The Rising

The Twenty-Year Battle to Rebuild the World Trade Center

By: Larry Silverstein

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

The never-before-told inside story of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center — an epic tale of business, politics, and engineering by the man who spent two decades working to make it happen

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11 destroyed the World Trade Center, New Yorkers and Americans faced a critical set of questions: What should be done with the site? Could the towers be replaced? And how best to memorialize those lost on that day? For Larry Silverstein, a lifelong New Yorker who had signed a lease for the properties just a few months before the attacks, the answer was clear: America had to rebuild as quickly as possible.

In The Rising, Silverstein recounts in vivid detail his long battle to construct a new World Trade Center complex and to revitalize the surrounding neighborhood while also memorializing the victims of the attacks. Silverstein made history in 2001 when he signed a 99-year lease on the 10.6-million-square-foot World Trade Center for $3.25 billion. For the next twenty years, he navigated warring political interests, byzantine city bureaucracies, and resistant insurance companies, as well as the many challenges of designing, engineering, and constructing several new towers in the heart of downtown Manhattan. More than once the entire project almost folded, but today the buildings are nearly complete and the neighborhood is once again a thriving hub that draws hundreds of thousands of people a day.

The Rising is a vibrant portrait of the inner workings of New York City in the wake of its most profound tragedy, but it is also a master class in how to succeed in business despite all odds. Full of outsize characters and relentless adversity, this is a riveting book about a remarkable feat of vision and determination.

Critic reviews

"[Silverstein's] comprehensive account of his crusade—against financial and design challenges, against bureaucratic pettifoggery...is a glimpse behind the scenes of how New York’s celebrated power brokers conduct business."
—Edward Kosner, The Wall Street Journal

"Improbably entertaining....Silverstein’s observations of the bigwigs in his orbit have a ring of truth to them absent in books written by partisans....[He is] a convivial host, animated by his genuine love for New York, the real estate business, and the thrills of score-settling....In the Downtown skyline that Larry Silverstein left us, we can see all of it: the residue of one man’s internal struggle."
—Tris McCall, Jersey City Times

"In this detailed and candid account, the author shows how grit and persistence and a healthy dose of diplomacy helped create not only an extraordinary tribute to those who died on 9/11 but also reshaped the neighborhood into a vibrant place to work and live."
—Air Mail

"All along, Silverstein had a vision: Build it and they will come....Today, looking out from his office, Silverstein sees a neighborhood that didn’t exist 23 years ago."
—Richard Horan, The Christian Science Monitor

"Silverstein, now 93 years old, relates with clarity and concision the decades-long odyssey that led his company through a perilous tangle of insurers, opportunistic local and state politicians, demanding investors, layers of lawyers, the press, and, most painfully, the families of those lost on 9/11 who had yet to find closure at Ground Zero. The result is a surprising page-turner and a rare look at how the levers of power operate at the highest strata of commerce and government."
—Booklist, starred

"Silverstein’s account never lacks for melodrama....This classic New York saga about the symbiosis of grand civic ambition and rugged pragmatism stands tall."
—Publishers Weekly

"Silverstein displays a talent for making the complex and high-stakes game of New York City commercial real estate...surprisingly interesting. His...good and decent nature shines through his prose, as does considerable wisdom gleaned from a wildly successful career....Silverstein’s poignant and heartfelt description of what was lost—and what endured—in the wake of 9/11...will resonate with anyone who experienced that tumultuous period....Silverstein writes with panache, wit, and grace, and his is a story worth savoring. A compelling personal account of a uniquely American comeback."
—Kirkus Reviews

Great Book

It was great to hear about all the details behind the building of the new World Trade Center. Such a tragic event and devastation has been honored in a proper way and Downtown has been brought back and beyond what it was as a thriving and desirable neighborhood. To be there you feel the peaceful tranquility of the memorial and the vibrancy in the buildings and neighborhood that surround them. Mr. Silverstein has done an amazing job of seeing his dream through and making this happen. The book was great inside look at all the trials and tribulations that were overcome as part of the journey.

Eye opening

Wonderfully told story and legacy. Hard to put down. Happy it was completed in his lifetime with all the challenges.

Steadfast

Great story. Learned a lot about Real Estate and how skyscrapers get built. There is a lot more involved than you would think.

Vision and perseverance

This is an amazing story of a visionary man. I worked in the World Trade Center and I see every morning this amazing and meaningful complex so it is deeply personal for me. I highly recommend this book!

Starts great before it morphs quickly into Larry Silverstein paying homage to himself

I was so excited to read the story of the rebuilding of Ground Zero from the man who sat at the table and it started out so great, and it just went downhill so quickly very disappointing content should've been better