Let me start by letting you know that I’m a glutton for punishment when it comes to reading. I will finish every book I pick up – even if I hate it (I’m getting better about this). But what I really mean is that I read books that make me cry… A lot…
The Only Plane in the Sky, by Garrett M Graff, is about 9/11. That was almost 19 years ago but the memory of that day feels fresh. This is odd to me because I’m just a nobody from Iowa who was in 6th grade at the time. I didn’t even know what the twin towers were or why we cared (other than the obvious – somehow a plane lost control and ran into a building). I don’t remember hearing much about the Pentagon or Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I think those were over shadowed by the twin towers for most people but for me, I think it was because I did see the original live footage sitting in my sixth grade science class and I did see the people jump/fall out of the building. I can’t imagine.
We spent our entire first period watching the footage – I was in Mr. Rorris’s science class. No one said anything and when the bell rang we just got up and moved on like normal. Then I was in Mr. Henn’s keyboarding class, where we still watched. After that the day went back to normal. Not understanding the gravity of the situation it really was an “out of sight out of mind” kind of thing for me. I have a scrapbook lying around somewhere with a page dedicated to 9/11. The main part of it, as I recall, is a quote from former President George W. Bush, “Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended.” Seems a little foreshadowing that this quote stuck in my head and years later I ended up serving in the military…
This book took me 4 days to read. I picked it up on Friday and finished it Monday after work. It takes a minute to get into the flow of the book – but I wouldn’t have the author write it any differently. He goes in order of the timeline and provides you excerpts from multiple people who survived that day. You essentially get to live through the day with the fireman, police man, FBI agent, tower employees…everyone it’s surreal.
I cried at least once every time I picked the book up. I think the first time I cried was reading the transcript of a phone call from a person from the plane. Ugh. Heart broken.
The book also includes some “fun” facts that were also eye opening or mind blowing. Did you know that it wasn’t until December 19 of that year when the fires at the twin towers extinguished for good?! Crazy. How amazingly fortunate was it that AA flight 77 hit the Pentagon where it did? The only wedge that had been renovated for bombs and wasn’t fully staff yet. A few feet difference could’ve told of an even worse day.
Here are my responses to a few of the reading group guide questions:
What are the strengths or benefits of experiencing this story through this particular format? The difficulties?
Strengths/benefits – as I said before, hearing and seeing the day from the perspective of all these different people is amazing. It gives you a really good 360 view. People who suggest that the government was involved in 9/11 seem even more ridiculous to me when reading this. People who criticize former President Bush or former Mayor Giuliani look dumb too. How in the world could ANYONE know how to respond? What more could anyone have done? The air traffic controllers did an AMAZING job getting all planes grounded as quickly as possible. No one could know that there weren’t other forms of attacks planned.
What was it like reading the opening chapters knowing what was about to happen next?
Another cliche for you – hind sight is 20/20. No one should ever forget that. Reading about how the second tower was told to stay in place, that they were fine…I was SCREAMING in my head, “NO YOU AREN’T!! GET OUT!!” There’s more in the book that has you gasping at the fortunate luck of some and the horrible unfortunate luck of others but I don’t want to spoil it for you so I can’t say – once you’ve read it, let’s talk. Some people though, they are created with good instincts and their confidence to follow them, saved a lot of lives.
What did you learn about the reactions and experiences of people in different locations? How were they similar or different?
The reactions in NYC and DC/Arlington make perfect sense. It was interesting how disconnected some people were when the Pentagon was hit. They didn’t know about NYC yet. The Pentagon is so huge, people on the other side thought the AC was kicking in. Wow. The lady who had her baby that day, how tough to be happy when you’re scared out of your mind about the world that you’re bringing your baby into!
I did chuckle about the luck of those in uniform (military) because their uniforms are flame retardant and likely protected them from a lot. I think about how annoyed we can be with our uniforms, but just those moments the uniform saves you…I’ll take the annoyance.
A running theme throughout The Only Plane in the Sky – and all 9/11 satires in general – is heroism, and the active choice a person makes in the face of chaos and tragedy to step up, whether they are in the Twin Towers or on a hijacked aircraft or running back into the Pentagon to help wounded coworkers. Discuss what makes a hero; are they born? Are the made? Are we all capable of heroic acts?
As I read about individuals who repeatedly ran up flights of stairs to save people, who kept going back in to pull people out, who formed a plan to take the plane back I kept wondering, would I do that? Honestly, I don’t know. Of course I’d like to think I would, but I don’t think any of us could say, until we’re faced with the situation. I think some people are born heroes, and some are made. I think everyone is capable of heroic acts – just like we are all capable of good and evil. Heroism is a subjective term, what makes a person a hero to one person doesn’t to another. No hero goes into a situation thinking “this is going to make me a hero”.
As noted in the book, an interesting thing to remember about 9/11 is the lack of communication options; the Internet was barely up and running, social media did not exist, and many people did not have cell phones. As a result, many people outside of the impacted areas did not know what was happening, or if more attacks were coming. How would the response and dissemination of information be different if an event like this were to happen today?
I couldn’t begin to guess how different communications would be logistically or in the field of security. I do, however, believe it would bring a lot of relief to all the families and friends that were left wondering for hours if they’d see their loved ones again. I also think it could be a horrible thing – people doing live streaming on social media, the way media was already was crazy, I don’t think we need people streaming every aspect of it. Sometimes, it’s important to respect the moment and let it stay in that moment, I think that is too often forgotten.
This has been a long post, but it’s short for a book review. Although not thorough for a book review, I’d hope you aren’t looking to assess whether or not I’ve actually read the book and looking to see if it’s something you’d like to read. I hope your answer is yes. As I grow up, I find it more and more important to ensure I read, just a little, to understand history a little bit better. Whether or not you were alive for the attacks, they did impact you and you just don’t know it. Security is completely different from the way it was on September 10, 2001. Air traffic control is different. Airports are different. Building structures are different. Job positions are different. America as a whole is different, it may be your norm, but it’s not what America once was and this book sheds just a little light on how our country is growing and developing.
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