The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

Garrett M. Graff’s work of nonfiction takes the form of an oral history. Aside from contextualizing statements, which establish concrete details such as locations and times (italicized to distinguish them from the oral anecdotes), the text is entirely composed of transcribed comments from those who witnessed or were involved in the events of 9/11. This method of historical record is especially valuable in documenting the lived experiences of an event, producing a well-rounded understanding of what an event looked, sounded, and felt like from numerous points of view. Traditional historical records, which focus on the facts of what occurred and who was involved, might fail to capture the sensory and emotional experience of an event. Conversely, Graff’s far-reaching account immerses readers in the events through raw, tragic, and sometimes graphic descriptions. For example, rather than simply stating that Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the WTC at 8:46 am, the text conveys people’s experiences of it, describing how the plane sounded as it flew over Manhattan, how various business workers within the tower felt as they saw and heard the plane approaching, and what the initial impact felt like on various floors and to individuals who were in elevators at the time of impact.