Into the Darkness: The Story of 7/7

by Peter Zimonjic

On the morning of 7 July 2005, Peter Zimonjic, a Canadian journalist living and working in London, was travelling on an eastbound Circle line train heading towards Edgware Road. Coming in the opposite direction was a train carrying Mohammed Sidique Khan with a bag full of explosives. As the trains passed each other in the tunnel, Sidique Khan detonated his bomb. Peter's train came to a standstill and he managed to smash the window in his carriage and crawl into the carnage where he and several others spent the next hour desperately trying to help the injured and dying.

Into the Darkness reconstructs the story of the day at all four bomb sites based on intensive interviews with dozens of survivors. In the form of a dramatic narrative this book documents the bravery, the triumphs, the despairs, and the shortfalls that occurred on a day when the innocence of thousands of ordinary commuters was lost forever.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2008

Reviews

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rivetting account of the terrorist attack on London on 7/7/05. A compulsive and rapid read that I couldn't put down. The author, Peter Zimonjic is a Canadian working in London as a journalist for a national newspaper. Taking a tube journey across the capital to research a story, travelling from Paddington on the Circle Line, he was caught up in the carnage and chaos. Uninjured, he was able to convey the confusion, darkness, smoke, panic, tangled wreckage, death and destruction in the Underground.
Zimonjic has pieced together accounts of the horror experienced at Aldgate, King's Cross, Tavistock Square as well as Edgeware Road, after interviews with many survivors. With just basic first aid knowledge he relates how he and others comforted the dying and administered to the injured for the next hour, until eventually emergency services arrived.
Like so many true life accounts of tragedy and horror, this account is rich in pathos and the human spirit that rises from adversity.

[Lisa-Jaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart wrenching accounts of a truly horrific day from different viewpoints, putting a human face to a very personal tragedy. I did wonder about those that died and a mention of them would have been a nice touch.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A harrowing account of the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London written from the perspective of those on the tubes (and bus) that were bombed. The author’s sharp writing makes the distinction between the dark chaos of the carriages destroyed and those either side where relative normalcy prevailed.

This book is a combination of the author’s own experience during that day, combined with that of other survivors who had been there. Its raw honesty stands out, especially from those who didn’t stay to help but focussed on their own survival - for which there is no judgement. He expertly weaves the narrative of those in the trains with the TfL staff above trying to understand what has happened and mount a response. The reader feels every minute of delay in getting the emergency services to the wounded passengers.

It is a story of hope and sorrow, Londoners (and her visitors) coming together to support through an unimaginable ordeal. It provides a much needed personal perspective alongside the official reports.

[Therese · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous account. I liked that it got straight into it. I had no idea of how long it took for help to arrive. Those poor people.
I was left wondering what happened in the years since to those people. I would have liked a postscript just letting the reader know how each recovered.

[Charlotte (Buried in Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember that day. I'd been divorced about 3 months and I was on a train into Liverpool Street with a work colleague, as we had a meeting to go to. Before we reached the station the train came to a stop, we were told that the train might have to go back to the previous station. But then we were told that the train would complete it's journey at Liverpool Street, but once the doors opened we had to leave the station immediately.

It was strange leaving the empty station. We then walked to another tube station, to find that it was closed. It was when we stopped at a Starbucks and saw the news coverage that we understood something terrible had happened.

The main thing I remembered was the complete lack of traffic, no buses, no cars. After a long walk we reached our destination and managed to contact our office. We were told to either find a hotel and stay in London for the night, or find anyway to get back home (over an hour on a mainline train). We managed to get home by sharing a taxi with someone who needed to get to Stansted airport - with armed police patrolling the airport.

This wasn't an easy book to read. Several times I had to put it down as the descriptions of the terrible injuries sustained were all to vivid. The thought that people could intentionally inflict that kind of suffering on fellow human beings staggers me. By showing people at their worst, it also showed them at their best. The people that struggled to save lives, to keep victims company, to keep them awake. The frustration they felt at waiting for medical assistance, the time it took to reach them.

I must admit I did find the narrative confusing at times. The same scene was retold from several different viewpoints in many cases. So it became a little bit confusing to keep track of events.

But this is very difficult subject matter sensitively handled by a journalist who experienced the bombings first hand.

The crime and it's perpetrators is given relatively little space. This is a book about the impact and aftermath of the bombings, which in the circumstances, is fitting. These were people just trying to get to work, strangers who found themselves in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Londoner, this was a harrowing book to read. I appreciate the honesty and the format because it makes it just a little easier. The human face of the attacks is evident in this book and with every chapter I read I was reminded of just why London continues to survive.

[Steve Parcell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly horrifying account of 7/7. The utter despair and shock created by this murdering scum is horrifying.

Yet the book is uplifting. The terrorists intended to break our spirit and create panic. However the British spirit and that shown by visitors to our great country makes me proud. How people who were badly injured still helped those who were very seriously hurt is amazing and awe inspiring.

A fascinating read although I warn you it does bring tears to your eyes.