All Available Boats: The Evacuation of Manhattan Island on September 11, 2Oo1

by Mike Magee (editor)

The astonishing photographs and stories in this book document a little-known side of New York's heroic response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001: the maritime rescue effort. Ferries, tugboats, private vessels, and others joined together to evacuate an estimated 300,000 people from lower Manhattan. In conjunction with a landmark exhibit of the same name at the South Street Seaport Museum, "All Available Boats" tells the story of this historic day through the voices of some of its heroes.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, New York

140 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

About the author

Michael Magee was a British journalist. He is credited with introducing a tabloid-style approach to the coverage of technology news. In 2009 the Daily Telegraph placed Magee 35 in its list of Top 50 most influential Britons in technology.

Reviews

[Ruth York]

A book of individual stories from both boat operators and passengers during the boat lift of Manhattan on September 11, 2001. Amazing stories of courage, terror and hope as well. The book contains amazing photographs from that day as well.

[Kathy Piselli]

Accounts of the Dunkirk-like extraction of people by sea contain astonishing, even unbelievable details. Someone who found a working pay phone. Someone herded on a boat when he lived nearby and was not even trying to evacuate. The three Arab-looking passengers made to open their backpacks (containing only books). A guy using the copy machine on the 82nd floor who made it safely out with his sunglasses, cell phone, and brief case. The accounts are so random, just like people's lives are, and convey the terror of watching everything happen in realtime, while simultaneously not knowing what's going on at all. Of so many amazing photographs, my favorite is one of Carolina Salguero's showing the dark smoky booms of clouds from the broken towers pouring toward Brooklyn, with one small uplit boat in the foreground, heading to the rescue.