On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11: A Story of Loss and Renewal – The True Account of Tragedy, Leadership, and Corporate

On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11: A Story of Loss and Renewal – The True Account of Tragedy, Leadership, and Corporate

On the morning of September 11, 2001, nearly 700 of Cantor Fitzgerald's 1,000 New York employees were at their desks on the top floors of One World Trade Center when a hijacked passenger plane struck eight floors below. None survived. On Top of the World tells the story not only of that tragic day but also of the complicated and emotionally charged events that followed. It is an intimate, often harrowing look at how private families processed a public atrocity, how corporate war-room strategy sessions saved the company from liquidation and the efforts of opportunistic competitors. This book examines the media scrutiny that followed Howard Lutnick, who struggled to be at once the compassionate leader the grieving families needed and the tough-minded CEO his decimated company required. It also tells the story of the men and women of Cantor whose lost coworkers were relatives and friends, and brothers and sisters. That Cantor's business has survived and even flourished -- and that an initially uneasy but ultimately significant covenant has been formed between those who lived and the families of their lost friends -- is a powerful testament to the ability of a community to endure. “On Top of the World is the story of loss and renewal, as the subtitle promises, but it is also one of class conflict, personal greed, irresponsible media and big business, survivor guilt and employer responsibility, human nature and the bottom line.” - Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Written with the urgency of breaking news...The individual stories take one’s breath away.” - Atlanta Journal-Constitution “A sensitive and heartbreaking account....The book has enormous emotional power.” - New York Newsday “Gripping.” - New York Times Book Review On the morning of September 11, 2001, nearly 700 of Cantor Fitzgerald's 1,000 New York employees were at their desks on the top floors of One World Trade Center when a hijacked passenger plane struck eight floors below. None survived. On Top of the World tells the story not only of that tragic day but also of the complicated and emotionally charged events that followed. It is an intimate, often harrowing look at how private families processed a public atrocity, how corporate war-room strategy sessions saved the company from liquidation and the efforts of opportunistic competitors. This book examines the media scrutiny that followed Howard Lutnick, who struggled to be at once the compassionate leader the grieving families needed and the tough-minded CEO his decimated company required. It also tells the story of the men and women of Cantor whose lost coworkers were relatives and friends, and brothers and sisters. That Cantor's business has survived and even flourished -- and that an initially uneasy but ultimately significant covenant has been formed between those who lived and the families of their lost friends -- is a powerful testament to the ability of a community to endure. Tom Barbash is the author of the award-winning novel,  The Last Good Chance , which was was awarded the California Book Award, and the short story collection  Stay Up With Me , which was a national bestseller and was nominated for the Folio Prize. His nonfiction book,  On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11: A Story of Loss and Renewal , was a  New York Times  bestseller. His stories and articles have been published in Tin House, McSweeney’s, VQR, and other publications, and have been performed on National Public Radio for their Selected Shorts Series. He currently teaches in the MFA program at California College of the Arts. He grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and currently lives in Marin County.