World Trade Center: The Giants Who Defied the Skies

On September 11, 2001 in front of the incredulous eyes of the world, the Twin Towers of New York collapsed burying thousands of innocent people below the rubble as well as the sense of civilized life in a great city. That day, the unimaginable became reality.

The World Trade Center, designed and built as a dream, seemed an engineering risk but soon became the heart of a business, commercial and financial center without comparison. With a height of roughly 1,360 feet, the Twin Towers were the most visible symbol of the World Trade Center; they skimmed the sky like modern Gothic cathedrals, the shining image of New York's pride and creative energy.

This volume commemorates that extraordinary work of engineering, not just with spectacular photographs that made it an unmistakable icon of power and wealth, but also through the illustrated history of its short but radiant existence, and with an entire chapter dedicated to an account of its tragic epilogue.

WORLD TRADE CENTER is also an emotional and regretful tribute to one of the most famous modern monuments in the world that was a symbol of peace and progress for twenty five years.

Adult/High School-Mirroring the shape of the infamous towers, this book is a foot and a quarter long and eight inches across. The golden-hued photos on the front and back covers bind together a stunning pictorial history of the World Trade Center before, during, and after its construction, and the ever after of its destruction, with a mixture of diagrams and captioned photos-aged, angular, aerial, active. Some photographs fold out to poster-size. All of the graphics, whether in color or black and white or those that look monotone from the September 11 fallout, are telling and poignant. Along with the author's commentary, they serve as a eulogy to the Twin Towers and the indomitable spirit of the New York citizenry.
Karen Sokol, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.