Product Description

Few aspects of The New York Times's coverage of September 11 and of all that has followed have attracted as much comment as 'Portraits of Grief.' The series profiled the lives lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center and was a story in itself, becoming required reading for many the world over. Beginning on September 14, 2001, a half-dozen Times reporters began working from a stack of one hundred missing persons fliers collected from points around the World Trade Center. They wrote profiles containing short but signature details of the lives they strove to present. These portraits transcend race, class, age, and gender while capturing the poignancy of the victims' similarities: life cut short in an American tragedy. This new edition includes the complete 'Portraits of Grief' series with approximately four hundred additional portraits published since February 3, 2002. The profiles have become a source of connection and consolation, a focus for the sorrow of readers both reeling from disbelief and searching for support.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1127287 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 696 pages

From Library Journal
In the days and weeks following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the nation and New York in particular struggled to find normalcy. Yet the city's desire to confront the terror and, in turn, work through its grief was palpable. The New York Times's series "Portraits of Grief" was one response to this need. Described by Times executive editor Howell Raines as "snapshots of lives interrupted as they were being actively lived," the profiles give a face to a number, a story to a name. By now everyone in the nation has read at least one of these portraits, heard the legacy of a loved one retold by a friend, or remembered the name of just one person who perished. As the series initially served to highlight the missing, it eventually lent itself to healing a nation by giving short, unglorified glances into the lives of everyday Americans. This book collects the portraits that ran from September 15 through February 5 in the paper's " A Nation Challenged" section, with the hope that future printings will include the rest of those who were remembered. Each page is filled with the kaleidoscope of perspectives and passions that were lost that day, with victims ranging from firefighters and mothers to waiters and financiers in an equality of bereavement. Unfortunately, the look and feel of the newspaper are maintained, along with the poor picture quality, detracting from the often poetic text. That aside, it is recommended for all public libraries, where there will no doubt be demand. [One copy will be given to each victim's family, and all proceeds from the book go to benefit the New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund. Ed.] Rachel Collins, "Library Journal.
- Rachel Collins, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

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Customer Reviews

The Human Side of 9/11/01
Everyone remembers the terrible events that took place on September 11, 2001. We have all viewed the images on television and in print, showing the airplanes striking the buildings, the fire, and the collapse of the World Trade Center. We have seen firefighters and rescue dogs searching for bodies trapped in the rubble. And we have seen politicians talking about the attacks and what must be done to prevent such an event in the future.

But one thing that we don't see very frequently is information on the human victims themselves. That is, until now. In this book, the New York Times has taken on a great task: Assembling together a full volume showing pictures and personal information on each of the victims who died during the attack on September 11, 2001. The Times originally started to do this in the actual newspaper itself, highlighting the different victims with a section called "Portraits of Grief". It was from these portraits that the book was derived from.

Most (but not all) of the victims are pictured in the pages of this book, with a small, black and white photo of the person's face, followed by a brief summary of the person's life, career, family, etc. The portrait information isn't extensive, but it manages to let you, the reader, know at least a little bit about each of the victims, complete with quotations from family members expressing how their lost husband/wife/child, etc. touched their lives in a positive way.

Besides the photos of people, there are other pictures in this book, with most of them dedicated to the funerals, remembrance gatherings, and other grief- related events. You won't find pictures of the smoking buildings in this book. It centers instead on the people.

Overall, this book is a nice effort on the part of the people at the New York Times. Approx. 143 people took part in the creation of this book, and their names are all listed in the back. It was a commendable effort and while I would have liked the book better if the pictures had been in color, I still think this is a book worth owning. My copy sits on my coffee table right now, reminding me of all the human tragedies that took place on the fateful day of September 11, 2001.

Is it allowable to write a negative opinion of this book?
I've written negative reviews of this book before. Once they posted it, and then deleted it. Have we come to the point in this country that on certain subjects only one opinion is allowed? Perhaps so. I thought that the idea of focusing an entire book on portraits of the people who died in the World Trade Center was shamefully being used to promote the Bush administration's war on the people of the world. Not surprising, either, coming from the establishment's official newspaper, the right wing New York Times. Why don't they print daily photos and profiles of the 5,000 Iraqi children a month who died year after year from the U.S. economic sanctions or the many thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died from the U.S. invasion and occupation? This review probably won't be posted either, cause there is no real freedom of speech here in the U.S. unless you follow the rigidly enforced conformist views of the Republican and Democratic party. My grandparents died in Hitler's concentration camps, and as far as I can see, with the brutal repression of Arab and Muslim people here in the U.S., the rounding up and detaining of people without charges, trials, or access to lawyers, and the numerous (past, present, and impending future) invasions of countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, etc. the U.S. is becoming the new Nazi Germany of the 21st century in my opinion. We need to speak up, it can't happen again. A book like this one is a propaganda tool of the powers that be to justify their policies of war, aggression, racism, and repression. It is a shameful use of the lost lives of the people who died in this incident. And many have questioned the story of what really happened there, and believe that the World Trade Center was really Bush's Reichstag Fire. A best selling book in France told that story, but was largely suppressed here in the U.S. This glossy book with its photos and biographies is a travesty. Shame!

Journalistic Efficiency Triumphs Over Substance
I dearly wish that the portrait of my father, Simon V. Weiser, were more accurate. To latch onto an insignificant fact and make it the centerpiece and title of the portrait perhaps made the reporter's job easier, but did not do justice to my father's life.