Saved at the Seawall

Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift

By: Jessica DuLong, Mitchell Zuckoff - foreword

Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso

Saved at the Seawall is the definitive history of the largest ever waterborne evacuation. Jessica DuLong reveals the dramatic story of how the New York Harbor maritime community heroically delivered stranded commuters, residents, and visitors out of harm's way. Even before the US Coast Guard called for "all available boats," tugs, ferries, dinner boats, and other vessels had sped to the rescue from points all across New York Harbor. In less than nine hours, captains and crews transported nearly half a million people from Manhattan.

Anchored in eyewitness accounts and written by a mariner who served at Ground Zero, Saved at the Seawall weaves together the personal stories of people rescued that day with those of the mariners who saved them. DuLong describes the inner workings of New York Harbor and reveals the collaborative power of its close-knit community. Her chronicle of those crucial hours, when hundreds of thousands of lives were at risk, highlights how resourcefulness and basic human goodness triumphed over turmoil on one of America's darkest days.

©2017 Jessica DuLong (P)2023 Tantor

An amazing story!

Highly recommended, This is the little known story of the tremendous actions by many people to bring thousands to safety in the midst of the terrible events on September 11. Beautifully told, a moving story!

This would make a very good movie for the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

Learning these stories, shared by people who experienced 9/11 in ways I did not imagine was riveting. I think this book would be an excellent movie to share these true experiences of 9/11 with the many people who still do not fathom how many good people stepped up that day to save so many.

A story that should have been told, but perhaps could’ve been told a bit better

This book had my attention around the beginning and regained it towards the end, but the middle sagged. It seemed like there was some filler, like stating facts that had already been stated more than once. However, this is certainly a story of heroism that did not get a fair share of attention in the early days after 9/11. It’s a story every American should know.

Narrator ruins any substance to this book

If I hadn't just finished Zuckoffs Fall and Rise, I wouldn't have disliked this book so much. Fall and Rise is so superior, this one just pales in comparison. There are a few interesting anecdotes related, but they are totally overwhelmed by the sugary breathless narrator who is awful to listen to. Awful!!!! I could not listen to her reading anything, much less a book on such a serious subject. Additionally, editing was lacking; how many times does one book, for example, have to explain what CFR stands for. There wasn't a single moment while listening to the much longer and more comprehensive Fall and Rise where I was distracted, confused, or uninterested, mainly because the writing and organization was so superior, but also because the narrator of that book was excellent and serious, unlike this narrator much more suited to playing a princess in a Disney production.