
The Only Plane in the Sky
The Oral History of 9/11
Garrett M. Graff(Author)
Monoray (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 13. August 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
512 pages
978-1-80096-385-6 (ISBN)
Description
"Incredibly evocative and compelling." - The Washington Post
"The most moving and chilling oral history you will read." - The Times
"Astonishing. I read it in one sitting & was utterly gripped from start to finish." - Piers Morgan
** Updated 25th Anniversary edition with additional content **
The Only Plane in the Sky is the first comprehensive oral history of 9/11, deftly woven and told in the voices of ordinary people grappling with extraordinary events.
It begins predawn, where we meet airport staff who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights. From a secret bunker beneath the White House, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice watch for incoming planes on radar. At the Pentagon, officials feel a violent tremor as they come under attack.
We hear the stories of the father and son working on separate floors in the North Tower; the firefighter who rushes there to search for his wife; the phone operator who keeps her promise to share a passenger's last words with his family; the chaplain who stays on the scene to perform last rites, losing his own life when the Twin Towers collapse. In New York, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable chaos. At the Pentagon generals break down and weep when they are barred from rushing into the burning building to try and rescue their colleagues.
Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, declassified documents and interviews from nearly five hundred people, award-winning historian Garrett Graff skilfully tells the story of the day that changed all of our lives - as it was lived.
The Only Plane in the Sky is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives, 25 years ago.
"The most moving and chilling oral history you will read." - The Times
"Astonishing. I read it in one sitting & was utterly gripped from start to finish." - Piers Morgan
** Updated 25th Anniversary edition with additional content **
The Only Plane in the Sky is the first comprehensive oral history of 9/11, deftly woven and told in the voices of ordinary people grappling with extraordinary events.
It begins predawn, where we meet airport staff who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights. From a secret bunker beneath the White House, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice watch for incoming planes on radar. At the Pentagon, officials feel a violent tremor as they come under attack.
We hear the stories of the father and son working on separate floors in the North Tower; the firefighter who rushes there to search for his wife; the phone operator who keeps her promise to share a passenger's last words with his family; the chaplain who stays on the scene to perform last rites, losing his own life when the Twin Towers collapse. In New York, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable chaos. At the Pentagon generals break down and weep when they are barred from rushing into the burning building to try and rescue their colleagues.
Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, declassified documents and interviews from nearly five hundred people, award-winning historian Garrett Graff skilfully tells the story of the day that changed all of our lives - as it was lived.
The Only Plane in the Sky is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives, 25 years ago.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Octopus Publishing Group
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
b/w photos throughout + 32pp colour plates
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 126 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80096-385-6 (9781800963856)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff has spent nearly two decades covering politics, technology, and national security, and is now recognized as one of America's most prolific and wide-ranging journalists and historians. He is the author of a half-dozen award-winning and bestselling books.