One recent children’s book, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, has made quite an impact, proving the lasting fascination with that period of history. 

Of course, September 11, 2001 is often cited as another tipping point, a time when the world changed forever.  The question was asked, “Where are the books about 9/11?” Oh, there are many non-fiction books and even some novels which tackle the terrible events of that day, but so far there hasn’t been a defining novel about 9/11 the way that Red Badge of Courage defined the Civil War or All Quiet on the Western Front defined World War I.

Fiction books using 9/11 as a backdrop include Falling Man by Don DeLillo, Terrorist: A Novel by John Updike,  Karen Kingsbury’s  Tuesday Morning series,  Netherland by Joseph O’Neill and Absent Friends  by S. J. Rozan.

What events do you see as tipping points?