[.uk] City in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center (ISBN 0805074287)

The best of the bunch:
As a child, I watched the World Trade Center go up. As an adult, I had been through the Center thousands of times and ate many a lunch in the plaza between the two beautiful towers. Although I worked only three blocks north of the WTC, I was nowhere near them on 9/11, and thank God for that. I don't think I could have been able to bear witnessing their destruction. To fill the void, I began reading everything about the World Trade Center that I could. Eric Darton's book, "Divided We Stand", published before 9/11, was okay but I found the second-person narration and its choppy presentation too distracting. Several other books were published after the devestation, but they all seemed like rush jobs trying to cash in on the disaster. However, "City in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center" by James Glanz and Eric Lipton is by far the best of the bunch. Meticulously researched without being too scholarly, the authors present a biography of the center that was filled with controversy, behind-closed-doors intrigues, political wrestling and, ultimately, the construction and engineering marvels that allowed the towers to rise. The pacing is remarkably swift but nothing is glossed over. The final quarter of the book is about 9/11 and afterward. I began this section with dread and was tempted not to read it at all. Fortunately, Glanz and Lipton handled it with incredible sensitivity. "City in the Sky", like the towers themselves, is a remarkable collaboration: the narrative is seamless--like Burrows and Wallace's "Gotham". And, ultimately, this book is a lively and poignant tribute to the World Trade Center they must have loved. Rocco Dormarunno, author of "The Five Points"

The saga of the WTC from its initial conception in 1939:
It is all right here. From the germ of the idea at the 1939 New York World's Fair to the design and planning of a project unlike any other in the history of mankind to the cataclysmic events of September 11, 2001. New York Times reporters James Glanz and Eric Lipton have pieced together the complete history that needed to be told. "City In The Sky" is the remarkable story of how the World Trade Center came to be. It is a riveting tale from start to finish. Learn about those who first envisioned this project way back in the late 1940's and of the considerable role politics would play in this saga over the ensuing decades. You will be introduced to Lawrence A. Wien, owner of the Empire State Building, who fought this project tooth and nail. And you'll meet one Oscar Nadel, owner of a small appliance business that would be displaced by the World Trade Center. Put yourself in his shoes and in the shoes of hundreds of other small business people who were to be evicted in the wake of this massive project. Glanz and Lipton also devote a considerable amount of time to the struggle between the City of New York and the New York and New Jersey Port Authority for control of this enormous project. You will learn why the WTC was located where it was and about all of the people who made this concept a reality from the visionary David Rockerfeller to the unconventional architect Minoru Yamasaki to powerful Port Authority chairman Austin Tobin. And of course, you will read once again of the tragic events of 9/11 and see how decisions made decades earlier may have helped decide who would live and who would die on that fateful day. Were corners cut during construction? Was the fireproofing used adequate? And were the consequences of an airliner crashing into the Twin Towers ever seriously considered? So many questions. This is an important book that helps you to unravel some of the complex issues here. Recommended.

An excellent history of the WTC....:
This book is an excellent history of the World Trade Center towers, from their conception in the early 1960's to their eventual destruction on 9/11/2001. This book avoids many of the political biases generally associated with this subject, and instead simply tells the story. Surprsingly, the book is a quick read, much like a novel. Highly recommended!

Wait for the Paperback:
"City in the Sky" is a well- researched, well -documented account of the site acquisition, construction, and eventual collapse of the New York World Trade Center. (There are other WTCs). It is immediately obvious that the authors have conducted extensive interviews and research. Full disclosure: This reviewer worked at the facility for 24 years for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Most of the anecdotes retold in CIS are just as I originally heard them years ago. (With some exceptions: On Austin Tobin's first trip on the newly acquired Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, the sleeping drunk supposedly woke up long enough to bid the Executive Director "good evening" before passing out again. Also, some of the PA titles are inaccurate, though not wrong. There was one obvious leg-pull about a "mailroom worker".) CIS in really 3 stories in one: The first is the strongest: That tale encompasses the struggle to condemn the surrounding real estate, overcome local opposition and secure Governmental cooperation for the project. Those who enjoyed such works as Robert Caro's "The Power Broker" will be in their element here. The second is concerned with the actual construction of the 2 towers and satellite buildings. The authors manage to include just enough technical details to tell the story without allowing this section of CIS to become too technical. The final part deals with that tragic day we now call 9/11. This reviewer does not wish to minimize that awful event but this tale has been told better, or as well, elsewhere. One assumes its' inclusion was virtually mandatory in a 400+ page work on the Trade Center but it emerges, perhaps strangely, as the weakest section of CIS. This reviewer hopes he was mistaken when he read that some of the victims who jumped to their deaths were in fact pushed by co-workers needing window space. A major difficulty with the text is that the authors appear too inclined to blame the Port Authority for inadequate fireproofing of the towers. This may-or may NOT! -be so but this serious charge is not substantiated here. Furthermore the PA executive most of the allegations are heaped upon has been dead for some 20 years and is hardly in a position to defend himself. CIS' strength is the relating of the struggles to build the Towers in the light of another era. Those were the days of Radio Row, a vastly different New York City, the maximum power of the Rockefeller Family and what those a bit older that this reviewer fondly remember as the "good old days" at Mother PONYA. CIS is entirely worthwhile but far from urgent reading. Amazoners may wish to wait for the more moderate prices of a paperback edition. That event would warrant a 4th star.

Satisfies a Lot Of Questions:
I enjoyed this book, mostly because I had many, many questions about the politics and the economics of the WTC. If that's your purpose in picking this book, you'll do fine. However, "The Rise and Fall" certainly implies a lot of coverage of the collapse of the towers. This, while covered, is not dealt with in as thorough a manner as in many other documentaries. So, as with many things, your pleasure with the book is a function of your expectations. I liked it a lot, but, from what other reviewers say below, I can understand why others feel much less enthusiastic.