A disquieting retelling of 9/11 by one survivor with a surprising twist.
The story of the startling disclosure of a 9/11 survivor who wasn’t actually there.
Fisher (Narrative Journalism/Rutgers Univ.; After the Fire, 2008, etc.) and filmmaker Guglielmo team up to bring readers a page-turning account of Tania Head, a survivor of the World Trade Center attacks. Vivid details place readers at the scene of 9/11 during and after the attacks, which may be painful reading for some readers. Injured when one of the planes struck the 78th-floor sky lobby of the South Tower, Head not only survived this near-death experience but also bore the tragedy of losing her new husband in the collapse of the North Tower. She rose to acclaim in the years after 9/11 by starting the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, where guilt-laden men and women could openly voice their distress about the events of that day. Head also helped lead the campaign to save the Survivor Stairway, “thirty-seven steps that had once connected the plaza outside the towers to the street below,” which was used by hundreds fleeing the buildings on 9/11. However, as the narrative progresses, readers begin to see small discrepancies in Head’s story, along with her terrible mood swings and violent physical reactions to reliving that fateful day. Under extreme pressure to conduct an interview with the New York Times in 2007, Head broke down, and her elaborate and fake story fully emerged. She soon disappeared. Members of the Survivors’ Network were left to wonder why someone would go to such lengths to gain notoriety, especially when it involved so many who had survived real damage on that day.
A disquieting retelling of 9/11 by one survivor with a surprising twist.Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4516-5208-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
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"When others at Harvard spoke of their experiences at Hagia Sophia and the Prado, I reminisced about the wondrous ants I examined in Geneva and Paris,'' remarks the eminent Harvard entomologist in his stylish autobiography. Now 66, Wilson (Biophilia, 1984, etc.) recounts the life of a born observer and synthesizer. As a boy he roamed the woods and creeks of Florida and Alabama collecting bugs; he went on to become the world's leading authority on ants and insect societies. He also pioneered the study of chemical communication among insects and, of course, effected the marriage of population biology and evolutionary biology that led to the still controversial field of sociobiology. Wilson deals fairly with the debate, as well as with the earlier "molecular wars" that pitted Wilson and his fellow naturalists against Jim Watson and the new breed of molecular biologists. He provides telling sketches of the principals, confesses to some naïveté on his own part, but generally adopts a more-in-sorrow-than-anger stance. These chapters, along with his descriptions of mentors and collaborators over the years, are valuable contributions to the sociology of the rapidly changing science of biology. Wilson still thinks the time will come for a theory of human behavior based on the co-evolution of genes and culture. He also argues for his "biophilia" hypothesis—the idea that human beings have an inborn affinity for other forms of life. Not surprisingly, he has become an ardent spokesman for biodiversity, deploring the daily loss of species and natural terrain. Next time around, he says, he'll opt for being a microbial ecologist: "Ten billion bacteria live in a gram of ordinary soil...they represent thousands of species, almost none of which are known to science." To which the reader can only respond: Go to it, and tell us all about in another grand book. (Natural Science Book Club dual main selection; first printing of 40,000)
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NonePub Date: Oct. 17, 1994
ISBN: 1-55963-288-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Island Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
IN THE NEWS
Bickley, a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, offers an exasperated overview of the controversial Rodman's life, concentrating on the power forward's recent career and off-court hijinks. It's a brisk narrative, enlivened by quotes (many of them tackily highlighted in large type) from Rodman's colleagues and ertswhile friends. The problem is that those fascinated by Rodman's perpetual jousting with Chicago Bulls management, the cross- dressing, the very public affair with Madonna, and the on-court antics (head-butting an official, kicking a photographer) are likely to remain unswayed by Bickley's contention that Rodman, far from being out of control, has been deftly manipulating the media and fans, while those likely to agree with him would find this expose unnecessary.
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 1997
ISBN: 0-312-17119-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
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