On Top of the World : Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11: A Story of Loss and Renewal

By Tom Barbash and Howard Lutnick

Book Overview

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. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060510293
• ISBN13: 9780060510299
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Newfound Admiration for Mr. Lutnick and his company

I was unfamiliar with Mr. Lutnick or his company before 9/11 as I do not work in the investment arena. However, like many Americans, I was glued to the screen during the tragedy on that date and during the aftermath. For me, that day held a dual personal note in that I have personally spent lots of time at the Trade Center when in NYC on business (the WTC Marriott was always my hotel choice), I actually had visited my brother's...

Tragedy changes all of us

Howard Lutnick has been vilified in the press and on TV - I found his grief on TV deeply moving and have had no reason since to doubt his sincerity. The book shows Mr. Lutnick personally and deeply challenged by the terrible tragedy that was 9/11. I recommend reading this book. Give the man a chance.

Howard Lutnick: Hero? Certainly a Great Man!

First of all "On Top of the World" would not have been able to have been written if Howard Lutnick had died on September 11, 2001. Cantor-Fitzgerald, as a viable company, would have died along with its 658 employees. The fact that Mr. Lutnick lived and; despite the loss of his beloved brother and most of his best friends, was able to figure out a way to bring CF and the remaining NY/England employees and systems together...

A must read

Living in NYC and having a cousin who worked and died at Cantor Fitzgerald, i was interested to read about that day and what the company did afterwards......I couldn't put the book down. What an amazing story of perserverance in such a time of sadness and shock. You realize while reading this what a bum deal Howard Lutnick got at first from the media, when he was doing everything in his power to keep the business going so...

Sobering

A good friend of mine worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and was among those lost on September 11th. I read this book in one sitting - I couldn't put it down. The devastation that this event caused to the people of Cantor Fitzgerald who lost so many of their family members and friends is astonishing. 955 children who lost parents, twenty sets of siblings who perished. I found that I wanted to be part of the team of people that...