Michael Donovan on Brotherhood and the Promise to Never Forget
Twenty-five years after September 11, an FDNY veteran preserves the people behind the history.
The Promise to Never Forget
On September 11, 2001, the world watched history unfold. Michael Donovan lived it.
Donovan served as an active member of the Fire Department of the City of New York from 1979 to 2003. He witnessed the devastation of the World Trade Center attacks firsthand and saw the courage of firefighters, first responders, and ordinary citizens who answered the call that day.
In the aftermath of September 11, many of his friends and coworkers died. Donovan remembered them as ordinary men who had acted heroically. The promise to “Never Forget” gave him a reason to preserve what they had done and who they were.
“We promised to ‘Never Forget.’ In telling the story of those I knew, I wanted to give readers some idea of what the many we lost had done and who they were.”
Michael Donovan
That purpose became Too Many Good Men, his firsthand account of the attacks, their aftermath, and their lasting effect on the people who lived through them. All names and events in the memoir are drawn from Donovan’s personal experience.
The Meaning Inside the Title
The title arose from a conversation with a friend. As Donovan began naming people they knew who had been killed, his friend repeated the same words again and again.
Donovan remembers: “He just kept repeating that phrase: ‘Too many good men.’”
The book focuses on men Donovan knew and worked with, including Chief of Department Peter Ganci, Battalion Chief James Riches, Captain Timothy Stackpole, Citywide Tour Commander Sal Cassano, Captain Michael Esposito, Lieutenant Steven Bates, Deputy Chief Raymond Downey, and Captain John Vigiano. Their experiences and roles within the FDNY form part of the personal history he records.
Donovan approached the writing with two priorities: honesty about his recollections and sensitivity toward surviving families. Returning to those memories was profoundly difficult. He could focus on many of them only for brief periods before stepping away.
A Brotherhood Forged in Danger
Brotherhood is central to Donovan’s account because teamwork is fundamental to firefighting. Firefighters depend upon one another while working in extremely dangerous conditions. Donovan believes that shared responsibility creates a bond people outside the fire service may not fully understand.
“Under the crucible of extremely dangerous work, firefighters bond with each other. We call each other our brothers.”
Michael Donovan
In some ways, he says, firefighters become closer and more dependent upon one another than family members. That understanding shaped how he wrote about the FDNY and the people who served during and after the World Trade Center disaster.
His experience also shaped what courage, duty, and sacrifice mean to him.
“The true meaning of courage, duty, and sacrifice is found in ordinary men and women performing extraordinary work under the most trying and dangerous conditions.”
Michael Donovan
For Donovan, those qualities are demonstrated through service. Too Many Good Men records the actions of people he knew so readers can understand both what they did and the conditions under which they did it.
For the Generation That Came After
Twenty-five years after the attacks, September 11 is lived memory for some Americans and inherited history for others. An entire generation has grown up without remembering the day itself. Donovan wrote with that distance in mind.
His primary purpose was personal. He wanted his grandchildren, Logan and Emilia Mae, to have some understanding of who he was and what the FDNY did on and after the World Trade Center disaster. He also hoped the memoir would reach others who were too young to experience that history themselves.
“I hope it reaches those who were too young to know what we endured.”
Michael Donovan
Through his recollections, younger readers can encounter September 11 through the perspective of someone who was there. They can also learn how the disaster continued to affect firefighters, first responders, and families afterward.
Donovan wants readers to understand that FDNY firefighters dedicate their lives to protecting life and property. He also describes firefighting as a vocation that, in many families, passes from one generation to another.
Five Weeks to Publication
Donovan finished the manuscript only six weeks before the twenty-fifth anniversary of September 11. When he contacted Gatekeeper Press, he was told that bringing a book to print normally took at least three months. The team made no promises, but agreed to try to complete it in time for the anniversary.
As a first-time author, Donovan valued how the team worked with him. He says they never spoke down to him because of his inexperience and exceeded his expectations throughout the process.
On September 1, 2026, only five weeks after his first contact with Gatekeeper Press, Too Many Good Men made it into print.
“Every step of the way, they exceeded my expectations.”
Michael Donovan
The People Behind the History
When readers reach the final page of Too Many Good Men, Donovan hopes they remember the dedication of FDNY firefighters and the people behind the history.
“The World Trade Center disaster took the lives of real people with families.”
Michael Donovan
He wants readers to recognize that firefighters dedicate their lives to service and that the people lost had families whose lives were forever changed.
Donovan wrote the account he wanted his grandchildren to inherit. By preserving the names, events, and recollections drawn from his own experience, he has also created a record for readers who know September 11 only as history.
The promise was to never forget. Too Many Good Men is Michael Donovan’s contribution to keeping it.
About the Book
Too Many Good Men is a firsthand account of the World Trade Center attacks as experienced by New York City firefighter Michael Donovan. Through personal recollections, the memoir honors the firefighters, first responders, and families whose lives were forever changed, preserving their courage, sacrifice, and humanity for future generations.
About the Author
Michael Donovan served as an active member of the FDNY from 1979 to 2003 and was cited for bravery on numerous occasions. Following September 11, 2001, he served as captain of Squad Company 18 in Manhattan. From 2005 to 2021, he continued serving the FDNY community as a civilian retiree liaison for the Uniformed Fire Officers Association. All names and events in Too Many Good Men are drawn from his personal experience.
Published by Gatekeeper Press | Where Authors Are Family
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