What we saw / CBS News ; with an introduction by Dan Rather

by Dan Rather

September 11, 2001, will be eternally frozen in our memories. Where we were; what we thought; what we felt; what we heard; and especially what we saw will stay with us forever. It was a day -- defined for each of us in an instant -- that we will share with our children and our grandchildren in the years to come. In words and images -- and on a full-length DVD -- What We Saw captures those moments.

Dan Rather's Introduction sets the stage for an introspective look at the catastrophic events of September 11. What We Saw follows a day that started out like any other but ended in silence and sorrow -- from the first interviews by phone with eyewitnesses to a plane crashing into Tower 1 of the World Trade Center to the Towers of Light tribute, six months later.

As the world came to a halt that September morning, Dan Rather and his colleagues at CBS News worked tirelessly to provide detailed, accurate coverage of that day and the days that followed. Not only are the events that shook America's biggest city and its capital closely documented, but the tragedies that occurred elsewhere are also examined, from the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to the repercussions felt in a small New Jersey commuter town.

Among the contributors are Jules Naudet, a French filmmaker who was working on a documentary about New York City firefighters when his subjects were called into service that September morning; Newsweek's Anna Quindlen, whose thoughts turn to a young family likely headed on vacation aboard United Airlines Flight 175, The New Republic's David Grann, who captures the feeling of hopelessness felt by the families searching for missing loved ones; and CBS's Ed Bradley, who describes the volunteers who flocked to Manhattan with an overwhelming desire to help.

Each moment of September 11 and its aftermath is portrayed with candor and honesty by the CBS News correspondents, photographers, camera operators, and journalists who were there. What We Saw is an invaluable documentary of a day that changed our world forever.

143 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2002

About the author

With a famed and storied career that has spanned more than six decades, Dan Rather has earned his place as one of the world’s best-known journalists. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and, over that time, personally covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world. Rather joined CBS News in 1962. He quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1981 he assumed the position of Anchor and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News—a post he held for twenty-four years. His reporting across the network helped turn 60 Minutes into an institution, launched 48 Hours as an innovative news magazine program, and shaped countless specials and documentaries. Upon leaving CBS, Rather returned to the in-depth reporting he always loved, creating the Emmy Award winning Dan Rather Reports on HDNet. Now, building upon that foundation, he is president and CEO of News and Guts, an independent production company he founded that specializes in high-quality nonfiction content across a range of traditional and digital distribution channels.