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The Rising: The Twenty-Year Battle to Rebuild the World Trade Center
The never-before-told inside story of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center – an epic tale of business, politics, and engineering by the man who spent two decades working to make it happenAfter the terrorist attacks of 9/11 destroyed the World Trade Center, New Yorkers and Americans faced a critical set of What should be done with the site? Could the towers be replaced? And how best to memorialize those lost on that day? For Larry Silverstein, a lifelong New Yorker who had signed a lease for the properties just a few months before the attacks, the answer was America had to rebuild as quickly as possible.In The Rising, Silverstein recounts in vivid detail his long battle to construct a new World Trade Center complex and to revitalize the surrounding neighborhood while also memorializing the victims of the attacks. Silverstein made history in 2001 when he signed a 99-year lease on the 10.6 million square foot World Trade Center for $3.25 billion. For the next twenty years, he navigated warring political interests, byzantine city bureaucracies, and resistant insurance companies, as well as the many challenges of designing, engineering, and constructing several new towers in the heart of downtown Manhattan. More than once the entire project almost folded, but today the buildings are nearly complete and the neighborhood is once again a thriving hub that draws hundreds of thousands of people a day.The Rising is a vibrant portrait of the inner workings of New York City in the wake of its most profound tragedy, but it is also a master class in how to succeed in business despite all odds. Full of outsize characters and relentless adversity, this is a riveting book about a remarkable feat of vision and determination.
- GenresNonfiction
368 pages, Hardcover
Published September 10, 2024
46 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 13, 2025
I'll admit I had high expectations (pun intended) for this book. I have read Jerry Adler's "High Rise" about building a skyscraper in Manhattan and really enjoyed it for its great stories and "inside observer" point of view. I was hoping this was a similar book about building the new World Trade Center building. It was not.
This book is 95% about the financing and politics and about 5% about actually building. Chapters are spent talking about the complex maneuvering required to get the money to build a building and the political machinations that made it so difficult, and then suddenly, the entire building is built at the beginning of the next chapter. One page it was a hole in the ground, the next page it was a gleaming tower.
Since there are seven (I think...I lost count) buildings on the site, this process was repeated over and over with slight variations. By the time the last buildings were financed and magically completed, I was just hoping there weren't any more. Because I don't think I could have read about one more round of financing without giving up entirely.
I kept hoping that once we got all of this money-raising and political wheeling and dealing done, it would talk about the actual construction, but alas, it was not to be. I know no more (possibly less) about the buildings themselves than when I started the book.
As to the writing, it's OK. It's well-enough written, but it is all first-person point of view and, as mentioned, is almost entirely devoted to the financial and political aspects of the jobs. After a while, the repeated "I did this" and "I did that" began to wear on my patience. In the end, I was just ready for it to be the end.
In fairness to the author, I now realize that the point of view of a commercial developer really is 95% finance and politics, and he wrote about his experience from his point of view, which makes me feel good that I never considered that as a career.
I don't blame him for writing in detail about this, but at the same time, I'm not sure who this book's intended audience is. It certainly wasn't me. Maybe another developer would find it interesting and inspiring, but I think the average reader who doesn't live in that world will quickly become bored and frustrated with this book.
If you are looking for a story about the actual construction of a high rise, I highly recommend :
High Rise: How 1000 Men and Women Worked Around the Clock for Five Years and Lost $200 Million." by Jerry Adler
and
Men of Steel - The Story of the Family That Built the World Trade Center by Karl Koch II (which details the construction of the original WTC towers)
This book is 95% about the financing and politics and about 5% about actually building. Chapters are spent talking about the complex maneuvering required to get the money to build a building and the political machinations that made it so difficult, and then suddenly, the entire building is built at the beginning of the next chapter. One page it was a hole in the ground, the next page it was a gleaming tower.
Since there are seven (I think...I lost count) buildings on the site, this process was repeated over and over with slight variations. By the time the last buildings were financed and magically completed, I was just hoping there weren't any more. Because I don't think I could have read about one more round of financing without giving up entirely.
I kept hoping that once we got all of this money-raising and political wheeling and dealing done, it would talk about the actual construction, but alas, it was not to be. I know no more (possibly less) about the buildings themselves than when I started the book.
As to the writing, it's OK. It's well-enough written, but it is all first-person point of view and, as mentioned, is almost entirely devoted to the financial and political aspects of the jobs. After a while, the repeated "I did this" and "I did that" began to wear on my patience. In the end, I was just ready for it to be the end.
In fairness to the author, I now realize that the point of view of a commercial developer really is 95% finance and politics, and he wrote about his experience from his point of view, which makes me feel good that I never considered that as a career.
I don't blame him for writing in detail about this, but at the same time, I'm not sure who this book's intended audience is. It certainly wasn't me. Maybe another developer would find it interesting and inspiring, but I think the average reader who doesn't live in that world will quickly become bored and frustrated with this book.
If you are looking for a story about the actual construction of a high rise, I highly recommend :
High Rise: How 1000 Men and Women Worked Around the Clock for Five Years and Lost $200 Million." by Jerry Adler
and
Men of Steel - The Story of the Family That Built the World Trade Center by Karl Koch II (which details the construction of the original WTC towers)
September 28, 2024
Larry Silverstein proves to be as talented of a writer as he is a developer. Although it is a one-sided account of a controversial and heated battle, it is still a thoroughly interesting account from someone who has left his mark on the landscape of New York City. I believe Silverstein will go down as a great New Yorker, something of an anti-Robert Moses(i.e. someone who wants to build in a very YIMBY way but still believes in the allure and the attraction of cities).
It's also an inspiring story, to read about New York City's recovery from the worst attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor during the midst of New York City's (very successful) recovery from the Covid pandemic fills one with hope. This is a city that always bounces back. Ford told New York to drop dead, terrorists take down the trade center, thousands of New Yorkers lose their lives in a pandemic that crippled the city and it's real estate market, and the city always bounces back, always rebuilds. No other city is as resilient as New York and that's one of the MANY things that makes New York City the greatest city on earth, the financial, cultural and political center of the world and Silverstein excellently displays the resilient spirit of New Yorkers in this book through his display of his own resilience.
It's also an inspiring story, to read about New York City's recovery from the worst attack on the United States since Pearl Harbor during the midst of New York City's (very successful) recovery from the Covid pandemic fills one with hope. This is a city that always bounces back. Ford told New York to drop dead, terrorists take down the trade center, thousands of New Yorkers lose their lives in a pandemic that crippled the city and it's real estate market, and the city always bounces back, always rebuilds. No other city is as resilient as New York and that's one of the MANY things that makes New York City the greatest city on earth, the financial, cultural and political center of the world and Silverstein excellently displays the resilient spirit of New Yorkers in this book through his display of his own resilience.
May 9, 2025
A surprisingly engaging and well-written memoir of sorts by New York City real-estate mogul Larry Silverstein, and his 20-year struggle to rebuild the World Trade Center complex after the tragic events of September 11. After making a deal for the ages to acquire the Twin Towers in 2001, within 6-months the deadly event of the terror attacks would occur.
Silverstein walks us through with candor the struggles with insurance companies and politicians, namely the New York/ New Jersey Port Authorty, to rebuild. The Port Authority, who owned the ground rights to the property, was an impossible partner, and Silverstein displays their gross incompetence throughout. While it is a one-sided account, Silverstein's candidness certainly makes it seem true. But Silverstein never burns bridges and maintains a boundless optimism, and I think these are his main attributes he wants the reader to take away.
Silverstein walks us through with candor the struggles with insurance companies and politicians, namely the New York/ New Jersey Port Authorty, to rebuild. The Port Authority, who owned the ground rights to the property, was an impossible partner, and Silverstein displays their gross incompetence throughout. While it is a one-sided account, Silverstein's candidness certainly makes it seem true. But Silverstein never burns bridges and maintains a boundless optimism, and I think these are his main attributes he wants the reader to take away.
June 29, 2025
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Larry Silverstein planned to go to the Windows on the World restaurant atop the North Tower of the World Trade Center. His wife convinced him to keep a doctor's appointment instead, which saved his life and allowed him to write this book about all that came next for the land in Manhattan struck by tragedy. He and his company, Silverstein Properties, had paid billions of dollars earlier that year to purchase a lease on the World Trade Center complex. Yet after one terrible morning, his investment was a smoldering pile of rubble. Readers of this book will see how determined he was to leave his mark on New York City's future. The governor of the state, George Pataki, called him on September 12 and he responded that he believed the city should rebuild where the towers had stood. Naysayers were claiming that people would not want to flock to this area again, but he was adamant that to abandon the site would be allowing the terrorists to win a victory.
Over the remainder of the book, he goes through the many frustrations but also successes in bringing his vision to life. He worked with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to implement plans to build several towers. Yet he reminds readers over and over again that the Port's incompetence resulted in many delays and cost overruns. In 2010, for instance, he went on the television program 60 Minutes and called the state of the site a "national disgrace." On more than one occasion, he had no choice but to call upon arbitrators to settle disputes between Silverstein Properties and the Port. He also encountered frustrations in collecting insurance money after the terrorist attacks. He dealt with attacks from the New York press, sometimes from newspaper authors who felt he should "get lost" from the rebuilding effort. Yet he concludes in his epilogue that the site now features several complete towers housing the offices of some of the most prestigious companies in the city and that the population of downtown Manhattan has tripled since the tragic attacks of 2001.
Readers must understand that Silverstein's account of the rebuilding process is heavily one-sided. It would be helpful to read an outsider's perspective to gain a more impartial view of that process, without the bitterness that Silverstein sometimes expresses here. Readers should also realize that if they would like to learn about the buildings themselves and the work to physically construct them, this is not the book for them. This book focuses on the financing and politics of the effort to rebuild. As the years pass, historians will therefore have opportunities to add to our understanding of this era. But in the meantime, we have the valuable firsthand reflections of a feisty real estate developer to respond to the worst terrorist attack in American history.
Over the remainder of the book, he goes through the many frustrations but also successes in bringing his vision to life. He worked with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to implement plans to build several towers. Yet he reminds readers over and over again that the Port's incompetence resulted in many delays and cost overruns. In 2010, for instance, he went on the television program 60 Minutes and called the state of the site a "national disgrace." On more than one occasion, he had no choice but to call upon arbitrators to settle disputes between Silverstein Properties and the Port. He also encountered frustrations in collecting insurance money after the terrorist attacks. He dealt with attacks from the New York press, sometimes from newspaper authors who felt he should "get lost" from the rebuilding effort. Yet he concludes in his epilogue that the site now features several complete towers housing the offices of some of the most prestigious companies in the city and that the population of downtown Manhattan has tripled since the tragic attacks of 2001.
Readers must understand that Silverstein's account of the rebuilding process is heavily one-sided. It would be helpful to read an outsider's perspective to gain a more impartial view of that process, without the bitterness that Silverstein sometimes expresses here. Readers should also realize that if they would like to learn about the buildings themselves and the work to physically construct them, this is not the book for them. This book focuses on the financing and politics of the effort to rebuild. As the years pass, historians will therefore have opportunities to add to our understanding of this era. But in the meantime, we have the valuable firsthand reflections of a feisty real estate developer to respond to the worst terrorist attack in American history.
October 8, 2024
The Rising: The Twenty-Year Battle to Rebuild the World Trade Center By Larry Silverstein is a fascinting and surprising look inside the events that let to the buildings that now occupies the space where the WTC once stood. I was not aware of all the the contention between the parties, or how hard this one man fought to rebuild.
Silverstein is a developer who purchased the WTC only weeks before 9/11. It was obvious from the start that he was committed to the process of recreating a beautiful new space. He fought with mayors, governors, and entities. He paid millions in rent on a space that was long closed, even to him. People tried to push him into giving up on the idea, or to see the land to someone else, but he believed it was important to rebuild -- not just for NYC but for our country. I agree.
The book highlights the worst attack on US soil, other than Pearl Harbor, but it is really about the city's recovery. I felt that the spirit of the city showed on the pages, and I credit Silverstein for that. I think he must love the city in which he lives. It seems that he is as resilient as the city in which he lives.
Silverstein is now 93 years old. I am glad that he was able to live to see both the fulfillment of his project, and the birth of his book.
Silverstein is a developer who purchased the WTC only weeks before 9/11. It was obvious from the start that he was committed to the process of recreating a beautiful new space. He fought with mayors, governors, and entities. He paid millions in rent on a space that was long closed, even to him. People tried to push him into giving up on the idea, or to see the land to someone else, but he believed it was important to rebuild -- not just for NYC but for our country. I agree.
The book highlights the worst attack on US soil, other than Pearl Harbor, but it is really about the city's recovery. I felt that the spirit of the city showed on the pages, and I credit Silverstein for that. I think he must love the city in which he lives. It seems that he is as resilient as the city in which he lives.
Silverstein is now 93 years old. I am glad that he was able to live to see both the fulfillment of his project, and the birth of his book.
November 9, 2024
Excellent truth about the dysfunctional process that too often plagues large scale development projects in America. May it be required reading for every public policy/government agency prior to embarking on public private partnerships.
Congratulations to Mr. Silverstein for outlasting them all to fulfill his legacy and promise of rebuilding an incredible project for generations to remember and honor all those who died. Thank you for building this project and for writing this book to help people understand the process.
The writing and narrative makes for an easy read with great clarity of timeframes and characters.
If the book feels repetitive to the reader, it’s not the authors fault, Mr. Silverstein simply is recounting the mindless repetitive struggle he endured to bring this project to fruition. Bravo!
Congratulations to Mr. Silverstein for outlasting them all to fulfill his legacy and promise of rebuilding an incredible project for generations to remember and honor all those who died. Thank you for building this project and for writing this book to help people understand the process.
The writing and narrative makes for an easy read with great clarity of timeframes and characters.
If the book feels repetitive to the reader, it’s not the authors fault, Mr. Silverstein simply is recounting the mindless repetitive struggle he endured to bring this project to fruition. Bravo!
September 13, 2025
A very thorough look at the World Trade Center - original twin towers, the rebuilding of ground zero and all the behind the scenes business dealings that took place to get the site to current day. The developer, Larry Silverstein, goes into great detail of how incredibly difficult the process has been to revitalize the 16 acre site. The amount of bureaucratic red tape Larry has dealt with over the years is astounding. The Port Authority of NY & NJ comes off as a poorly run and financially wasteful organization. The book is well worth the time in reading as I learned quite a bit.
July 7, 2024
Despite a few error the book is very readable. I guess when you have billions and live in NYC you can get the best ghostwriter? Still, all in all, an excellent timeline and a fair and reasonable history of NY’s governors and mayors and how the PA failed in it’s mission to rebuild the WTC area and downtown Manhattan. The book will be released on Sept. 10th, 2024 and hopefully Silverstein will be able to discuss the book and the rebuilding as only a 94-year-old builder with nothing to lose, can.
August 12, 2025
Everyone: "We gotta get these buildings rebuilt quickly!"
Silverstein: "I'll rebuild these buildings quickly!"
Everyone: "What the hell are you doing?!?"
I'm always a little wary of books written by someone who was a main actor in the events. Even with active effort it is hard to maintain objectivity. But with something involving so many politicians and government agencies it feels like this is the most honest information about the rebuilding we're going to get.
Silverstein: "I'll rebuild these buildings quickly!"
Everyone: "What the hell are you doing?!?"
I'm always a little wary of books written by someone who was a main actor in the events. Even with active effort it is hard to maintain objectivity. But with something involving so many politicians and government agencies it feels like this is the most honest information about the rebuilding we're going to get.
November 23, 2024
Really enjoyed the inside look at how the WTC was rebuilt. I thought that the book could have used another round of editing, at points it was repeating information or felt that the story was repeating itself. Overall excellent book though.
August 20, 2025
This man went through hell fighting an entity known as the Port Authority.
It's a miracle he was able to get towers 3 and 4 built in such a hostile environment.
Now someone needs to help him finish tower 2.
It's a miracle he was able to get towers 3 and 4 built in such a hostile environment.
Now someone needs to help him finish tower 2.
November 19, 2024
Really interesting, but brace yourself for a lot of talking about how much bureaucratic governmental systems suck.
June 10, 2025
Incredible. One of my favorite books!
June 17, 2025
Thank you Mr. Silverstein for what you've done for the WTC area and for sharing your story. It was a great read.
June 24, 2025
This was the perfect nightstand book. Given to me by a friend, this details the journey of Larry Silverstein, a real estate developer, working to rebuild the World Trade Center after 9/11. the plot was very straightforward and the prose basic in a good way. The story was interesting enough but not so gripping I felt the need to stay up late reading
January 10, 2025
The overall story is compelling and it’s frustrating to hear all the issues he faced working with the government agencies and politicians. It needed another editing round to remove all the repeated info and clean up some of the writing, but it’s well worth reading. I split time with the book and audio, but preferred this with the physical book, The narrator had a strange delivery with odd pauses and a slightly robotic tone which wasn’t my fav.
There was some repetitiveness in this, both in overused concepts and words (his optimism is mentioned a LOT along with his don’t burn bridges advice which he gives so many times) as well as in the actual content. This was especially noticeable toward the middle and end of the book, chapter 13 and on. Things would be summarized and repeated word for word (from earlier in the book or even earlier that chapter) as if it were new information.
With stronger editing this might have been a 2024 non fiction fav for me, but as-is it got bogged down and was an uneven reading experience. I’d still recommend the physical book, the information is eye opening and fascinating even if there are some flaws in the style.
There was some repetitiveness in this, both in overused concepts and words (his optimism is mentioned a LOT along with his don’t burn bridges advice which he gives so many times) as well as in the actual content. This was especially noticeable toward the middle and end of the book, chapter 13 and on. Things would be summarized and repeated word for word (from earlier in the book or even earlier that chapter) as if it were new information.
With stronger editing this might have been a 2024 non fiction fav for me, but as-is it got bogged down and was an uneven reading experience. I’d still recommend the physical book, the information is eye opening and fascinating even if there are some flaws in the style.
January 29, 2025
A fascinating look back at not only the history of the author, but the history of the World Trade Center and 9/11 as a whole and how government bureaucracy and money can affect such an undertaking.
December 8, 2025
Potentially interesting topic, dragged down by self-aggrandizing tone and more-than-necessary detail of real estate transactions.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews