Report From Ground Zero
by Dennis Smith
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When I first picked up
Report From Ground Zero, I was expecting a collection
of stories about the victims and survivors of the September
11 terrorist attack. It is partly that, but much more, and
presented differently than I expected. I'm not a big non-fiction
reader, so it took a while to get used to the documentary
style of this book. Dennis Smith, a seasoned firefighter,
has done an amazing job of compiling the survivors' stories
and taking readers step-by-step through the firefighters'
experiences at Ground Zero. The stories are not sentimental
memoirs but live-action replays from those who were first
on the scene. It's a privileged inside look at the losses
and also the lessons learned from the terrible event. I
learned about the construction of the World Trade Center
and the politics involved in the recovery operation. I never
considered that with 343 firefighters lost, even with five
funerals or memorials a day, it would take months to get
through them. The firefighters all wanted to attend all
of the ceremonies, but it was impossible. I gained knowledge
of and respect for firefighters and other first-responders
as I read about their inside code of ethics, including the
fact that they never leave one of their men behind. When
remains of a firefighter was discovered, his own company
would be called in to retrieve their man, and all the firefighters
in the area (sometimes up to three hundred) would line up
and salute as the body was carried out.
Reading this book has been good for me. I didn't enjoy it
as I do a great novel, and it took over 4 weeks to read
it (unusually long for me), but I'm glad I took the time
because it has made me appreciate the people who protect
us and helped me understand more about the tragedy of 9/11.
If you choose this book, you won't regret reading it. This
book, along with Dee Henderson's The Protector,
have piqued my interest in firefighting and made me more
knowledgeable about fires and the heroes who fight them.
Review by Cindy
Other books by Dennis Smith:
Nonfiction:
~Report From Engine Co. 82
Firehouse
~Dennis Smith's History of Firefighting in America
~The Aran Islands - A Personal Journey
~The Fire Safety Book
~Firefighters: Their Lives in Their Own Words
~A Song for Mary
Fiction:
~The Final Fire
~Glitter & Ash
~Steely Blue
For Children:
~The Little Engine That Saved the City
