Beyond Stone and Steel: A Memorial to the September 11, 2001 Victims

Beyond Stone and Steel: A Memorial to the September 11, 2001 Victims, Brian M. Vaszily, Hard Shell Word Factory, 2001

This is a group of fictionalized stories and vignettes, attempting to put a name and life to those who started September 11 like any other day. He starts with his own personal reactions to what he was watching on TV, and the sudden realization that if major landmarks like the World Trade Center and Pentagon were first, other landmarks like the Sears Tower in Chicago, the author's hometown, could easily be next.

He puts a name and life to some of the passengers on the airplanes; perhaps they are flying out West to a business meeting, or a family is visting grandparents in California. The author stops at an office, where things are going on as usual as a strange rumbling gets louder and louder. A number of people tell what they would do if they had just one more day on Earth. The reader meets a young soldier at the Pentagon who has just died.

By far, the hardest part to read is the story of those in the buildings, the fire being below them or right behind them, who know deep inside that there is no escape. They say a last fervent prayer or wish that their family or spouse will find love and happiness at some point in the future...just before they jump out an open window.

The author also looks at conditions in one of the building's stairwells after impact. On the upper floors, the procession of people going downstairs is calm and reasonable. As they reach the lower floors, things get more tense and panicky, with people pushing and shoving. Then comes the rumbling from above that signifies that these people are too late.

Obviously, this is not easy or pleasant reading. For some, attempting to read this book is a permanent impossibility. For everyone else, this is a must read. If this book can help the grief process, if it can give those left behind even a glimpse of what was going through the minds of their loved ones just before the end, then Vaszily has done a Great Service. It is well worth reading.