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Title details for The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi - Available

The Red Bandanna

A Life. A Choice. A Legacy.

by Tom Rinaldi
Tom Rinaldi
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A New York Times bestseller
What would you do in the last hour of your life?
 
The story of Welles Crowther, whose actions on 9/11 offer a lasting lesson on character, calling and courage
  
One Sunday morning before church, when Welles Crowther was a young boy, his father gave him a red handkerchief for his back pocket. Welles kept it with him that day, and just about every day to come; it became a fixture and his signature.
A standout athlete growing up in Upper Nyack, NY, Welles was also a volunteer at the local fire department, along with his father. He cherished the necessity and the camaraderie, the meaning of the role. Fresh from college, he took a Wall Street job on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, but the dream of becoming a firefighter with the FDNY remained.
When the Twin Towers fell, Welles’s parents had no idea what happened to him. In the unbearable days that followed, they came to accept that he would never come home. But the mystery of his final hours persisted. Eight months after the attacks, however, Welles’s mother read a news account from several survivors, badly hurt on the 78th floor of the South Tower, who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger, carrying a woman on his back, down nearly twenty flights of stairs.  After leading them down, the young man turned around.  “I’m going back up,” was all he said.
The survivors didn’t know his name, but despite the smoke and panic, one of them remembered a single detail clearly: the man was wearing a red bandanna.  
Tom Rinaldi’s The Red Bandanna is about a fearless choice, about a crucible of terror and the indomitable spirit to answer it. Examining one decision in the gravest situation, it celebrates the difference one life can make.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 6, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780735289451
      • File size: 189064 KB
      • Duration: 06:33:52

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 1000
    • Text Difficulty: 5-7

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 11, 2016
      During the World Trade Center attack, many acted with selfless bravery, risking, and often losing, their lives. ESPN correspondent Rinaldi focuses on one of these heroes, a Wall Street junior associate named Welles Crowther. Raised in privilege in New York’s Rockland County, Crowther was drawn as child to the local firehouse and eventually joined the company. Although Welles successfully navigated Wall Street after college, by the summer of 2001 he’d decided to become an N.Y.C. firefighter. Welles disappeared in the chaos of the WTC attack, but his family heard reports of a young man who’d guided people to safety from the 78th floor of the South Tower. One clue helped to identify Crowther: survivors said their protector wore a red bandana. Rinaldi crafts a meticulous and vivid portrait of Crowther’s life and the desperate hours after the jets hit, including thumbnail sketches of those he aided before the towers fell. All too often, Rinaldi projects anticipatory dread before 9/11, relating that Crowther told a friend “I’m going to be part of something big” as if what happened was somehow predestined. This emphasis on premonition tells readers more about the way humans process tragedy than about Crowther’s unquestionable courage and competence. In fact, no such embellishment is needed: the young man’s actions speak for themselves. Agent: David Black, David Black Agency.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Tom Rinaldi's grounded tone gives listeners a sense of comfort while experiencing this tragic yet inspirational audiobook. Rinaldi recounts the true story of Welles Crowther, who, as a child, was given a red bandanna by his father. Crowther's life first led him to a competitive Wall Street job with a company housed in the World Trade Center, but later he switched careers--and found his place as firefighter. When the Twin Towers were attacked on 9/11, Welles was there, and his heroic actions were described after survivors identified him by his red bandanna, allowing his family to learn about his last moments and deeds. Rinaldi's narrative does not overdramatize events, an approach that makes this story even more moving. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1000
  • Text Difficulty:5-7

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