Report from Ground Zero

Dennis Smith

11/16/2002

Dennis Smith is a retired New York firefighter turned writer. When on September 11, 2001, terrorists changed New York City, he was there to chronicle what happened to the World Trade Center Twin Towers. This is his journal as he reports from day to day what happened to and with the public servants of New York City and their families.

About the first third of the book follows stories of men and women involved directly with the crisis - their response, their observations, the way some were separated from others, how some lived while others died. Each story is told from the personal viewpoint as the teller lived it that day. There is no aggrandizing here, just the facts from their observations. Some of the people were trapped inside a stairwell in the North Tower, others a block away, others across the state. All are fire fighters, police, or Port Authority police telling their stories.

The rest of the book deals with how these same public servants dealt with the disaster for the next two months. Smith follows his steps as he volunteers at Ground Zero, attends funerals and memorial services, and sees the focus change from Search and Rescue to Search and Recovery. He also covers the problems as the focus starts moving away from recovery to a clean up operation. He chronicles the grief and pride of the families involved with the firefighters. Again and again he talks about the brotherhood of the firefighters, the love they have for each other, and their willingness to lay their lives on the line for their city and fellow man. Almost 350 people died that day while responding to try to rescue the people in the building when the planes struck.

While this book is quite poignant, it is not a special read. I skipped most of the second half of the book to the ending. The personal viewpoint stories at the beginning are fascinating from a vicarious standpoint, and heartbreaking. Yet overall, the book is only fair. My guess is the way Smith continues to dwell on the fellowship and unselfishness of the firefighters is too sentimental. This book reminds us how important our public servants are. It is a good reminder to have.

You can find the back cover and excerpts from this book at along with other reviews from readers who rated it higher than I did.