Introduction: The Book Before the Tragedy
In 1999, I was serving as Production Manager at Basic Books, a respected imprint known for its intellectual nonfiction. My desk, stacked high with galleys, proofs, and budgets, was the crossroads where manuscripts became finished volumes. That year, one particular manuscript crossed my desk: Eric Darton’s Divided We Stand: A Biography of New York’s World Trade Center.
At the time, the project was exciting, but not yet extraordinary. It was one of many serious nonfiction titles that demanded careful orchestration of schedules, design, and printing. The subject, of course, was impressive — the twin towers that defined New York’s skyline. Still, in 1999, the book was considered an architectural biography, a cultural study, a chronicle of a civic landmark. No one, including myself, could have foreseen that just two years later, those same towers would collapse in smoke and fire, altering the meaning of the book forever.
Today, as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I look back on that production process with a different perspective. What I once considered a successful publishing project now feels like a small part of something larger: the preservation of memory. The fact that Divided We Stand is now carried in the Remembrance Store at Ground Zero is both humbling and haunting.
My New York Roots in Publishing
My connection to this book was not just professional — it was deeply personal. As a New Yorker, born and raised on Long Island, I was excited to work on this book. For sixteen years, I worked in the heart of Manhattan’s publishing world. I walked the same streets where the towers cast their shadows. I rode the subways alongside thousands who poured into lower Manhattan every morning. I saw the skyline daily, the twin towers always visible, standing as silent guardians over the city.
Those years shaped me, both as a publishing professional and as a person. I learned the rhythms of the industry in Manhattan — the tight deadlines, the negotiations with printers, the endless balancing of budgets against creative vision. Publishing in New York was not just a career; it was a culture, an identity.
When Perseus Books Group later moved me to Westminster, Colorado, to head up the production for Basic Books, Counterpoint, and Civitas, I carried those New York roots with me. The move was an exciting career step, but I never stopped being a New Yorker at heart. That identity was bound up with the World Trade Center, whether I realized it at the time or not.
Taking a Manuscript and Making It Real
As Production Manager, my responsibility was to translate a complex manuscript into a durable, finished book. This meant orchestrating the collaboration between editors, designers, typesetters, printers, and photo-rights specialists.
My tasks included:
- Scheduling & budgeting: creating a realistic timeline and cost framework for text, images, and permissions.
- Design oversight: ensuring the book’s interior could handle both text and halftone images with clarity.
- Image permissions: navigating licensing for photos of the towers, construction phases, and cityscapes.
- Proof supervision: guaranteeing accuracy in typesetting and fidelity in halftone reproduction.
- Printer coordination: selecting the right paper stock, confirming cover finishes, and approving print quality.
My attention to these details made the book not just a readable text, but an enduring artifact.
Black-and-White Halftones: A Production Challenge
Unlike glossy art books that rely on color, Divided We Stand was strictly black-and-white halftones. That decision carried real production consequences.
Halftones require precision. If the screen ruling is too coarse, the images look muddy; if too fine, they risk breaking down on press. Paper choice also matters — an uncoated sheet can cause photographs to sink in and lose clarity. I worked closely with the printer to strike the right balance so that architectural renderings, construction photographs, and skyline shots would maintain their sharpness and tonal range.
Every photo went through the halftone process, and I had to review proofs carefully to ensure faces were visible, buildings retained detail, and shadows did not swallow information. These checks were tedious but vital. The strength of the book’s visuals depended on their ability to convey both the majesty and the controversy of the towers.
The Proofing Process
Proofing is the part of production where mistakes can make or break a book. With Divided We Stand, there were multiple rounds: first-pass typeset pages, author corrections, second passes, and finally pre-press proofs for the printer. Each round required careful checking of text flow, figure placement, caption accuracy, and pagination.
The halftone proofs demanded even more attention. I checked every image against its caption and source, confirming reproduction quality and tonal balance. Once the proofs were clean, I signed off for print, knowing the next time I held the pages, they would be bound into books.
The Printer’s Role
In 1999, most serious nonfiction titles like this one were printed via offset lithography. I worked with the printer to confirm specifications: paper weight, binding style, jacket finish. I approved press proofs specifically to ensure the halftones held their range of blacks and grays. I checked final samples to make sure the binding was tight and the cover aligned.
There is a quiet satisfaction in holding a final copy for the first time. With Divided We Stand, I remember that feeling distinctly: the book was solid, clean, and professional. At that moment, I thought of it as a job well done. I had no idea that this book, produced with the usual care, would soon carry unimaginable historical weight.
September 11, 2001: When the Book Changed Forever
Two years after the book’s release, the unthinkable happened. The towers collapsed, and with them a part of New York’s soul. Like millions of others, I watched the events of September 11, 2001, with horror and disbelief.
Almost overnight, Divided We Stand transformed from an academic study to a living memorial. People sought out the book not for architectural details but to understand what the towers had meant — as symbols of ambition, resilience, and, ultimately, loss.
For me, this was both surreal and sobering. I had been part of the team that brought this book into existence. Now, the book stood as one of the few comprehensive histories of the towers before their destruction. The work I had done in 1999 — the scheduling, the halftone approvals, the production decisions — suddenly mattered in a way I could never have imagined.
And because I had worked in Manhattan for so many years, I felt a personal connection. I could picture the very streets filled with smoke and ash. I could imagine colleagues and friends navigating chaos. This was not just history; it was my city, my world, forever changed.
The Remembrance Store at Ground Zero
Today, visitors at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum can find Divided We Stand in the Remembrance Store at Ground Zero. For me, this fact is deeply humbling. A book I once produced as part of my professional routine is now part of a sacred space of memory and mourning.
When people pick up the book there, they are not just reading history. They are connecting with the spirit of the towers, with the city that built them, and with the lives that were touched by their destruction. The durability and clarity of the book — the very things I worked so hard to ensure in 1999 — now serve a greater purpose.
What This Means to Me
Looking back, I realize that production work often goes unnoticed. Readers rarely think about the schedules, the paper choices, the proof corrections. But in this case, those invisible decisions ensured that the book could endure.
Divided We Stand is not just Eric Darton’s words and insights. It is also the sum of the unseen labor of editors, designers, printers — and yes, production managers. My work helped ensure that the book would stand the test of time, both physically and historically.
That knowledge gives me a quiet sense of pride. I was not a firefighter, a police officer, or a first responder. But in my own way, through the craft of publishing, I contributed to preserving the memory of the towers.
Legacy of the Book
More than two decades later, the book continues to matter. Students, tourists, historians, and survivors still seek it out. It is both a biography of buildings and a memorial to lives changed.
What was once a publishing project in my career has become part of the story of 9/11. My role as Production Manager in 1999 was to shepherd a manuscript into a finished book. But the meaning of that book has far outlived its production schedule. It has become a vessel of remembrance.
Conclusion: My Place in History
When I reflect on my years in publishing, I have worked on hundreds of titles, each with its own challenges and rewards. But none carries the same weight as Divided We Stand.
In 1999, I thought I was producing a book about buildings. In 2001, I realized it had become a book about loss, resilience, and memory. Today, as it sits on the shelves of the Remembrance Store at Ground Zero, I see it as a reminder that the work we do — even the quiet, behind-the-scenes work of production — can matter in ways we never expect.
I spent sixteen years working in Manhattan publishing before moving to Westminster, Colorado, with Perseus to oversee Basic, Counterpoint, and Civitas. That journey shaped me, but my heart remains tied to New York. I oversaw the making of a book. History made it a memorial.
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