Praise for The Only Plane in the Sky "A riveting step-by-step account of the day . The technique of letting the witnesses tell the story does a remarkable job of bringing to life the horrific day in a way that a writer''s narrative would have a hard time matching. It makes for a gripping read--and a reminder of the country at its best while under attack." -- Associated Press "Graff has woven a powerful, graphic narrative of how September 11 played out everywhere from the International Space Station to the inside of the collapsing World Trade Center towers. I repeatedly cried. I could feel my pulse elevate. I often had to put it down after a dozen pages. But I think that''s the point of the book.

September 11 was terrible and confusing, and the more time passes, sometimes the harder that is to remember. No matter how much we try to describe those feelings to children who didn''t live through them, something will be lost in the translation and telling. This book captures the emotions and unspooling horror of the day. It will be a good text to hand to a curious teenager when he one day asks: What was September 11 really like?" --NPR "Over 64 fine-sliced chapters, Mr. Graff . gives us ''the stories of those who lived through and experienced 9/11--where they were, what they remember, and how their lives changed.'' The result is remarkable, and Mr. Graff''s curation of these accounts--drawn from hundreds of his own interviews and from the reporting of other journalists and historians--is a priceless civic gift.

The book is refreshingly free from editorializing, ideology and ululation. It gives us instead poignant, often distressing, vignettes and impressions of the day and its aftermath. On page after page, a reader will encounter words that startle, or make him angry, or heartbroken, or queasy." -- The Wall Street Journal "Remarkable . Incredibly evocative and compelling . Allows you to experience this fateful day in an intimately visceral fashion, starting with the ordinary (the sky was gorgeously blue) and progressing to confusion, fear, numbness, and grief. By letting those who were present tell stories in their own words, Graff has created a remarkably effective and deeply moving history. Be careful if you read this book in public--at some point you may encounter a story or detail that will bring back memories that overwhelm you.

" -- The Washington Post "Intense . Dramatic . Graff''s project beautifully achieves its chief goal--educating people too young or born too late to remember what the day of September 11, 2001, felt like. But it also restores a form [oral history] to its rightful place as necessity." -- New York Times Book Review "An ambitious oral history of 9/11 from the perspective of nearly everyone involved--from Laura Bush to the first firefighter on the scene to the young gate agent who checked the hijackers'' plane tickets. Every single line is breathtaking and heartbreaking, weaving together the story of previously unimaginable and tragic events that changed the course of history." -- Newsweek "Compelling . The voices in The Only Plane in the Sky are so vivid.

There are snippets in Graff''s oral history from those who perished--messages for loved ones left by office workers stranded on the upper floors of the towers; calls from flight attendants and passengers aboard United Flight 93 that were recorded or remembered. But most of the voices in the book belong to survivors. That may explain, at least in part, why The Only Plane in the Sky manages to feel hopeful. Eventually, of course, all of us who remember 9/11 will be gone, and some of our stories will be forgotten. But, thanks to Graff''s fine work, many will endure." --Jay Carney, Air Mail "Oral history at its finest . Graff''s skillful organization and flawless pacing allows him to present multiple perspectives, quickly shifting locations and points of view around the country, to follow every moment. The result is a smooth-flowing, moving and thoroughly human narrative with emotional impact, a sense of detail and immediacy more powerful and moving than any dramatic film or documentary.

" -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Woven together, each piece assembles into a fresco/tapestry with great evocative power, one that gives readers the feeling of reliving--minute by minute--a tragic day on which nearly 3,000 people of 90 different nationalities were killed and 6,000 were injured. But The Only Plane in the Sky wouldn''t be the gem is it without Garrett Graff''s masterful editing and his sense of rhythm; it allows a closeness with the event as it was experienced--and still is today--by those who lived through it. For this reason, this exceptional document must also be read as a brilliant work of immediate history that reports on the upheavals of the world precisely where they happen: at the heart of the human experience." -- Le Monde "Graff excels at re-creating the anxiety and terror of that day . Readers who emerge dry-eyed from the text should check their pulses: Something is wrong with their hearts." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Harrowing and powerful . This vivid, moving work is painful to read but honors both those who died and those who survived that awful day." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This is history at its most immediate and moving.

Garrett Graff has crafted an enduring portrait of a deadly and consequential day, a day that has shaped all other subsequent days in America for nearly two decades. A marvelous and memorable book." --Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America "As I read The Only Plane in the Sky , I was instantly transported back to the chaos, shock, and fear that we all felt on September 11. Reliving the day in real time, through the eyes of Americans on the ground and in the air, had me turning each page with my heart in my throat. I may have known how the story would end, but reading these intensely personal accounts reminded me why this tragic day would change us forever, while the stories of courage and resilience renewed my faith in humanity. There''s been a lot written about 9/11, but nothing like this. I urge you to read it." --Katie Couric.