Portraits: 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from the New York Times

The bios of approximately 1,900 of those lost on 9-11. Although relatively short, they are informally written and each one conveys an essence of each life lost. Special people - in the ways that each of us are special - in both ordinary and extraordinary ways. Their hobbies, their loves, their pursuits - capsulized, along with a photo. Although it is sometimes emotionally difficult to read through these, and to realize that in a period spanning about 90 minutes, every single life was lost. The wives, partners, parents, children, friends often contributed a quote or two. People from all walks of life are profiled, and if you also have a chance to view the documentary that was filmed in connection with this book, it drives home the humanity of this disaster all the more intensely. Nothing will ever be the same after 9-11. The blood, sweat and tears of those gone, and of those who mourn their loss must be channeled into a fitting memorial. Regardless of what physical monument will be built at the site, the emotional monument we carry in our hearts can be important in helping heal the pain. Not easily, and not without further tears, but with determination and vigilance. We must maintain the very freedoms that allowed the victims to be who they were - brokers, janitors, rich, poor, people of every religion and no religion. People who extolled the liberties of America by just being able to do their jobs, and pursue their goal of individual happiness. The sorrow and heartache that a handful of terrorists caused can never be fully comprehended - the scope is just so vast. But, we must not turn away. We must face the sorrow and find a way to go on. Buy this book. Sit and read it - a few bios or a few pages at a time. Get to know some of those who fell victim to the unthinkable. Get to know some of our fellow Americans.

I try to get through a page a day. We owe it to the Lost to remember them and the NY Times has done a great job to transform numbers to faces and lives.

I read many of these portraits when they appeared originally in the New York Times. Reading them became a daily habit almost a meditation for me. I would read the stories and then keep these people in my heart all day long. Sometimes I will hear a name of someone and remember having read about them. This book is overwhelming to me. SO many lives interupted. The scope of the loss of life that day is dramatically illustrated just by the shear size of this book. But I get the same feeling reading the portraits again as I did when they were originally published. We lost some really extraordinary people that day.

In response to the reader below who was upset that the Times had not included all of the victims in its book, I think it might be helpful to read what the NY Times itself wrote, on December 31, 2001, about its "final daily edition" of the "Portraits" series: "Through today's issue, The Times has published more than 1,800 sketches. The official count of those dead and missing in the trade center attacks stands at 2,937. Reporters have contacted, or tried to contact, relatives or friends of nearly every victim the paper was able to locate. Some have declined to give interviews; others said they were not ready to talk. (As more names become known and more families agree to interviews, the editors intend to publish additional profile pages from time to time.)" -- NY TimesWith this in mind, I think that the Times has done a most admirable job, both in publishing the daily Portraits, and now in collecting so many of them into a single volume. The Times' book promises, and delivers, portraits of victims of the attacks; that it is not 100% inclusive is, to my way of thinking, neither a black mark for the Times, nor a detraction from the book itself. A future volume may be more inclusive, but even if this is the final version, we will still be moved by what we have here. While they were being published, I was able to read some, but not all, of the brief bios presented in the "Portraits of Grief" series; they never failed to move me. I think that having a volume such as this available to all is a wonderful tribute both to the victims of the attacks, as well as to the brighter side of the human spirit.

This is an excellent tribute. Features short bio & photo of almost 2000 of those lost in the 9/11 tragedy. A nice look into the lives of these people. Not all are included in this book, but hopefully the New York Times will publish a second volume. Highly recommended.