"An eighteen-year old girl sets out to meet a young man whom she had never met before and is swept away by a series of events that transformed her life in a way she could have never imagined."--Back cover.

Like David McCullough's "The Great Bridge, City in the Sky" is a riveting story of New York City itself, of architectural daring, human frailty, and a lost American icon.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “This is history at its most immediate and moving…A marvelous and memorable book.” —Jon Meacham “Remarkable…A priceless civic gift…On page after page, a reader will encounter words that startle, or make him angry, or heartbroken.” —The Wall Street Journal “Visceral...I repeatedly cried…This book captures the emotions and unspooling horror of the day.” —NPR “Had me turning each page with my heart in my throat…There’s been a lot written about 9/11, but nothing like this. I urge you to read it.” —Katie Couric The first comprehensive oral history of September 11, 2001—a panoramic narrative woven from the voices of Americans on the front lines of an unprecedented national trauma. Over the past eighteen years, monumental literature has been published about 9/11, from Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower, which traced the rise of al-Qaeda, to The 9/11 Commission Report, the government’s definitive factual retrospective of the attacks. But one perspective has been missing up to this point—a 360-degree account of the day told through the voices of the people who experienced it. Now, in The Only Plane in the Sky, award-winning journalist and bestselling historian Garrett Graff tells the story of the day as it was lived—in the words of those who lived it. Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, recently declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly five hundred government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members, Graff paints the most vivid and human portrait of the September 11 attacks yet. Beginning in the predawn hours of airports in the Northeast, we meet the ticket agents who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights, and the flight attendants inside the hijacked planes. In New York City, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable horror at the Twin Towers. From a secret bunker underneath the White House, officials watch for incoming planes on radar. Aboard the small number of unarmed fighter jets in the air, pilots make a pact to fly into a hijacked airliner if necessary to bring it down. In the skies above Pennsylvania, civilians aboard United Flight 93 make the ultimate sacrifice in their place. Then, as the day moves forward and flights are grounded nationwide, Air Force One circles the country alone, its passengers isolated and afraid. More than simply a collection of eyewitness testimonies, The Only Plane in the Sky is the historic narrative of how ordinary people grappled with extraordinary events in real time: the father and son working in the North Tower, caught on different ends of the impact zone; the firefighter searching for his wife who works at the World Trade Center; the operator of in-flight telephone calls who promises to share a passenger’s last words with his family; the beloved FDNY chaplain who bravely performs last rites for the dying, losing his own life when the Towers collapse; and the generals at the Pentagon who break down and weep when they are barred from rushing into the burning building to try to rescue their colleagues. At once a powerful tribute to the courage of everyday Americans and an essential addition to the literature of 9/11, The Only Plane in the Sky weaves together the unforgettable personal experiences of the men and women who found themselves caught at the center of an unprecedented human drama. The result is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives.

"A towering epic to rank with Douglas Preston's Blasphemy and Michael Crichton's Prey... Pandemic drought, skyrocketing oil prices, dwindling energy supplies and wars of water scarcity threaten the planet. Only four people can prevent global chaos. Gary Morgan--a brilliant, renegade scientist is pilloried by the scientific community for his belief in a space elevator: a pillar to the sky, which he believes will make space flight fast, simple and affordable. Eva Morgan--a brilliant and beautiful scientist of Ukrainian descent, she has had a lifelong obsession to build a pillar to the sky, a vertiginous tower which would mine the power of the sun and supply humanity with cheap, limitless energy forever. Gunther Rothenberg--the ancient but revered rocket-scientist who labored at Peenemunda with von Braun to create the first rockets and continued on to build those of today. A legend, he has mentored Gary and Natalia for two decades, nurturing and encouraging their transcendent vision. Franklin Smith--the eccentric Silicon Valley billionaire who will champion their cause, wage war with Congress and government bureaucracy and most important, finance their herculean undertaking. This journey to the stars will not be easy--a tumultuous struggle filled with violence and heroism, love and death, spellbinding beauty and heartbreaking betrayal. The stakes could not be higher. Humanity's salvation will hang in the balance"--

The Nation's Largest Retailer wanted the largest headquarters in the nation, and they got it -- in spades. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the 110-story, anodized aluminum-clad Sears Tower occupies three acres in the West Loop. The bundled-tube construction allowed for more windows and more corner offices per square foot. The total area within the Tower is 4.4 million square feet; the Sky Deck on the 103rd floor offers tremendous views and welcomes more than 1 million visitors yearly. When SOM realized that their design was only ten stories short of what was supposed to be the record-breaking height of the World Trade Center then under construction (1,368 feet), they broke the record, coming in at 1,454 feet. The move of Sears and Roebuck employees into the Tower was the biggest corporate move in American history. In the late 1980s Sears and Roebuck left the building, but it continues to thrive, a timeless monument to American ingenuity.

This sprawling, episodic novel by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author is a “tour de force sci-fi outing . . . a wonderful read” (Fantasy Literature). 2077. With Earth reeling from centuries of unregulated population growth and environmental decimation, a new religion has taken root. The Vorsters worship science and the material world over all else, searching for the promise of immortality through new technology and the promise of heaven among the physical stars. But on Venus, a renegade sect has found its home. The Harmonists find the answers to life’s eternal questions in their own spirituality and in their own bodies, which have undergone genetic changes on Venus, giving them paranormal abilities. With humanity’s future at stake, religion becomes a political business, and both groups will have to face their motivations and manipulations when a shocking discovery threatens the balance of power in the universe. “The absorbing story of an overpopulated and economically depressed world clinging to the outcome of a religious schism for its salvation.” —sff180

Author Patrick Bentley challenges his readers to labor for the meat that will never perish in his new book The Birth of a Song. Many years of trials in Patricks life has created some extraordinary testimonies that include giving birth to hundreds of new songs to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Included in these beautifully written pages, Bentley unveils many hidden mysteries, such as how to count the mark of the beast (Revelation 13: 18) and why the United States of America is in the heart of Jer USA lem. The Birth of a Song is a must read for all believers in Christ Jesus. In these spiritually inspirational lyrics, you can feel the love of the lord through your very soul

The final book in Katharine McGee's epic New York Times bestselling Thousandth Floor series When you have everything, you have everything to lose. Welcome back to New York, 2119. A skyscraper city, fueled by impossible dreams. LEDA just wants to move on from what happened in Dubai. Until a new investigation forces her to seek help—from the person she’s spent all year trying to forget. RYLIN is back in her old life, reunited with an old flame. But when she starts seeing Cord again, she finds herself torn: between two worlds, and two very different boys. CALLIOPE feels trapped, playing a long con that costs more than she bargained for. What happens when all her lies catch up with her? WATT is still desperately in love with Leda. He’ll do anything to win her back—even dig up secrets that are better left buried. And now that AVERY is home from England—with a new boyfriend, Max—her life seems more picture-perfect than ever. So why does she feel like she would rather be anything but perfect? Perfect for fans of Kiera Cass and Anna Godbersen, and with all the drama, romance, and hidden secrets from The Thousandth Floor and The Dazzling Heights, this explosive finale will not disappoint. “We couldn’t put this one down.” —The Skimm “The luxe lives of Manhattan’s elite are even more extraordinary in Katharine McGee’s futuristic, highly addictive page-turner. The irresistible cast of characters lures you into the elevator for an unexpected ride, packed with wittily prescient high-tech details and good old-fashioned romance and drama. The Thousandth Floor will give you vertigo and leave you eager for more.” —Cecily von Ziegesar, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gossip Girl