It’s Been 25 Years Since 9/11—These Are the 10 Most Powerful Stories About the Tragedy

Twenty-five years goes by in an instant. On Sept. 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked and pointed directly at the heart of the country, and life hasn’t been the same since. Though time can have a dulling effect, pushing those memories into a safe corner of one’s mind or lengthening the time between them, the awful visuals and lived experiences never go away.

It’s hard to believe, but a third of Americans were born after 9/11. But the effects of the attack—an enhanced surveillance state, increased airport security and military incursions around the world—are felt by everyone. Universal, too, are the stories of heroism, friendship and sacrifice that will forever mark that sad day.

With the 25th anniversary of 9/11 upon us, we put together a list of some of the most important journalism that took us through the day as it happened or examined it from the perspective of time. Ahead, we have 10 remarkable stories about Sept. 11, 2001. Some have been celebrated for decades; others you may never have read.

Read on to look back at the tragedy and perhaps find hope in some of the stories.

Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more news, real stories, travel, tech and trending topics all week long.

Esquire’s “The Falling Man” (2003)

On Sept. 12, 2001, the Associated Press published a photograph of an unknown man falling headfirst from the north tower of the World Trade Center. In 2003, Esquire journalist Tom Junod set out to determine who the man was by reviewing the entire series of 12 photographs taken by AP photographer Richard Drew. The result explores collective grief and trauma and has become one of the defining pieces of journalism from the post–9/11 era.

The New York Times’s “102 Minutes” (2002)

The title of this piece refers to the amount of time that elapsed between the first plane hitting the north tower at 8:46 a.m. and its collapse at 10:28 a.m. Eight months after the attack, the New York Times published an accounting of those 102 minutes by piecing together emails and phone calls from those trapped and killed, as well as recollections from survivors. It’s as chilling now as it was when it was first published.

The Wall Street Journal’s breaking news reporting (2001)

The staff of the Wall Street Journal won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2002 for its 9/11 coverage. That coverage included real-time reports of the planes and collapses as well as potential impacts, including to airport security and the economy, as they were happening. One particularly harrowing story is a first-person accounting of that day called “The Eye of the Storm: One Journey Through Desperation and Chaos,” by John Bussey.

You can read all of the winning coverage at the Pulitzer Prize page, below.

The Washington Post’s “September 11, 2001” (2001)

This narrative account, published just days after 9/11, weaves together events at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the final moments of United Flight 93, which went down in Pennsylvania. David Maraniss reconstructs the day through survivor accounts and reporting that paint a vivid picture of the chaos and destruction, as well as how it was seen through the eyes of people living through it in real time.

The Atlantic’s “Twenty Years Gone” (2021)

Jennifer Senior’s devastating account of one family’s loss after the attacks won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Bobby McIlvaine was just 26 years old on Sept. 11, 2001, and the story of the different ways his family coped with losing their charming and ambitious son, brother and boyfriend reminds us that grief is unpredictable and personal.

The New Yorker’s “The Real Heroes Are Dead” (2002)

Rick Resorla, a former British paratrooper and U.S. Army veteran, was the head of security for Morgan Stanley in the south tower of the World Trade Center. Credited with saving thousands of people, he died when he went back inside to offer more help. This piece by James B. Stewart tells the story of that day through the lens of Resorla’s personal life before the attacks, as well as through his loved ones, who subsequently had to process his heroism and death.

The Washington Post’s “The Days After” (2001)

This story, published just weeks after 9/11, looks at the lives of five people who were affected by the attacks and how they dealt with the immediate aftermath. A priest delivers a mass, a widow gives her daughter a bath, a firefighter can’t stop thinking of falling bodies. It’s an intimate look at “five people out of the multitudes,” and it stays with you.

Esquire’s “Drinking at 1,300 ft.: A 9/11 Story About Wine and Wisdom” (2011)

Windows on the World was a celebrated restaurant at the top of the north tower, and when the first plane hit the building, all escape routes for the 170 employees and patrons who were there that morning were severed. This story, which won a James Beard Award for Best Personal Essay, is told by Cal Sussman, a writer who took a wine class and then became a sommelier at Windows on the World. It works through survivor’s grief and paints a touching portrait of a beloved New York City institution.

The Guardian’s “25 years ago, two strangers met in the twin towers …” (2026)

Stanley Praimnath and Brian Clark worked on the south tower’s 81st and 84th floors, respectively, and they are two of only four known survivors of the floors above the impact zone. Clark made the fateful decision to go down the only open stairwell, ignoring pleas from others to go up to the roof, and heard Praimnath calling for help. Both reached the ground floor and ran from the building just as it collapsed, and they are still friends to this day.

National Geographic’s “The 17 Minutes That Changed America” (2026)

This comprehensive retrospective of the first minutes of the attack combines narrative text, photography, video and data journalism to tell the story of what was happening on the ground as the day unfolded. The 17 minutes refers to the time between the first plane hitting the north tower and the second hitting the south one, and reporter Garrett M. Graff highlights a range of accounts from regular people as well as military and government officials about the confusion of that day.

Will Cicadas Destroy Your Garden? 10 Things You Need to Know

It’s easy to wince thinking about the mass emergence of insects like cicadas. Their numbers can reach millions per acre, creating a near-deafening buzzing chorus. So it’s understandable that questions like, “Will cicadas eat my plants?” immediately spring to mind. But cicadas are also pretty fascinating and play important roles in the ecosystem. “Cicadas inspire wonder in our world!” says Jennifer Hopwood, senior pollinator conservation specialist at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “They spend most of their life underground next to the same plant roots. Somehow, these creatures are able to track the years that pass by and time their emergence with other periodical cicadas in the region to overwhelm predators. They are amazing little critters.” Here’s a rundown of what to know about cicadas, good and bad, including whether or not they eat plants and how to protect your trees during an emergence. Get Readers Digest s Read Up newsletter for more gardening, humor, cl...

Health Tips Line

Search This Blog