September 11: A Testimony

While I can understand some other reviewer's displeasure regarding the Arafat photo, that shouldn't inaccurately affect the general impression of this book. This is DEFINITELY the finest, most complete photo-based book regarding the horrendous events of 9.11.01 that I have seen (and I have looked at ALL of them). I wanted a book that accurately and comprehensively illustrated the events of that day, and this book fits the bill to a tee. Other books have had powerful images and/or compelling thematic conceits, but this book best visually documents the various emotions and responses from the events. In particular, see the photos on pages 15, 29, 31, 39, 45, 75, 85, 97, 109, 121, 145, 165, 179, 205, 229, and 231 for some of the most indelible images of this day. An amazing book, and the best book devoted to September 11th thus far released.

You may think you've seen all the pictures in this book, but study them carefully. They form an excellent roundup of events, starting with the dust jacket shot of the Statue of Liberty in the foreground as orange/red smoke pours from the World Trade Center. This collection, from the Reuters news agency, will bring fresh tears to your eyes. Take a look at the impromptu memorial to a firefighter named Matthew Diaz. Or the stunned faces of the executives, police officers, and firefighters as they stumble from the site after the collapse of the towers. Or the Pentagon pictures, framed touchingly to show the damage to the Pentagon, with the Capitol glowing in the background. And the pictures of survivors of the Pennsylvania crash victims. What the book does better than some of the other Sept.11 books is show the response from around the country, an important record and reminder this wasn't just an event on the East Coast. This is a book having, for now and the future, when memories fade and we need a reminder of the cruelty wrought on that day.

This is a beautiful and poignant memorial to those who died and those who mourn the events of that day. Very little text accompanies each photo, the photos are so powerful that they stand alone. I highly recommend this to anyone who wishes to preserve the memories of this day as a tribute to the victims of September 11.

What a outstanding tribute to those who lost their lives, their families and friends, and those who responded to the tragedy. The days of September 11 profoundly affected me and I felt it extremely important that there be some way to document the events that took place that day. I have purchased several books on the tragedy, not to be morbid or to embrace death and destruction, but to instead celebrate life. I want something to show my family that will make them understand what happened and how we as a nation can and should respond to the such events. Be warned, though our memories will fade, this book will bring tears to your eyes and make you recall from what we have been going through these past several months. This is a wonderful tribute and historical documentation from the photographers of Reuters. You'll recognize a lot of the photographs in this book that appeared in the news media. And while there are some that do focus on the horrific events that played out in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., it appears to me that the publishers meant for the whole focus to be on what our nation did as a response. As an example, there is a picture in there from Seattle, my hometown, for example, and the huge memorial ceremony that was played out there. The book has very little prose, subtly providing captions on the opposite page. I would say that this is the best of the books I own on the subject. This is a book that gives us a chance to reflect on who we are as human beings and ways to make things better for future generations. The publisher presents this as a quiet, moving, but powerful tribute to those who died and those who responded to the tragedy. Thank you to Reuters photographers, and to the publisher, Prentice Hall, for documenting this so well for generations and historians to come.