DavidBriley.com - Political, History and Government

A stunning collection and achievement.   May 25, 2002

I highly recommend this book, rather than some others (Reuters for one) that used the tragedy as a platform to promote various causes.


Excellent review and pictorial on 9/11   May 19, 2002
  4 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is a fabulous book of pictures and stories of 9/11. It definitely lives up to the Life Magazine reputation. Highly recommended. I bought one for my mother too.


An outstanding pictorial of the American Tragedy   May 18, 2002
  4 out of 5 found this review helpful

While the images collected in this volume are familiar to anyone with a television, they are still as disturbing as when they first appeared seven months ago. Life magazine, long a chronicle of the major events in American history and pop culture, has done it again with striking photography and heart-wrenching profiles of the many heroes of that pivotal day.

Featuring an introduction by former New York mayor Giuliani and a poem by laureate Maya Angelou, this book is a must-have for present and future generations. Its poignant text and attention to detailing the events as they occurred make the book a handy, if emotionally charged reference work.

Not enough recommendations can be given to this sure-to-be award-winning publication.


More powerful as time goes on   May 16, 2002
  5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I picked this book up to read now, 9 months after the attacks of September 11th and found myself becoming choked up all over again. The photos are of course of the highest quality of composition and emotion, as you would expect from Life Magazine. The illustrated timeline brings the day back into focus, and now that time has given some distance, allows us to look anew at how the day unfolded. But of course, in any kind of tragedy, it is the human elements that have the most impact - and this book presents that excellently. Stories of heroism, tragedy, chance, determination and sadness brought tears to my eyes. The overwhelming shock of the events have worn off for the most part, but these stories remind us of what the day meant to people. The section of photographs of individuals against a stark white background drives home the smallest human element of an overwhelming tableau. The people focused upon are there for a reason, and even though just being there and taking part in the aftermath should be reason enough, most of the subjects have additional connections that ties them all together in a web of tragedy and redemption. This is a book to treasure and to use to show those that come after us what this day meant to America.


THE Nation   May 15, 2002
  4 out of 6 found this review helpful

The editors of LIFE magazine have put together a splendid testimonial to all of the victims of September 11th. This is a volume that should be on the coffee table of every American household and in every school library.

In great detail, LIFE recreates that day with pictures, eyewitness reports, and graphics, that will further enhance your knowledge of exactly what happened. The pictures are stunning and at times they bring the action rushing back into your mind.

This is not the kind of book that you can just pick up and read. This is a book that you thumb through on a periodic basis to remind yourself that we are a target. It is the kind of book that you have to buy so your kids and grandkids will be able to understand what happened.

We are the only nation that could have come through this attack with renewed patriotism. This book does everything it can to remind the reader that we are truly the land of the free and the home of the brave.