Tag Archives: nine-eleven

Fall and Rise

Posted on September 11, 2025 by smellincoffee

24 years ago today, the ‘severe clear’ skies above New York were overwhelmed by ash and smoke, by ignorance and hate. Fall and Rise is a history of that day, one that was good enough to be favorably compared to … Continue reading →

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From the Inside Out: Twin Tower Escapes

Posted on September 8, 2025 by smellincoffee

Erik Ronningen came close to death several times on 9/11 as he made his way from the heights above Manhattan to the relative safety of the sidewalks below. The day after, while comparing notes with his wife, Ronningen was struck … Continue reading →

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The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World

Posted on September 5, 2025 by smellincoffee

I’ve been collecting WTC photos since high school, haunted by watching the Towers burn and fall on live tv. Some of the most interesting I’ve seen have been inside Windows of the World, a restaurant that occupied two of the … Continue reading →

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The Lives They Saved

Posted on September 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

“Look for the helpers”, Mr Rogers advised children who were frightened by disaster. L. Douglas Keeney here offers a spyglass to readers. Instead of fixating on the flaming towers, the clouds of smoke filled with dust, jet engine fumes, and … Continue reading →

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Touching History

Posted on September 27, 2021 by smellincoffee

Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11©2008 Lynn Spencer 320 pages When the brilliant blue skies over the continental United States became a place of confusion, dread, loss, and death, … Continue reading →

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9/11/2001

Posted on September 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

It’s the twentieth anniversary of an attack upon the United States, the details and legacy you’re already familiar with. If you weren’t, I’m sure there’s no shortage of offerings today. Rather than dwell on the mistakes of the past, I’d … Continue reading →

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Some voices from 9/11

Posted on December 22, 2019 by smellincoffee

Below follow some of the more poignant quotes from The Only Plane in the Sky. “Meanwhile, hundreds of feet below the impact zone, people were still going about their day. The World Trade Center complex was so massive that those … Continue reading →

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The Only Plane in the Sky

Posted on December 22, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 © 2019 Garrett Graff 512 pages   If you ever only read one book about 9/11, make it The Only Plane in the Sky.   I have rarely been as … Continue reading →

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The Unthinkable

Posted on November 7, 2019 by smellincoffee

The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes — and Why © 2008 Amanda Ripley 288 pages   We all wonder what we would do in an emergency. How would it feel to be onboard a doomed plane, or trapped in … Continue reading →

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The Looming Tower

Posted on September 28, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Looming Tower: Al-Queda and the Road to 9/11 © 2006 Lawrence Wright 480 pages “[…] we’re told that they were zealots, fueled by religious fervor…religious fervor. And if you live to be a thousand years old, will that make … Continue reading →

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