The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

 The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff 560 pages

 

In some ways, when I think of it, 9/11 could have happened a few months ago, the images are still that crystal clear in my mind. However, there is a whole generation, or more, to whom 9/11 is just another historical event, like Pearl Harbor is to most of us. But author Garrett M. Graff spent years compiling the one book that, I believe, should be required reading (or listening as the audiobook is approximately 16 hours) for all Americans.

 

The book tells the story of that day’s events from hundreds of people, in their own words—from air traffic controllers to people on the street to President George W. Bush. These are the people who witnessed the event, who were part of it, who were left behind. Readers are able to get a much fuller look at what was happening that the news teams were able to depict. The story of that day is told in snippets from many individuals, coalescing into one heartbreaking narrative.

 

It has been at least a month since I finished The Only Plane in the Sky, and there are several images that have not left me, much like the images of those planes hitting the Towers. Images like:

 

·       As a firefighter was exiting one of the Towers, he was startled by the number of women’s shoes that were lying on the ground. Hundreds of pairs in every shape and size. After commenting on how it looked like the floor of Macy’s after a big sale, the firefighter was told was had happened:  As women exited the buildings, the kicked off their shoes and ran.

 

·       After the buildings fell, a group of people were trapped in a pocket in a stairwell. They heard a ping, then another, then another. One of the firefighters who was with them told them that that meant that a firefighter and down and movement was undetected (much like a Life Alert necklace). Suddenly all they could hear was ping, ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping. 

    ·       I knew people had jumped from the Towers to avoid the flames. I had no idea how many there really were. Graff does an amazing job of making the reader hear every one of those bodies hitting the ground. 

·       The thickness of the ash and how survivors had to scrap it form their eyes and mouths.

The Only Plane in the Sky receives at least three thousand stars in Julie’s world, but I’m only allowed to give five.

Coming Clean: A Memoir by Kimberly Rae Miller

Coming Clean: A Memoir by Kimberly Rae Miller 272 pages

The true story of Kimberly Rae Miller's life growing up with a hoarder for a father and a compulsive shopper for a mother in a household so full of papers of all kinds (her father) and bags and boxes of new things never opened, never used, never worn, just stacking up bought online from catalogs, t.v. shopping networks, infomercials, etc.   The house was never cleaned until Kimberly grew up and began realizing other people didn't live like this and she started taking the initiative to counteract her parents and be pro-active in getting rid of the mounds of trash piling up fighting the bugs and vermin and trying to find normalcy in a chaotic environment.    All through her youth she never had people over because she didn't want them to know how dirty she lived.   Things changed the day her mother ended up in the hospital and Kimberly couldn't think of her going home to such an unclean, dangerously cluttered home.   Kimberly had had enough and made her stand for the time it lasted.   In order to get away from all the trash and piles her parents would move to a new place and leave everything behind and start completely new till they piled that house up, too.  It is a vision of what life is for children and young adults growing up under such circumstances and the thinking process that goes with such a lifestyle.    Excellent book.   Many books talk about the mental state of hoarders but this view was of those in the family who have the conditions forced upon them whether they want to deal with it or not.   I would recommend this book to anyone from middle-school on up who may be dealing with such circumstances in their own lives and dug in hoarders who may get an inside view of what they are going through, and also to anyone who finds the subject of hoarding fascinating and loves to watch the t.v. shows that show the reasons people become hoarders and how the mind of hoarders work noted as geniuses because they can come up with multiple purposes and uses for things that the mainstream populace doesn't see, the folks in the middle of all the piles just accumulate, collect and purvey much more than they realize until it takes over their space and their lives.   So interesting.

Travel Light, Move Fast

Travel Light, Move Fast by Alexandra Fuller   225 pages

In her most recent memoir, Alexandra Fuller focuses on the life of her father. After his sudden death, she realized that if she's going to get through this loss, that she needs to become the parts of him that she misses most.  Moving between recent memories of her father, his last days, and her past, Fuller writes the story of her father, a man who moved to Africa to fight in the Rhodesian War and who settled in Zambia as a banana farmer.

Written in a way that makes you feel like you know the man as well as his daughter does, this is a great memoir of an unforgettable man who made his own path in life, with no apologies.  I have read all of Fuller's previous books, and I enjoy the way that this book focused on her father, a person who never figured quite as prominently in Fuller's other books.  Fuller's father was a very independent person, who made his own way in the world and who raised Alexandra and her sister to be strong and independent, as well.  I found this to be a great book that gave me insight not only into a singularly great person, but also into the history and culture of Rhodesia.  It does help if you have read her other books, to give you context for this one.

Miles and Me

Miles and Me by Quincy Troupe   189 pages

I picked this nonfiction piece as my August selection to meet my 2018 New Year’s resolution. As I was pondering what titles to add the list in December 27, I grabbed this one off the shelf. I’ve like jazz music, but I have to admit that I’m extremely knowledgeable about it. I was aware that Miles Davis is one of the greatest of all time.

As I started to flip the pages, I landed on the title page, where lo and behold, was an inscription to me, personally, from the author. It was dated 10/7/06. I must have picked it up at a booksigning, probably at St. Louis’ best indie bookstore, Left Bank Books, but I have absolutely no recollection of the event. So I figured it was time to read this little gem.

The book is about Troupe and Davis and their collaboration on a book, “Miles: The Autobiography,” that was published in 1989.

In the first chapter of Troupe’s memoir, “Meeting Miles,” Troupe pulls no punches telling about their rocky start and how Davis was not an easy many to get along with. In fact, he as a snob, a jerk ad used the most awful language. With that kind of drivel spewing from his mouth, no wonder he hid behind dark sunglasses most of the time.

In the second chapter, “Up Close and Personal,” the two men become friends. Miles is hard to be friends with. He’s really just a jerk who can play the trumpet. I can’t say that I would even have like to have met the man after reading this book. I was struck about how much Davis hated how black he was and wondered if that didn’t contribute to his orneriness.

The third chapter is about the music. I won’t say I can recognize a Davis piece when I hear it, but Troupe’s musical criticism seems right on. Of course, I would have no real clue if Troupe was accurate or not. The final chapter is about the last few years of Davis’s life (he died on 1991) and his legacy.

“Miles and Me” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.