The Only Plane In The Sky

The Only Plane In The Sky by Garrett Graff is an oral history of 9/11, built almost entirely from the testimony of those whose lives were changed together by one terrible day. Graff shares the stories of victims struggling to survive, first responders facing a threat like no other, politicians overcoming fear in order to protect their country, family members facing unbelievable terror and grief, and ordinary Americans reeling from a permanent loss of security. This book is no less well-written, tense, and often heartbreaking for being nonfiction. I was born after 9/11, so I especially appreciate Graff for breathing life into an event that hand’t seemed entirely real to me before I started reading. The Only Plane In The Sky sometimes exciting, sometimes hopeful, and always necessary. I think it’s a vital source of education from my generation, not to mention an opportunity for preceding ones to see how their own trauma and healing have been shared across the generations. No one was alone on 9/11, no matter how badly they felt, and Graff reminds us of that valuable truth.