Above Hallowed Ground: A Photographic Record of September 11, 2001

“THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE TWENTY THREE MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT WHO SACRIFIED THEIR LIVES ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. SO THAT OTHERS MIGHT LIVE: AND TO THEIR FAMILIES WHO MUST BEAR THEIR LOSS.Sergeant John G. Coughlin, Sergeant Michael S. Curtin, Police Officer John D’Allara, Police Officer Vincent M. Dominguez, Police Officer Stephen P. Driscoll, Police Office Mark J. Ellis, Police Office Robert Fazio, Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis, Police Officer Ronald P. Kloepfer, Police Officer Thomas M. Langone, Police Officer James P. Leahy, Police Officer Brian G. McDonnel, Police Officer John W. Perry, Police Officer Glen K. Pettit, Detective Claude D. Richards, Sergeant Timothy A. Roy, Police Officer Moira A. Smith, Police Officer Ramon Suarez, Police Officer Paul Talty, Police Officer Santos Valentin, Detective Joseph V. Vigiano, Police Officer Walter E. WeaverTHE PHOTOGRAPHERSDetective Michael O’Brian, Detective David Fitzpatrick, Lieutenant Anthony Garvey, Detective Charles Parone, Detective William NcNulty, Senior Photographer Valerie Hodgson, Photographer Janice L. Sugarman, Photographer H. Keith Manis, Photographer Charles Wisniewski, Senior Photography Lance F. Karp, Photographer James Mercado, Administrative Manager Walter Taylor, Senior Photographer Douglas A. Campbell, Photographer Raymond Aponte, Photographer Wilhelm Figueroa"No one imagined this kind of attack. No one ever witnessed this kind of devastation. And no one ever captured the kind of images you’re about to see.""THE MOST HORRIFYING TWO HOURS IN AMERICAN HISTORY occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001. As people went to work, as children started school, as a beautiful late-summer day began, somewhere high above the Hudson River a hijacked airliner was descending on New York City. Unknown to the eight million people going about their business that morning, an insidious attack was unfolding unlike any other in history. At 8:47A.M., terrorists crashed the plane into the north tower of the World Trade Center and sent the city, the nation, and the world reeling in disbelief."We saw, all of us, or most of us likely saw the same images replayed countless amounts of time, over and over, day after day. Weeks. Months. The photos in this book have never been published, shared with the media, before this book. These were taken from vantage points that were simply not accessible to the average photographer.Detective Dave Fitzpatrick is one of the featured photographers, a man who was off-duty when he heard the report, immediately went to an NYPD airfield and managed to get some of the earliest shots of this devastating time. Their helicopter arrived right after the second plane hit, these photographs, and Fitzpatrick shot thousands of them that day, are the only aerial shots of the destruction, devastation as well as the early rescue attempts.Exhaustion, grief, disbelief, men and women trying not to think but just respond. Compassion, camaraderie, loss, helplessness. The rescue dogs, no longer finding survivors began to show signs of distress, the photographs taken during staging that was eventually needed to boost the dogs’ morale.It’s all heartbreaking, yes, of course.There are not a lot of words to add to the melancholy, nor should there need to be. There are really no words to explain what happened that day, to take the pain away from those affected the most. We all know where we were when we first heard the news, or the broken bits of almost-maybe news. I can remember even months standing in a friend’s office that overlooked it all, months later, how shell-shocked he still looked as he relayed, again, of watching the plane heading toward the tower, picking up his phone to call, to warn… anyone. But in that second, it was too late. These memories will always haunt us.Last August I read a book, “The Memory of Things”, which was a surprisingly beautifully written YA novel about that day. I recall much discussion followed about this being classified as “historical fiction” and that this generation of children growing up would likely not know anything about this day. Having been born after, or growing up after this day, they would have no memories of this day. I questioned if this was taught in school at some point. Every time now when an event like the Boston Marathon, or the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England occurs, I think of this day.Last night, after I had read this, I watched a days-old episode of Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show who said:“After tragic events like this, there’s nothing you can really say to approach the shock and the grief of the victims and their families. All we can add here, is that, following acts of senseless violence like this, it’s all the more important not to be controlled by fear, but instead to be reminded by the action of the people of Manchester who rushed to the aid of their friends and strangers alike. It is just more proof that evil cannot succeed as long as good people are willing to love each other. Let’s all try our best to do that.”

This book will blow your mind and break your heart. I could not look through this book without traveling back in time to 911. The tragedy of that day in New York City is unmistakable as you turn the pages. You think you knew how the day went down, but until you see this book, the grand nature of this horror is unknowable. Have a box of tissues with you, I cried crocodile tears while looking at this. My friend is and was a New York City cop flying a helicopter over the site all day long, some of the pictures from his copter are in the book, I don't know how he kept his composure and didn't burst from horror and shock. The book is a beautiful and sensitiveoverview of a very complicated and tragic time in our lives.

Excellent collection of finely done photographs documenting a day I hate to remember but must. Looking at the photos in this book is kind of like studying the dagger that seriously injured you under a microscope - the perspective is unique, and unequaled in detail and quality. These photos not only document the death of two beloved landmarks, but they convey the totality of the horror, as it encroached on the NYC environment of which they were the pinnacle - Lower Manhattan.An added incentive is that buying the book certainly must help the NYPD and other heroes of that day, God bless and keep them all!

Had seen a copy of this book on 9/11/18 when a Town employee brought it to the polls to share with anyone who wanted to look and remember. I decided I needed a copy of my own so I did not forget the horror & pain that changed our way of life forever that day.

My granddaughter turned 13Y and I gave her this book on the September 11th tragedy. She watched the annual events on TV and was fascinated by the horrible events that occurred. She is interested in history and this was a book she could keep forever. It shows heartbreaking events and also shows the courage and coming together of all Americans. It is a beautiful and tragic tribute of a truly awful time in our lives. I highly recommend "Above Hallowed Ground." We must never forget!

He is listed as an author..but his name and credits for photos are not.It seems the other photographers in the unit are listed in the beginning of the book.I purchased this because of the very memorable images attributed to him that were recently released in 2009 (and online) by the freedom of Information Act.Regardless these photos are heartbreaking as well.I hope he comes out with a book as well.

For those of us who experienced this day either close up or from afar, this book captures the horror, the power and the humanity of the response perfectly. While it was a day in infamy, it was a day never to be forgotten and perfectly captured in these photos. Five stars! i review it again every September 11th.

I've read several accounts of 9-ll, stories of loss and great courage. This book is unique for me because of the pictures. With photography done by police and other authorities, it gives a reality to the stories. A horrific day in our history, and yet showing the strength of our nation--this book is a valuable tool to reflect on.

I had expected more from this DVD. The shots are very good, but very similar in content. The book could have been improved by being shorter and with more variation in content. Better still (but now too late) it would have been better to collaborate with other publishers and incorporate these pics in a collaborative study.

9/11 will never be forgotten.

Loin du voyeurisme..... un constat accablant sur cette catastrophe du 11 septembre. Les photographies, de qualité, prises du sol et depuis les hélicoptères de la police montrent les débris, les secours à l'oeuvre, et les immenses dégats.Ce reportage permet de se rendre compte encore mieux de la dimension du désastre... à posséder, pour le souvenir d'une ville bléssée.

Dedicated work here.

book itsself was ok but I received 3 copies of the same book when I only ordered 1.1 copy I returned by post costing me £5.30p.