Pine Bush Area Public Library Local History Collection: Disasters

On September 11, 2001, FDNY Battalion Chief Richard "Pitch" Picciotto answered the call heard around the world. In minutes he was at Ground Zero of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center began to burn-and then to buckle. A veteran of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Picciotto was eerily familiar with the inside of the North Tower. And it was there that he concentrated his rescue efforts. It was in its smoky stairwells where he heard and felt the South Tower collapse. Where he made the call for firemen and rescue workers to evacuate, while he stayed behind with a skeleton team of men to help evacuate a group of disabled and infirm civilians. And it was in the rubble of the North Tower where Picciotto found himself buried-for more than four hours after the building's collapse. This is the harrowing true story of a true American hero, a man who thought nothing of himself-and gave nearly everything for others during one of New York City's-and the country's-darkest hours.

Through the moving words and images of people from all walks of life, New York September Eleven Two Thousand One bears witness to the horrific events of a single day that changed lives forever. It is a document, a collectin of words, images and feelings of people trying to put September 11th into context and perspective. Artists, officials, resque workers and professionals are portrayed trying to come to terms with events. While this book focuses on specific events, it also speaks of the international significance of the tragedy and of the humanity that has risen up behind it.

"If you have tears, prepare to shed them." --Frank McCourt "In the firehouse, the men not only live and eat with each other, they play sports together, go off to drink together, help repair one another's houses, and, most important, share terrifying risks; their loyalties to each other must, by the demands of the dangers they face, be instinctive and absolute." So writes David Halberstam, one of America's most distinguished reporters and historians, in this stunning New York Times bestselling book about Engine 40, Ladder 35, located on the West Side of Manhattan near Lincoln Center. On the morning of September 11, 2001, two rigs carrying thirteen men set out from this firehouse: twelve of them would never return. Firehouse takes us to the epicenter of the tragedy. Through the kind of intimate portraits that are Halberstam's trademark, we watch the day unfold--the men called to duty while their families wait anxiously for news of them. In addition, we come to understand the culture of the firehouse itself: why gifted men do this; why, in so many instances, they are eager to follow in their fathers' footsteps and serve in so dangerous a profession; and why, more than anything else, it is not just a job, but a calling. This is journalism-as-history at its best, the story of what happens when one small institution gets caught in an apocalyptic day. Firehouse is a book that will move readers as few others have in our time. "Graceful and moving." --James Traub, The New York Times Book Review "Resembles John Hersey's 1946 classic Hiroshima." --USA Today "Poignant and immediate portrait of a New York firehouse. Halberstam delivers a jolting study in the impermanence of things, the swiftness with which the world can be transformed." --San Francisco Chronicle "Always clear-eyed and affecting." --Newsweek "Vividly sketched." --Time Out New York "A very human face on the tragedy." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "An understated little gem of a book." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch "A remarkable study of a tightly knit workplace world and the impact of September 11 upon it." --Washington Times "His special contribution is to anatomize the culture that incubated and nourished these remarkable public servants." --BookPage

"Immediately after two hijacked jets struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, Dennis Smith, a retired firefighter who had served eighteen years with the New York City Fire Department, reported to Manhattan's Ladder Co. 16 to volunteer in the rescue effort. Among those missing in the tragedy were 343 firefighters, many of whom were his friends and longtime colleagues. Having spent his career as both a respected writer and a member of one of the city's busiest firehouses, Smith became determined to use his unique background to tell the story of the disaster and its aftermath with the empathy and understanding that only an insider could bring to it." "Report from Ground Zero is a narrative of this three-month period, a time that has permanently altered the landscape and character of America."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Narrative nonfiction account of the record-setting Delaware River flood of August 18-20, 1955, reads like a thriller. This devastation was caused by rain from hurricanes Connie and Diane, hitting within five days of each other. The flood killed nearly 100 people in PA, NJ NY, with the highest flood crest recorded on river to date. This is an extremely readable narrative woven from interviews with 100+ survivors eyewitnesses. With 105 historic photos bringing these events to chilling life, this is the first comprehensive account of a tragic event that changed life in the Delaware Valley forever.