America Rebuilds

While many of the programs about the 9/11 terrorist attacks have focused on the events of a "day of infamy" that will join the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine on the American memorial calendar, the PBS-aired America Rebuilds, narrated by actor Kevin Spacey, looks at the days, weeks, and months that followed. Given access to Ground Zero by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the filmmakers capture the high emotions that led to disagreements and differences of opinion right from the start of a nearly yearlong clean-up project as members of the New York Fire Department trying to locate the remains of fellow firefighters refused to heed warnings from the demolition crews to get out of the way of their machines. As thoughts shifted from clearing the rubble to rebuilding, people who had lost loved ones expressed their wishes to have the entire area turned into a memorial park, while developers lobbied to restore the commercial viability of Lower Manhattan. All of these skirmishes are well documented in this absorbing program that effectively highlights the almost Herculean task placed on New Yorkers of bringing order out of chaos. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Carlson)