Nine Months at Ground Zero: The Story of the Brotherhood of Workers Who Took on a Job Like No Other

by Glenn Stout, Charles Vitchers, Robert Gray

A powerful account of the lesser-known heroes of 9/11—the construction workers who toiled outside the spotlight cleaning up the stunning destruction at Ground Zero, and recovering the bodies of the victims who perished there. With color photographs by Joel Meyerowitz.Hours after two airplanes hit the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, Charlie Vitchers, a construction superintendent, and Bobby Gray, a crane operator, headed downtown. They knew their skills would be crucial amid the chaos and destruction after the towers fell. What they could not imagine—and what they would soon discover—was the enormity of the task at Ground Zero. Four hundred million pounds of steel; 600,000 square feet of broken glass; and 2,700 vertical feet of building had been reduced to a pile of burning debris covering sixteen acres. Charlie, Bobby, and hundreds of other construction workers, many of whom had helped to build the Twin Towers, were the only ones qualified to safely handle the devastation. Everyone working the site faced the looming danger of the collapse of the slurry wall protecting lower Manhattan from the waters of the Hudson River, the complexity of shifting tons of steel without losing additional lives, and the day-to-day challenge and emotional strain of recovering victims. Charlie Vitchers became the go-to guy for the hundreds of people and numerous agencies laboring to clean up Ground Zero. What he and Bobby Gray make dramatically evident is how the job of dismantling the remaining ruins and restoring order to the site was far more complex and dangerous than constructing the tallest buildings in the world. With stunning full-color photographs donated by Joel Meyerowitz—a celebrated and award-winning artist and the only non-newsroom photographer allowed access to the site—and first-person oral accounts of the tragedy from the morning of the attack to the Last Column ceremony, Nine Months at Ground Zero is a harrowing but ultimately redemptive story of forthright and heroic service.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Author of the Jazz Age true crime yarn Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America's Original Gangster Couple (2021), NY Times bestseller The Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots (2018) The Selling of the Babe (2016), Fenway 1912 (2012) and Young Woman the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World (2009) currently set up and in development as a major motion picture for Disney +. (ETA 2021). Since becoming a full-time writer in 1993, Glenn Stout has written, ghostwritten or edited 100 books representing sales in excess of two million copies. Stout is also author of The Cubs, The Dodgers, Nine Months at Ground Zero, Yankees Century, Red Sox Century, and has served as Series Editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception. Glenn also consults on a variety of writing projects (books, proposals, Longform narratives). He has won both the Seymour Medal and Ritter Award (twice) by the Society for American Baseball Research, and Yes Se Can! made the 2012 Amelia Bloom list for feminist content. He lives in Vermont.

Reviews

[J L's Bibliomania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nine Months at Ground Zero is a collection of interleaved interviews with and reminisces from the construction workers who demolished the World Trade Center complex after the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001. The story revolves around General Foreman Charlie Vitchers and Crane Operator Robert Gray, who are given co-author credit.

The individual vignettes were interesting and presented a side of the story that doesn't get a lot of notice. I think I understand why the book was organized in chronological order rather than telling one person's story from start to finish. But especially at the beginning, while I was still learning who the key folks were, I found the jumping around between narrators hard to follow .

[Megan Vadala · Rating 5 out of 5]

With all of the 9/11 documentaries and news coverage I’ve seen, I’ve always been curious about the recovery and cleanup efforts at ground zero. I don’t know much about construction or trade work but this book explained much of the process in an easy, understandable way. I learned a lot about the recovery efforts, how the site was divided into quadrants, the bureaucracy behind decisions, and most interestingly, that there was no furniture or carpet recovered from the twin towers. I probably reread that section a few times. This book did a great job covering such a sensitive topic while also explaining the realities of such an intense moment in time.

[Susan Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be a bit prejudiced - this book was written by a friend that I went to high school with. It tells the story of the construction workers, police and firemen that had to clean up the wreckage of the World Trade center towers. It is at turns solemn, joyful, angry, tearful, fascinating and aggravating. It is a great read.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the perspective that this book was written. So much of 9/11 focuses on "that day". The moment the planes hit, the affects, the sensational stories,passengers aboard the plane....those types of sentiments. This book however focuses on the recovery of remains at ground zero. It took almost 9 months to clear the debri away, and I had no idea what life what like for the individuals working 12 hour days for months on end. The construction workers, firefighters, and police officers did incredible work. Logistically, the pit was a nightmare, and so dangerous to work on. The sole focus and purpose was to recover human remains, and they treated the entire project with such respect and reverence. Incredible work.

[Kyle Wendy Skultety (gimmethatbook.com) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Behind the scenes story told by construction workers and engineers, on what really happened during the cleanup of 9/11. Surprisingly detailed, especially when reading about the in-fighting between the different government entities and cops/firemen VS construction workers/civilians.
Most disturbing when reading about the flags VS bags. No creepy descriptions of injuries, the authors are very respectful of the dead. Excellent add to any 9/11 library shelf.

[stephanie]

i can't stay away from this shit. at least i'm librarying it these days, instead of buying them.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried while reading this. What a job these people had. I was haunted for months afterwards...I am sure they're faring far worse.

[Sage Sharpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. It's a simple enough read, but wrenching in it's simplicity.