Naturally, there are thousands of books that touch on September 11, including picture books, books about the terrorist bombings themselves, and background books. We have compiled several pages of them in this section. We have categorized them as best we could. We invite you to use the "Find" tool at the bottom left of this page. We index the site frequently, so you should be able to find what you're looking for. If not, please drop us an email and we'll add it.
What We Saw: The Events of September 11, 2001, in Words, Pictures, and Video
CBS News
An introspective look at the events of September 11. What We Saw follows a day that started out like any other but ended in silence and sorrow -- from the first interviews by phone with eyewitnesses to a plane crashing into Tower 1 of the World Trade Center to the Towers of Light tribute, six months later.
Above Hallowed Ground: A Photographic Record of September 11, 2001
Photographers of the New York City Police Department, Christopher Sweet, David Fitzpatrick, Gregory Semendinger
This book chronicles not only the devastation of September 11, but also the valor and heroism of thosewho saved thousands of lives. None of these photographs has been published before, and these images offer a vantage point no ordinary photographers could obtain:They were taken by members of the New York City Police Department, uniformed and civilian, who were on the scene moments after the first plane hit and who were behind the scenes during the entire rescue and recovery effort.
American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center
William Langewiesche
Unlike any other reporter, William Langewiesche has had unrestricted access to Ground Zero and the people involved in the cleanup. He has literally followed in the footsteps of engineers, "deconstruction" workers, firemen, and city officials as they tackle the mind-numbing task of bringing order to an instance of chaos unprecedented on our soil.
09/11 8:48 am: Documenting America's Greatest Tragedy
Ethan Casey
New York University Department of Journalism students and professors and Blue Ear editors speedily marshaled their forces after the September 11 attacks to prepare 9/11 8:48 am: An anthology of accounts by survivors, first-hand witnesses and people less directly affected.A Ugandan high school student, an airline pilot, photographers, writers and people of all stripes offer their personal, wide-ranging reactions to the tragedy.
The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It
John J. Miller, Michael Stone, Chris Mitchell
This book is an account of how various American law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the CIA, and New York City's Joint Terrorism Task Force, struggled to identify and prosecute the shadowy band of international terrorists operating within our borders. It is a tale of missed opportunities, turf wars, and confusion that begins with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and culminates in a detailed look at the last months of the hijackers, led by Mohamed el Amir Atta. The authors have interviewed dozens of participants on both sides of this interminable struggle and have produced a useful chronicle of the events that led up to the horrendous attacks.
The War on Freedom: How and Why America was Attacked, September 11, 2001
Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, John Leonard
Summarizes relevant background and foreground intersecting upon the events of September 11 and what the American defense machine let happen.
Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11
Thomas L. Friedman
Mr. Friedman, NY Times foreign affairs columnist, publishes a compilation of his works written for the Times between December 2000 and July 2002. .The columns are broken down into two time periods: before 9/11 and after. Also included is a diary he kept during his travels to Europe and the Middle East during that time.
Triumph Over Tragedy: September 11 and the Rebirth of a Business
John Duffy, Mary S. Schaeffer
Tells the story of KBW's destruction and rebirth. Firsthand accounts from dozens of staff members at all levels describe the horrifying events of September 11, recall the devastation and suffering in the aftermath of the tragedy, and explain how, in the face of overwhelming destruction, they found the will and resources to survive and thrive.
Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage
Lisa Beamer
The widow of Todd Beamer wrote this plea for Americans to move ahead in hope, courage, and faith, despite today's troubled times, and to live real life.
Nancy Chang
Analysis examines how the hastily approved USA Patriot Act endows the executive branch with vast new powers, erodes civil liberties, and adversely impacts immigrants.
September 11, 2001: Stories from 55 Broad Street
DAJ Pub
This is a profound collection of eyewitness accounts to the horror of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. Each story is of the same 48-hour period starting the morning of September 11, 2001. Each gives a different perspective. An excellent and unforgettable book to own!
Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror
Richard Miniter
When Osama bin Laden attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, most Americans did not know who he was. Accoreding to this book, Bill Clinton did. In 1992, and again in 1993, bin Laden struck the United States, and Mr. Clinton did his best to render the CIA and FBI useless in the fight against him. Over the eight years of his administration, Clinton refused to fight bin Laden even as hundreds dies and thousands were wounded. This book traces the history of bin Landen and what the United States did -- and more importantly, did not do -- to stop him. It includes exclusive interviews with dozens of Clinton insiders as well as foreign intelligence officials.
Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11
Gerald Posner
In the end, the central question that remained was what did American intelligence and law enforcement know and what did they ignore? What mistakes were made along the way on the ground by police, FBI and CIA, and in Washington and state capitals by policy makers? While hunting for those answers, there were unexpected discoveries about some American allies, and what they might have known, and not told anyone, before 9/11. The result is a far more infuriating book than originally expected. The failure to have prevented 9/11 was a systematic one. It is not just that investigators failed to get a lucky break early on, nor is it really even dependent on a series of blunders in the immediate run-up to the attack. The seeds for failure were sown repeatedly in almost twenty years of fumbled investigations and misplaced priorities. After a while, the revelations of ineptitude presented in this book no longer cause surprise, but only anger.