Bikeman, Commemorative Edition - by Thomas F Flynn (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An deeply moving testament to 9/11 and its horrific aftermath, this epic illustrates the power of a single moment and how each decision we make can change the course of a life.

On September 11, 2001, journalist Tom Flynn set off on his bike toward the World Trade Towers not knowing what he was riding into. Bikeman is one man's journey back to the horrors of that day and to the humanity that somehow emerged from the dust and the death. Both heartbreaking and haunting, his words will stay with you like that 'forever September morning.'" --Meredith Vieira, NBC's Today

From those whose deaths revealed the most private moments of their lives, to those who helped guide the way to safety, veteran journalist Thomas Flynn's Bikeman chronicles the morning of September 11, 2001 like no other published work. What began with a bicycle ride to the World Trade Center to cover the first tower's attack continued as the south tower fell and Thomas Flynn found himself quickly transitioning from reporter to participant as he beared witness to and, with a disquieted view, fought for his own life in the very event his well-trained journalistic senses intended to record and report. Now Flynn, as both journalist and now survivor, must come to terms with the harrowing ordeal and somehow find peace in the very act of surviving. With a forward from Dan Rather, Bikeman is a testament to the strength and courage we must summon at the blink of an eye.

In this deeply emotional memoir that is part journalist's record, part survivor's lament, Flynn writes:

Survival is the absence of death.

It is a subdued, a hushed existence. . .

I live to talk about it,

to relate the tale as it happens,

not only its extremities and cruelty,

but also the goodness that flourishes too.

Review Quotes

Tom has the news writer's talent for sharp, vivid detail--carried on a tide of deep emotion. This is a new window onto a shattering time. (Diane Sawyer, ABC News)

Tom Flynn brings to his subject three invaluable attributes: the eye of a seasoned journalist, the soul of a poet, and his stunning, firsthand experience of that horrific day. (David Friend, Vanity Fair)

Tom Flynn is a newsman and a poet. He was at the World Trade Center on 9/11. He responded, as a newsman should that day. And now we read the rest. A recounting forged in fire, put out with tears. (Harry Smith, NBC Today)

About the Author

Thomas Flynn is an award-winning television producer and writer. Now, as we commemorate 9/11 on its 20th anniversary, Flynn memorializes all those who sacrificed so much on that fateful day. Bikeman, today and twenty years ago, will forever be a powerful reminder of the fragility of life--the courage we must summon, the heartache we must weather, and the love that surrounds us all. Thomas Flynn and his family divide their time between New York and Cape Cod.