Rating: 
Summary: COVERAGE OF AMERICA'S WORST DAY BEGINS SKETCHILY
Review: CBS's new combination book and DVD covering the events of 9/11 with an introduction by Dan Rather is an interesting but non-essential document primarily about the network's own coverage of one of America's worst days. The DVD begins with CBS's early morning news coverage of the first airline crash into the Trade Center's north tower. Unfortunately for Bryant Gumbel (who is trying to figure out what is happening in spite of a stationary camera from across New York City and with the "assistance" of a few eyewitnesses who apparantly can only seem to tell him what he can clearly see with his own eyes) his coverage of this horrific day begins sketchily. The DVD continues with Dan Rather hosting and jumping forward to later events of the day and the week, and concluding with other video segments from news programs such as 48 hours (which reflect back on the day from various viewpoints.)The book itself is perhaps a more important document, with good black-and-white photos, an excellent timeline of events and the story of September 11th as it unfolded for various CBS correspondents, relatives of the victims, eyewitnesses and reporters for other publications such as The New Yorker, the Village Voice, Newsweek, the Washington Post, etc. Unfortunately, CBS's coverage of the attacks on the Trade Center in the book consist of the same silly transcripts between Bryant Gumbel and the "know-nothing" eyewitnesses on the street who were supposedly "seeing" the events unfold. A better document of 9/11 is CNN's production of "America Remembers" now on DVD. Moving and very thorough, this DVD follows the events of the day as they unfolded in the newsroom, on the streets of New York and Washington and as they also unfolded for President Bush (a fascinating chapter.) CNN's coverage also includes the weeks and months following the attack including the war in Afghanistan.
Rating: 
Summary: Close to that for which I am looking ....
Review: I agree with the reviewer who identified this as a DVD accompanied by a book. The initial moments after 9/11 began are well documented, even Bryant Gumbel's missing the second plane flying towards the second tower. What is there is Gumbel's astonishment, and lack of words, when he first views the Pentagon damage; and later, as Dan Rather takes over at 10 a.m., in the background, unmistakably you hear Gumble's "Wooooow." Once Rather takes over there are two and three hour jumps, which just don't make for an even rendering of the events. However, in contrast to the CNN DVD, which focuses on what the U.S. government did after 9/11, the CBS DVD focuses on how people reacted ... some in unique and astonishing ways. I'm still looking for a simple documentary of 9/11, warts and all, of the reporting of the events from 8:48 a.m. through approximately 12:00 noon, I want to see the reactions of the newscasters. On the other hand, this is much better than the CNN documentary.
Rating: 
Summary: Good on basic, but there are better
Review: I bought this because I thought the book would be an excellent visual account of events, but was very disappointed. The black and white photos are grainy and not the high gloss photo of say a TIME magazine. The photos weren't ones that "capture" any moment. You know the ones that really stayed in our minds long afterwards - are all missing from this book. It is mostly about how the news crew rememberd the day, how they covered it, how it affected them, and not the events themselves. I would say the CBS covereage of the events were poor and is probably why I watched the events unfold on another statation. I also bought a couple of others for comparison and those are far superior as a documention of the day.
Rating:
Summary: What's not to like?
Review: I didn't get to see the events of September 11, 2001 unfold. Sadly, I spent most of that day sleeping, as I had worked the night before and needed to rest up for a busy night at work. Too bad I didn't realize that while I was sleeping, the world as I knew it changed forever. We all know how bad 9-11 was for American and world society. It is probably the most crippling thing to ever happen to this country. I always wanted to see what it was like that fateful morning, to see how news reporters reacted to the shocking development of a commuter plane crashing into a tower in the World Trade Center, to the horryfying conclusion that a terrorist group was trying to destroy America. Fortunately, CBS News decided to release a book/DVD set called "What We Saw". I cannot recommend this enough, as it features in depth analysis of what witnesses saw that day, and step-by-step recounts of the aftermath of the destruction that took place in New York, Washington DC, and a little town in Pennsylvania. The book is well written, thought provoking, and has deep insight into the true meaning of September 11. But the reason I bought the book was for the enclosed DVD, and it did not disappoint. For those of you like me who were unfortunate enough to not have seen the events unfolding that day, you can now experience the horror and find out what made 9-11 the worst day in American history. If you see this book, do not hesistate to buy it. It's also for a good cause, as 10 percent of all profits go to the Robin Hood Relief Fund, who provide support to the low-income families of the tragedy.
Rating: 
Summary: Dispicable
Review: I find it dispicable and distasteful that anyone, CBS or CNN makes any profit on the tragedy. I am in NYC and it makes me want to hold CNN in one hand and CBS in the other and knock some sense into them. The slimiest of them all shows their true colors.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful, Important Journal of 9/11
Review: I have just read a small, but powerful text: " What We Saw," which chronicles the words and images of what happened in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. This text should be in every schoool library, as it not only chronicles those who witnessed the horrific events, but also includes a DVD showcasing CBS NEWS coverage of that day. Future textbooks will surely make reference to the events of 9/11, but this text and accompanying DVD bring it alive. As a media educator, this is history worth having, keeping and studying, as most people agree that television news was at its best that day.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful, Important Journal of 9/11
Review: I have just read a small, but powerful text: " What We Saw," which chronicles the words and images of what happened in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. This text should be in every schoool library, as it not only chronicles those who witnessed the horrific events, but also includes a DVD showcasing CBS NEWS coverage of that day. Future textbooks will surely make reference to the events of 9/11, but this text and accompanying DVD bring it alive. As a media educator, this is history worth having, keeping and studying, as most people agree that television news was at its best that day.
Rating:
Summary: Good book - hohum DVD
Review: I have to believe that CBS News could come up with a better DVD on the events of 9/11 than this one. I was hoping to see the CBS live coverage of the tragedy but was greatly disappointed. Outside of about 10 minutes of live coverage of the world trade center attacks, the vast majority of the DVD is nothing but segments from 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. Human interest stories are great to fill out this sort of thing but there is far too much of it here. I was astounded to note that CBS apparently had no live coverage of the collapse of either tower. And no mention at all was made of Flight 93 as the events unfold in this program - such coverage only occupying an isolated 5-10 minutes halfway through the DVD. CBS had an opportunity here to give us and future generations a real feel for an historic event as it unfolded ... and they blew it.
Rating:
Summary: Shame on you CBS and Dan Rather
Review: I purchased this book hoping to keep the DVD as a historical record for my children of the events of 9/11. To my shock and horror, I realized that as the day played out on the DVD and they reached 6 pm...then 8 pm....that they had made no mention whatsoever of Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania. I felt sick to think of how this dishonored the memory of those victims, not to mention the insult to their families. Did CBS not feel this tragedy even warranted mentioning? Does the loss of lives in a field mean less than at the base of a skyscraper? The DVD went on in numerous interviews, etc. in the weeks that followed 9/11. Finally, more than an hour into the DVD, the first mention of Flight 93 came, but it was brief and came off as an afterthought, then footage of the WTC resumed. I was sickened at the insensitivity and felt the DVD to be not very historically accurate as it was so selective in presuming what really mattered.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, but DVD- not so great
Review: I purchased this book/DVD after seeing a very moving display of actual World Trade Center rubble. I was greatly impressed with the book. It goes into great detail of the timeline and events that occured that day. However the DVD really only had a few moments of live coverage then turns to clips of past 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. In the hour and a half that it takes to watch this DVD, there are barely 10 minutes devoted to the flight that crashed in PA. The book is something that I would reccommend be in every home, but if the DVD was scratched beyond repair it wouldn't be so bad.
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