Bikeman: #1

For my outside reading assignment, I have chosen to read the book Bikeman. Tom Flynn, a reporter and former employee of CBS News, describes his eyewitness account to the September 11th attacks. Through the use of poetry in many forms such as songs and verses he tells his story. I chose to read this book for numerous reasons. Although, I have never read a book that tells a story through poetry, I think that this method is very effective because it causes the author to only include the important details that are essential to the story. I am also very interested in the September 11^th attacks and I enjoy hearing first hand accounts of the tragedy. This allows me to get the best perspective of the incident since I did not witness the attack myself. The September 11^th attacks are very controversial and have been a major issue in our country since it occurred. There are many questions and concerns that surround the September 11^th attacks, which is why it is a major topic in the United States. A consistent issue is whether or not the United States had prior knowledge to the impending terrorism and could have prevented the disaster. Tom Flynn is considered not only a journalist, but also a participant, observer, and survivor of these attacks. This story is told through someone who “did not live through it” but “just did not die”. His perspective truly reveals the struggles of the many surviving victims because it explains it through the eyes of someone who escaped death. Mr. Flynn does not see his survival as something that he overcame but as something that he escaped. Bikeman is the story of one man and his journey on a bike to the World Trade Center towers. On his journey, he experiences the devastation that faced New York City, and the United States of America.