Book Review: Never Forget: An Oral History of September 11, 2001

 

Never Forget: An Oral History of September 11, 2001, first published in 2002, is a collection of stories of people who either survived the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, had loved ones killed in the attack, or helped in the aftermath of the attacks. Some of the stories are very well known if you have watched any of the 9/11 documentaries made over the years, and some are lesser-known. They were created from interviews conducted by authors Mitchell Fink and Lois Mathias with the people involved. All of the stories are at least a page long, and some stretch for a few pages. 

The hardcover version of the book is just under 300 pages. The authors did an excellent job of conveying the emotions of the people who participated in interviews, which, given that the book was published in January of 2002, just a few months after the attacks, were quite raw. Most of the stories are from people who were in New York, either during the attacks or helping with the search-and-rescue efforts. The authors did, however, interview some people who were at the Pentagon and interviewed some of the family members of passengers on Flight 93. Ultimately, it is a very emotional read that provides a lot of detail about things that were not apparent from watching the TV coverage (for those who are old enough to have done so that day) or from the documentaries. It is absolutely worth reading.