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On top of The World Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick and 9/11: A Story of Loss
In On Top of the World, Howard Lutnick and Tom Barbash tell the riveting story of Cantor Fitzgerald, the company located on the top floors of the World Trade Center that suffered the largest number of casualties in the September 11th attacks. Every member of CEO Howard Lutnick's young firm who was in the office that morning -- nearly 700 traders and salespeople, lawyers and accountants, 164 of his partners, including his brother Gary and his best friend Doug -- perished in the North Tower. Since then, his surviving employees have managed to keep their company alive against all odds, heroically rebuilding their business and their lives. This book also describes the journey that took charismatic and controversial CEO Howard Lutnick to the top of Wall Street by the age of 30, and is an examination of the wide swings in public sentiment that Howard and his firm faced as he tried to keep the public promises he and his partners made to his "700 families."His was the voice and face that brought the tragedy of 9/11 home for much of the country, and the questions this book asks are ones all of us are thinking about. Can we rise up from these attacks and thereby defeat this terror? Can we become larger than ourselves? Can we become more compassionate without losing our edge? Howard is an icon, prosperous and revered, envied and resented -- now facing a new uncertain future, not unlike America itself.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2003
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About the author
Tom Barbash
12 books86 followersTom Barbash is the author of the award-winning novel The Last Good Chance and the non-fiction book On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11; A Story of Loss and Renewal, which was a New York Times bestseller. His stories and articles have been published in Tin House, McSweeney's, Virginia Quarterly Review, and other publications, and have been performed on National Public Radio's 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 now lives in Marin County, California.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 29, 2024
Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees on 9/11. Located in the floors above the North Tower impact, they were put in an impossible situation. Many called loved ones to say goodbye. Unfathomable fear. We owe it to them to hear these stories. Barbash chronicles the 6-month period after the devastating loss of life: families, business, recovery, media, grief, guilt.
April 21, 2014
On Top of the World examines the events of 9/11 through a unique lens: Cantor Fitzgerald's surviving employees. This company, which has been a heavyweight in the US bond market for decades, suffered by far the largest number of fatalities that fateful day: 658 of its nearly 1000 NYC employees perished because they were above the point of impact in the North Tower and had no way to escape.
I found this book very compelling, for several reasons. For me, personally, it struck a chord because I used to work as a research analyst in equities, and I know well the deep camaraderie that develops in a work environment such as Cantor's. I cannot imagine losing almost all of the people I knew and loved and worked with - at Cantor, 100 of the 114 people in equities died that day. Entire desks had to be shuttered because no one - no one! - was left to manage and sustain the departments.
As an educator, I highly recommend this book because it makes 9/11 real to a generation of students who now are most likely to understand the attacks as a historical event rather than a lived experience (incoming college freshmen were 4 years old when 9/11 happened). But this book lays bare the suffering of the victims, the struggles of the survivors, the horrible losses felt by the families and friends of those who perished, and so on. It explains the events of 9/11 as they occurred, from the first fireball to the jumpers to the collapse of the buildings and the desperate search for survivors, but manages to do so without sensationalizing these difficult details. It also explores about 6 months of the aftermath of the attacks, dealing not only with the efforts of trying to put the firm back together but also the emotional and practical aspects of people trying to recover from the personal losses they suffered. Despair, sadness, anger, bewilderment, determination, courage - it's all here. From a practical standpoint, this work also will appeal to the college crowd because so many of those who died were so very, very young - in their 20s and 30s (even the Chairman and CEO was only 40 years old) - and thus relatively easy to put one's self in the shoes of both those who died and those who survived.
As a reader, I was impressed with author Tom Barbash's ability to make clear that the firm didn't just suffer traumatic losses (although it certainly did) - it also faced an immediate and vital threat to its very existence as the market maker in bonds and other derivatives, and so Chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick had to make a series of difficult business decisions even as he was forced to confront the deaths of his brother, his best friend, and hundreds of employees, all of whom he knew personally. Barbash does an admirable job of explaining what Lutnick decided to do and how he and many others attempted to cope with what had happened.
There were moments when the book gets a bit sidetracked defending Lutnick against some bad press he received in the wake of the attacks, but I chalk this up to the fact that Barbash was a close friend of Lutnick's and that he brought the book to fruition within months. Had he waited and published it years later, it would have been a very different book.
All in all, a gripping and emotional - yet also informative (it even discusses the ins and outs of the Victims Compensation Fund) - read.
I found this book very compelling, for several reasons. For me, personally, it struck a chord because I used to work as a research analyst in equities, and I know well the deep camaraderie that develops in a work environment such as Cantor's. I cannot imagine losing almost all of the people I knew and loved and worked with - at Cantor, 100 of the 114 people in equities died that day. Entire desks had to be shuttered because no one - no one! - was left to manage and sustain the departments.
As an educator, I highly recommend this book because it makes 9/11 real to a generation of students who now are most likely to understand the attacks as a historical event rather than a lived experience (incoming college freshmen were 4 years old when 9/11 happened). But this book lays bare the suffering of the victims, the struggles of the survivors, the horrible losses felt by the families and friends of those who perished, and so on. It explains the events of 9/11 as they occurred, from the first fireball to the jumpers to the collapse of the buildings and the desperate search for survivors, but manages to do so without sensationalizing these difficult details. It also explores about 6 months of the aftermath of the attacks, dealing not only with the efforts of trying to put the firm back together but also the emotional and practical aspects of people trying to recover from the personal losses they suffered. Despair, sadness, anger, bewilderment, determination, courage - it's all here. From a practical standpoint, this work also will appeal to the college crowd because so many of those who died were so very, very young - in their 20s and 30s (even the Chairman and CEO was only 40 years old) - and thus relatively easy to put one's self in the shoes of both those who died and those who survived.
As a reader, I was impressed with author Tom Barbash's ability to make clear that the firm didn't just suffer traumatic losses (although it certainly did) - it also faced an immediate and vital threat to its very existence as the market maker in bonds and other derivatives, and so Chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick had to make a series of difficult business decisions even as he was forced to confront the deaths of his brother, his best friend, and hundreds of employees, all of whom he knew personally. Barbash does an admirable job of explaining what Lutnick decided to do and how he and many others attempted to cope with what had happened.
There were moments when the book gets a bit sidetracked defending Lutnick against some bad press he received in the wake of the attacks, but I chalk this up to the fact that Barbash was a close friend of Lutnick's and that he brought the book to fruition within months. Had he waited and published it years later, it would have been a very different book.
All in all, a gripping and emotional - yet also informative (it even discusses the ins and outs of the Victims Compensation Fund) - read.
April 7, 2025
This book tells the powerful and emotional story of Howard Lutnick, the then-CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, who survived the tragic events of September 11, 2001, because he was taking his son to his first day of kindergarten. When he arrived at the World Trade Center, he was met with smoke and ashes—his company’s offices had been destroyed in the attack. Not a single Cantor Fitzgerald employee who was in the office that morning survived.
The book follows Lutnick and a handful of Cantor employees who, by sheer chance, were not at the office that day. It explores how they coped with unimaginable loss, how their lives were forever changed, and how they worked to rebuild the company from the ground up. Their efforts ultimately allowed Cantor Fitzgerald to not only survive, but grow—and in doing so, support the families of the employees they lost.
While the story itself is deeply moving and inspiring, I personally found the structure of the book distracting. It is written in a series of very short chapters—often just 3–4 pages each—which made the narrative feel choppy and disjointed. The frequent jumps between different perspectives and events throughout the 300 pages made it difficult to stay grounded in the story.
The book follows Lutnick and a handful of Cantor employees who, by sheer chance, were not at the office that day. It explores how they coped with unimaginable loss, how their lives were forever changed, and how they worked to rebuild the company from the ground up. Their efforts ultimately allowed Cantor Fitzgerald to not only survive, but grow—and in doing so, support the families of the employees they lost.
While the story itself is deeply moving and inspiring, I personally found the structure of the book distracting. It is written in a series of very short chapters—often just 3–4 pages each—which made the narrative feel choppy and disjointed. The frequent jumps between different perspectives and events throughout the 300 pages made it difficult to stay grounded in the story.
September 7, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this book and appreciated learning about the almost superhuman effort the remaining Cantor Fitzgerald employees made to keep the company afloat after 9/11 in order to help the families of the 700 employees they lost that day. The book is really a combination of the CEO's, Howard Lutnik, personal memories and the compilation of many activities and events and other personal accounts by Lutnik's friend, author Tom Barbash who flew to New York City at Lutnik's request to keep a record and document all that was happening. It is told in an easy to read format of one to three page chapters and communicates a lot of sad facts about those who died, those who survived, and those who were left that gave me a new perspective on 9/11. I try to read something each year as the anniversary approaches; this book is definitely one I'd recommend.
May 24, 2018
I bought this book at the gift shop at the 9/11 Museum in Manhattan thinking that it looked like an interesting read and wow, it was. As I read this book, on every page I kept saying to myself "this is horrifying, how can people go through this?". What the individuals, family and friends who lived on went through is beyond words.
The book was extremely interesting from a business perspective but the human story behind this was so much more. I hope that each of the loved ones of the seven hundred killed have made a peaceful and happy life now with joyous memories of the special person they lost.
This was a story that should never have happened but could have had a far worse outcome had Howard Lutnick not taken the challenge on and succeeded on behalf of all affected.
The book was extremely interesting from a business perspective but the human story behind this was so much more. I hope that each of the loved ones of the seven hundred killed have made a peaceful and happy life now with joyous memories of the special person they lost.
This was a story that should never have happened but could have had a far worse outcome had Howard Lutnick not taken the challenge on and succeeded on behalf of all affected.
December 21, 2024
I saw this book on someone’s year of books. I’d never heard of it before even though I read A LOT of 9/11 books back in the day, but I’ve always been fascinated by the Cantor Fitzgerald story so I decided to read it. This book was written by a journalist who is very good personal friends with Howard Lutnick (Howard realized that this was going to be something big and he basically invited his friend to shadow him for months after 9/11 and write this book.) The first part of this book, describing Howard’s experience on 9/11, absolutely tore me apart but the middle parts were a little more repetitive and even boring at times. This is still a really interesting story and one definitely worth reading about even over 20 years later.
November 14, 2023
On Top of the World, published in 2003, is the story about Cantor Fitzgerald, the bond trading company that occupied floors 101-105 in the North Tower of the World Trade Center and lost nearly all of its New York-based workforce in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The hardcover version of the book is just under 300 pages. Most of the book is focused on the people who worked at Cantor and the effort to rebuild the company after 9/11. The book does go into the backlash against the CEO including the attacks against him in the media and it does discuss some of what happened on 9/11 itself, but the focus of the book was on the people who were lost and the people who helped keep the company going. It is tough to read but is absolutely worth reading.
The hardcover version of the book is just under 300 pages. Most of the book is focused on the people who worked at Cantor and the effort to rebuild the company after 9/11. The book does go into the backlash against the CEO including the attacks against him in the media and it does discuss some of what happened on 9/11 itself, but the focus of the book was on the people who were lost and the people who helped keep the company going. It is tough to read but is absolutely worth reading.
September 8, 2023
The story of Cantor Fitzgerald is compelling and also gut wrenching. I try to watch or read something every September to reflect back in Sept. 11 and all the lives lost and changed. For anyone wanting to do the same, I highly recommend this book. My only issue with it was the editing - the timeline was erratic as was the author’s voice and several stories were repeated. This may have been intentional but it was distracting. Overall it was an incredible and powerful read.
September 26, 2024
I picked this book off my husband’s bookshelf on a whelm since we were just past the anniversary of the 9/11. I did not know the Cantor Fitzgerald story even 23 years on from that terrible day. The story is told by the people who lived that day in a powerful way. It’s a story of sadness, hope, and of a company that rose from tragedy like the mythical phoenix from the ashes. Highly recommend
May 3, 2019
This book covers the immediate aftermath of Cantor Fitzgerald's loss of over 700 employees in the north Twin Tower on 9/11. It's a book of loss, mourning, anger, perseverance & camaraderie.
February 1, 2023
It was good to look back and remember how 9/11 affected so many lives and workplaces. It is a bit slow in a few places.
May 18, 2016
This was a 911 story that I could not put down. It was about Cantor Fitzgerald. A company I had never heard of before reading this story. Howard Lutnick was the owner. On September 11, 2007 it was a day like any other. Except Howard chose to take his son to his first day of kindergarten. Howard was not in the building with 658 employees and countless others when tower one and then tower two were struck. Howard watched the whole thing from the street. It was an incredible story. How the company was able to stay open and rebuild after losing 658 employees. He paid 10 years of insurance and 25% of income for 2007. It was a story how media and television can convict someone before the truth is actually out and how much public opinion is swayed by media. It was sad to see them go after Howard like vultures and attack him as a person. Great that he got his company and life back. So sad that on that day so many lost their lives, husbands, wives, sons, daughters and that will never be replaced.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2021
This is an amazing book and an incredible story. It’s hard to imagine the loss involved for Cantor Fitzgerald. 658 employees dead and 300 left. That is crazy. I especially enjoyed the stories of individuals told from fellow employees as well as their families. Howard is an inspiration. This poor man took on the world to give it back to his dead employees families. The last chapter of this book was the best pages I have ever read. Emotional and poignant. This writer captured every feeling and placed it into word form.
November 5, 2012
This was a quick, very emotional read. Although it does look to put Cantor Fitzgerald in a positive light, I believe it's correct to do so after reading this book.
Howard Lutnick faced loss, hearbreak, devastation, and choices that, hopefully, none of us will ever have to endure. I admire him for his courage, feel for his personal losses, and congratulate him on keeping his company (and, in turn, the families of those that were lost) together.
A really good read.
Howard Lutnick faced loss, hearbreak, devastation, and choices that, hopefully, none of us will ever have to endure. I admire him for his courage, feel for his personal losses, and congratulate him on keeping his company (and, in turn, the families of those that were lost) together.
A really good read.
September 9, 2011
Read, and re-read, this several years ago. Exceptional 911 memoir. Ten years ago, the CEO of Canter Fitzgerald dropped off his son at kindergarten, delaying his arrival to his company's offices of in the world trade center. Something like 90% of the Canter Fitzgerald's workforce died in the 911 attacks. The book shows the remaining employee's attempts to recover emotionally, aid the other survivors are relatives of the victims, and rebuild Cantor Fizgerald.
July 12, 2014
Interesting book, and surprisingly moving in parts. The author (an old friend of Howard Lutnick) manages to put Lutnick's side of the story very well. For someone like me with previous exposure to Cantor Fitzgerald and an awareness of their reputation prior to 9/11, it was interesting to see the other point of view.
November 27, 2011
This book is really well written and tells a story you won't get anywhere else. It's not the most objective book, but the author is completely up front about his friendship with Howard Lutnick. Definitely worth reading.
February 6, 2012
This is an old story (written in 2003) but so very moving. An enthralling read that I literally could not put down. So fascinating from the human side and so interesting about how they literally put the business back together. Well written, informative and yet surprisingly personal.
November 18, 2014
Interesting read from the inside of Cantor Fitzgerald who lost nearly 700 of their 1,000 employees during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers. The most engaging part of the story was the beginning and middle but it kind of fizzled in the last third.
November 15, 2008
incredibly sad
December 29, 2009
Only about 40 pages in and a lot of tears have already been shed.
February 27, 2012
Very compelling story about one 9/11 company's fight to stay in business after the devastation of that day....
February 2, 2014
A memoir of how the most-wounded broker-dealer firm on Wall Street recovered - personally and professionally - from the loss of 700 employees on 9/11. More about lives and loss than about finance.
March 20, 2015
I thought the CEO did a wonderful job with this company.
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April 15, 2021My copy is the paperback version of this edition
June 5, 2015
in my top ten books. Another one you will not be able to stop reading.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews