Sonderbooks Book Review of Among the Heroes

Reviewed September 18, 2002.
HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. 288 pages.

This book arrived at the Library on September 10th. It struck me as especially appropriate reading for the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. My idea would have been a good one—If my husband had not been in Paris at the American Ambassador’s Residence, performing with the USAFE Band. There was only one married couple on Flight 93, so the book is full of stories of sad goodbyes.

Fortunately, my own husband made it safely home. This book did make fine reading in honor of those who gave their lives to keep the terrorists from any further victory.

The story is well-told and inspiring, and makes gripping reading. I do believe that passengers on the other three flights would have acted as heroically if they had the information that the passengers of Flight 93 had. The flight began with a 40 minute delay, and that made all the difference in the world, as passengers were able to talk to loved ones on the ground and learned about the other attacks. They quickly realized that cooperating with the hijackers was not a good option. They decided to fight back, and they did it, and foiled the plans of at least that set of terrorists.

A lot of books have been written about September 11th. This one is a story that deserves to be told. Because only 40 people were involved, this book is able to tell more details about each of their lives. It tells about the remarkable qualities of the group of people that ended up on that plane and gave their lives to save others.

One thing I like about this story is that it confirms my belief that terrorists will never ever again get away with using a commercial airplane as a missile. Passengers will not put up with it. If they want to attack America again, they will have to think of something else.

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

****Among the Heroes*

United Flight 93 & the Passengers & Crew Who Fought Back

by Jere Longman