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Title: Inside 9-11 : What Really Happened by Der Spiegel Magazine ISBN: 0-312-98748-X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 16 September, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.56 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Something credible, finally.
Comment: As after any disaster, volumes were released after September 11, from former Israeli intelligence agents condemning bin Laden, to conspiracy theorists saying George W and the boys were behind the event and nearly every stand between. Finally, this one is worth reading.
Much like after the Oklahoma City bombing, one is forced to ask, Why? What could motivate someone to do such a thing? In this case, indeed, the perpetrators didn't just kill others but destroyed themselves in the process. Is it something about Islam? About religion in general? (God knows, there are many in this country who feel that New York is the new Sodom. Some of them may have done it, if they had had the...what, guts?
Now, a cynic may challenge the objectivity of the authors. But they start by acknowledging their researchers and fact checkers. So, assuming they're not true phonies--and Der Spiegel has a good journalistic reputation so that's not likely--they not only found the facts but double and triple checked them.
They followed the hijackers step by step through the process. They also followed persons who survived the attacks on the WTC, and then they followed firefighters, obviously those who survived too. They talked with people who met the hijackers, e.g., flight instructors, and a kick boxing instructor, even Mohammed Atta's father, who's convinced that Israeli intelligence planned the whole thing. In other words, they got a variety of perspectives. And that added credibility to the report.
I guess if I were to label the portion that intrigued me most, it was the extensive training that the whole "block" had in Germany. Most of them even left Germany for a while, ostensibly to train in Afghanistan. Then they conveniently lost their passports. There would, therefore, be no reference to that country in their passports when they attempted to relocate to the US. In short, the conspiracy was extensive.
The manual the terrorists--while I often shy away from using pop words coined by the US government, I'm hard pressed to find an alternative in this case--used as a guide was quite thorough, and frightening. It was well thought out, even though quite morbid, and frequently referred to the sacred Jihad (struggle). Then there's the Primer found in Mohammed Atta's car. If this hadn't happened in real time, I'd have thought that was a spoof on fundamentalist religion. (The book also includes Atta's last will and testament. But, since I was already familiar with that, the other documents were more shocking.)
It's funny. I don't feel any more "resolved" after reading it. Were I anti-Islamic, I wouldn't be any less so after reading it. Perhaps what I learned most from it was the depth of the passion of the terrorists, and the uncanny degree of the conspiracy. It took a long, long time, with almost no one, even those most closely associated with the terrorists--many of whom worked out at a gym walking distance from my house--having any idea what was going on. Incredible.
If I were inclined to believe what my conspiracy theorist acquaintances do, that it was a grand conspiracy of the US government to develop a new Cold War with extensive increases in military spending, this book would stifle that. Honesty, I don't think the US government has the capacity to organize anything that vast, or at least get away with it without someone leaking.
Anyway, if you want to learn a lot about "what really happened" on 9/11/01, this is the book I would recommend. I still think it's worth the risk to not give up our civil liberties--and become much like those we claim to deplore--just because of the events of that date. But this volume gives me a lot to think about.
Rating: 5
Summary: Chilling and compelling
Comment: As others have noted, there will no doubt be bigger, more detailed books about 9/11 as more now-classified data is released, but at this point *this* is *the* definitive book.
Der Spiegel, the German magazine, harnessed their substantial investigative and editorial resources to compile the data for this book, and their attention to detail is impressive. Equally impressive, and what I feel is the most effective technique in the book, is that each chapter tells the story of a few people -- some of them "key players" in the events, others simply people in the wrong place at a very wrong time. An immense amount of activity took place in a very short time frame, and the book does an admirable (although not completely perfect) job of presenting it in a comprehensible and compelling manner. I literally couldn't put it down, and read the whole thing in one night.
If you're looking for a "tribute" book about the victims or responders to the attack, this isn't it. However, if you're looking for the very best, most detailed chronology of the events currently available, this is it. High praise and great thanks to Der Spiegel for this book.
Rating: 4
Summary: The Inside Scoop
Comment: I have always been a bit hesitant when picking up a book that has more then one author, let alone a full reporting staff. Many times I find that you can either tell very distinctly when one author finishing and a another author starts or when there are a lot of authors, it tends to be a mix of styles that never really flow together. Somehow this book had none of this, it must have been a very strong editor or a translation thing, but the book spoke with one voice and was very evenly put together. The book had different sections, pre attack, attack and post attack and all three were insightful and well written. This is the first book on the topic that I have read that went into a good amount of detail about the individual hijackers, it really tried to paint a picture of who they were and what theirs lives were like leading up to the event. It did not really explain why they would do what they did, but it did give the reader some understanding of who they were.
During the section of the book that detailed the attack there were a number of interviews and a running description of the event, both were well done. But the part that I found most powerful was that the authors placed bits of 911 calls from people in the towers into the text that really brought a lot of emotion into the reading. Ok so it is a rather cheap way to do it, but it worked and you really felt the fear and desperation in the situation. Overall I liked the book, it was well written and put together. My only complaint would be that I felt the last section, the aftermath, was not as engrossing as the first two sections, but to be honest that is problem that it would be difficult for any author to top the drama of the attacks. One other minor point, in non-fiction I like a few pictures to let me see whom you are talking about etc., this book had none. If you are interested in the topic this is a good place to land.
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Title: Out of the Blue: A Narrative of September 11, 2001 by Richard Bernstein, The New York Times ISBN: 0805072403 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 11 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Never Forget : An Oral History of September 11, 2001 by Mitchell Fink ISBN: 0060514337 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 20 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back by Jere Longman ISBN: 0060099089 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Report from Ground Zero: The Story of the Rescue Efforts at the World Trade Center by Dennis Smith ISBN: 067003116X Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 18 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Portraits: 9/11/01: The Collected "Portraits of Grief" from The New York Times by The New York Times ISBN: 0805072225 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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