Rating: 
Summary: Highly emotional and quite gripping book
Review: Halberstam's gripping chronicle of a company of Manhattan firemen on September 11 is moving without ever becoming grossly sentimental an impressive achievement, though readers have come to expect as much from the veteran historian and journalist (author, most recently, of War in a Time of Peace). Engine 40, Ladder 35, a firehouse near Lincoln Center, sent 13 men to the World Trade Center, 12 of whom died. Through interviews with surviving colleagues and family members, Halberstam pieces together the day's events and offers portraits of the men who perished from rookie Mike D'Auria, a former chef who liked to read about Native American culture, to Captain Frank Callahan, greatly respected by the men for his dedication and exacting standards, even if he was rather distant and laconic (when someone performed badly at a fire he would call them into his office and simply give him "The Look," a long, excruciating stare: "Nothing needed to be said the offender was supposed to know exactly how he had transgressed, and he always did"). The book also reveals much about firehouse culture the staunch code of ethics, the good-natured teasing, the men's loyalty to each other in matters large and small (one widow recalls that when she and her husband were planning home renovations, his colleagues somehow found out and showed up unasked to help, finishing the job in record time). Though he doesn't go into much detail about the technical challenges facing the fire department that day, Halberstam does convey the sheer chaos at the site and, above all, the immensity of the loss for fellow firefighters.
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Summary: A book about 9/11/01 that deserves to be read
Review: Mr. Halberstam, known well for his books about history, has written a little book about 9/11 that will hopefully remain long after most of the other 9/11 novels are ancient history. This novel tells the story of Engine 40, Ladder 35 in Midtown Manhattan, a firehouse that lost 12 of 13 men who went to the World Trade Center.Each fireman is described - what role he had in the firehouse and how he came to be a fireman. The story of the 13th fireman, Kevin Shea, the one who lived, is also told. Some have criticized this story because it leaves out any negatives, character flaws, etc. that these men had. I dispute this as one in particular is characterized as a "human cactus". And why, I ask, should we want to learn the things people disliked about the men who died? They did die as heroes, even though this book illustrates that heroes is probably the last thing that any of these men would have wanted to be called. They were just doing their jobs. The book also goes into some detail about the families of these men and how they reacted after the tragedy when they came to realize that their husband/son/father would not be coming home. Out of all the books written about September 11th, this is one that deserves to stand the test of time. It wasn't written in a hurry so that it would sell tons of copies and make lots of money - instead it was published in May 2002, long after many books had been out and the publishing craze seemed to be over. It also serves as a reminder of what happened that day. Eventually, 9/11/01 will be just another date, hard as it seems to believe right now. Eventually it will be like 12/7/41 and children will learn of it, but not fully understand and appreciate the tragedy that occurred that day. If this book is still around, I will recommend it be read by everyone who doesn't remember that day, so they can understand that lives were lost that day - lives of real people.
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Summary: If you only read one book on 9/11, this should be it.
Review: This book is one of the most devastating things you will ever read. This is not a tale of blood and gore and the evil that men do. Rather, this is the back-story to a firehouse that responded on 9/11. You get to know the men. You get to know their humour, their temper, their personalities. Then, you get some small sense of the loss that this world has felt since FDNY lost 343 heroic firefighters that day. They were not nameless and faceless statistics, but each one was a person. Each one answered a higher calling. This book is fully deserving of your attention.
As a side note, to my brothers in the fire service out there, keep this one away from the wife. She will cry for days.
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Summary: The quiet courage of Americans
Review: This book sums up the problem with Halberstam's career in journalism - - - he has an ongoing fascination with power, courage, heroism and duty without ever quite understanding the origins of these qualities of character. Quite simply, courage exists because anything else is unthinkable. This is a tribute to firefighters who responded to the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. It may well be the best book written about the human side of the event, a focus on one firehouse where 12 of the 13 men who responded were killed. Anyone who's read The New York Times since is very familiar with the format of personal snapshots that Halberstam uses, and he does a credible job in a much expanded version of what the Times could ever offer. But, he seems to be left grasping for an answer to "Why did they do it?" My response, quite simply, is because they couldn't do anything else. Halberstam outlines the spirit of camaraderie among firefighters in the first half of the book, very similar to a military unit where people train, live, play and work together. They become family, as close as their other families of wives and parents and children; like a good family, they don't "think" of danger to each other - - - they feel it instinctively. It's the same reaction that occurs in good military units, and among the crews of good ships. Unlike the police, who often have the luxury of waiting for negotiators to defuse a tense situation, firefighters must respond immediately. As Halbertsam points out, being as much as a minute late may cost lives that could otherwise have been saved. His observations from firefighters are like those of soldiers I've interviewed who served in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It reflects what I've found to be an underlying but absolutely rock-solid quality of Americans - - - regardless of the person, their unquestioning dedication to honor, duty, loyalty when the chips are down. Halberstam offers all the ingredients of this "pudding" in his book, which I think every reader will recognize. My one complaint is that he fails to draw it all together into a coherent analysis and tribute to the enduring American character. In that, he's very like the firefighters he describes; they don't boast, and they're not overly introspective - - - they simply do what needs to be done when whatever it is needs doing. Perhaps it takes a non-American to recognize this fundamental quality of most Americans; not just firefighters, but of all Americans when faced with a crisis. Like most brave people, firefighters don't flaunt their courage; like the astute journalist he is, Halberstam doesn't invent reasons his subjects don't talk about. Yet, it is all in his book. Time and again, readers will recognize gems of courage, duty, honor and selfless dedication to family that good firefighters posses. Perhaps it's the best way to describe what motivated the men of Engine 40/Ladder 35 who responded and died that fateful day. They didn't boast, Halberstam doesn't. Instead, he tells the story of these men who are so like the firefighters in every community. In his low-key manner, he describes qualities of ordinary Americans which draws the admiration of the world. Had he tried for more, he would have come across as a pretentious twit. Instead, when you read this book, there's a real sense of the heroism that shone through like a beacon on Sept. 11, 2001. Halberstam has done a masterful job. As a foreigner, let me recommend this book as a superb even if understated tribute to the quiet courage of Americans, and especially firefighters.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect Heroes
Review: This in a very good book about a group of men at a Manhatten firehouse who were called to duty on September 11, 2001. I got the feeling that they weren't called to duty so much as they heard duty calling them. In this brief book we are given a glimpse of each of the men who responded to the call. We are also given a briefer glimpse at those who were not on duty that day and how they dealt with their emotions. To most of us, the men who risked their lives were certainly heroes but they remained names without a story. Mr. Halberstam has given this group a personality that enables the reader to more greatly appreciate their sacrifice. For this reason alone, the book's mere 200 pages are well worth the short time it takes to read. However, this is a story about all firemen because of how the author gives us a vivid insight to life in the firehouse. We see the cameraderie and the fraternal nature of firefighters. The pay is poor and the risk is great but good men continue to respond to the call. In this book we get a sense as to why that is. If this book has a fault it is that its' subjects are too perfect. These men have no faults; if they are grumpy, they are loveably grumpy, if they are divorced, the divorce was amicable and they remain on good terms with their ex. Should we be told of personal shortcomings for these fallen heroes? Many would say no. However, I believe that the author meant for us to see these men as people like ourselves; men who were doing the hourly-pay job that they were trained to do. In their case they made a difference by perservering in their jobs in the face of imminent peril. In our case we may never have to face such a challenge but these men have shown us that ordinary men doing extra-ordinary things DO make a difference. By portraying these men as a cut above ordinary, the point is lost. Still, there is much greatness in this book and I am content to accept the men as the author has chosen to portray them.
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