Book Description
A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright’s remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States.
The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, John O’Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.
As these lives unfold, we see revealed: the crosscurrents of modern Islam that helped to radicalize Zawahiri and bin Laden . . . the birth of al-Qaeda and its unsteady development into an organization capable of the American embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack on the USS Cole . . . O’Neill’s heroic efforts to track al-Qaeda before 9/11, and his tragic death in the World Trade towers . . . Prince Turki’s transformation from bin Laden’s ally to his enemy . . . the failures of the FBI, CIA, and NSA to share intelligence that might have prevented the 9/11 attacks.
The Looming Tower broadens and deepens our knowledge of these signal events by taking us behind the scenes. Here is Sayyid Qutb, founder of the modern Islamist movement, lonely and despairing as he meets Western culture up close in 1940s America; the privileged childhoods of bin Laden and Zawahiri; family life in the al-Qaeda compounds of Sudan and Afghanistan; O’Neill’s high-wire act in balancing his all-consuming career with his equally entangling personal life—he was living with three women, each of them unaware of the others’ existence—and the nitty-gritty of turf battles among U.S. intelligence agencies.
Brilliantly conceived and written, The Looming Tower draws all elements of the story into a galvanizing narrative that adds immeasurably to our understanding of how we arrived at September 11, 2001. The richness of its new information, and the depth of its perceptions, can help us deal more wisely and effectively with the continuing terrorist threat.
Customer Reviews:
Muslims and al-Qaeda 101.......2007-10-10
The Looming Tower is a must read for anyone wanting to know why world events have brought us to today. Lawrence Wright also makes it clear how difficult it will be to negotiate any type of peace with certain Muslim sects. Very factual. Well-researched and documented.
Excellent.......2007-10-10
This book, The Looming Towers, is an excellent portrayal of the genesis of the Muslim feelings of denigration and disgrace at the hands of the leaders of Western world. This book is sobering and frightening. It is well written and extremely interesting with excellent references.
The Looming Tower.......2007-10-10
I thought this an exciting and meaningful book,incredibly rich in detail.
Particularly enjoyed the background on bin Laden's father.
a fascinating read........2007-10-08
this is the third book in a row i have read that covers the events leading to the 9/11 attacks, and, of those three, it is by far the page for page best. "the looming tower" is a masterpiece of nonfiction that works wonderfully on so many levels: mideast politics, the dangers of religious extremism, the rise of al-Qaeda and its partner group al-Jihad, biographical work that paints a vivid human portrait of bin Laden, the best intentions of some and petty ego trips of others within the CIA and FBI whose conflicts hindered cooperation between those agencies leading up to 9/11, the complex and often quirky personalities of those working within the CIA and FBI, the conflicting intentions and seemingly zombie-like acts of cruelty perpetrated by the Taliban, etc... mile after mile of interesting ground is covered in a riveting narrative which never flounders on a single page. i found this to be one of the most thrilling books i have read in quite some time. putting aside the fact that this work is a first-rate primer on our contemporary history, you could simply look at it as a true crime masterpiece (right up there with norman mailer's "the executioner's song"). it certainly deserves the pulitzer prize it won. and it gets my highest recommendation. yes, indeed.
great insight into the killers attacking western civilization.......2007-10-06
This is a great work. Wright's Looming Tower provides an in-depth view of the main organization trying to bring down western civilization. In reading this treatment of this group, one quickly recognizes that these people do not like what we stand for as a country. From their eyes, we are the forces of debauchery, immorality, and crudeness. Their organization is structured to kill our civilization and us. Its really that simple. The cells of terrorists do not need technology, or resources, because they are smart and directed to one purpose. That focus will allow them to come at us repeatedly. Wright makes this clear, and does so by showing how their actions are directed to that one goal. So don't be deluded by those who claim the enemy is us or the president. Get this book, and become knowledgeable about what we face.
Book Description
Conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.
Customer Reviews:
hey.......2007-09-20
so i haven't read the book, i will tell you that, but i think it's funny how John McCain helped write it. That guy needs to be off the balot and in jail for sure. Not all CT's are crazy either. They are family memebers who didn't get a proper investigation from the gov't. The Gov't doesn't care about them or the investigation and they call it a horrible attack on America. Bin Laden isn't even wanted for it. He i wanted for bombing in 198 or something on an american embassy killing maybe 200.
Anyway, read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" wesome "truther" book
Propaganda and a waste of money. .......2007-09-20
Buy a copy of Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin before buying this pack of lies. You can save your time and money and learn what Popular Mechanics says and OMITS in building their case against the truth. Hearst Publishing is still in the business of propaganda. Wake Up.
Reads like propaganda.......2007-09-14
I wish just once somebody would publish an objective book or collection of writings about this topic. The afterward is particularly insulting to the millions of concerned citizens with legitimate questions. Anyone can see that this book was written with an agenda. If this book doesn't give you ammo for you hate-spewing debunking arsenal, it might actually convince you that there are suspicious circumstances to consider.
Junk Science.......2007-08-29
This analysis doesn't even rise to the level of being wrong. You don't have to be a structural engineer to know that a steel-framed building cannot "pancake" at free-fall speed. You don't have to be a metallurgist to know that jet fuel won't leave pools of molten metal weeks after the fire is out. If you cherry-pick your "facts" you can make Stalin look like a boy scout or Mother Theresa look like the devil. This book starts with the conclusion and then tries to prove it. If you want an analysis that starts with the facts and works towards a logical conclusion, try any (or all) of David Ray Griffin's books.
Hint: don't drink fluoridated water........2007-08-24
I really wanted to fall for the "Official" fairytale. Sorry. Anyone who read this steaming terd and didn't find it insulting to their intelligence must be jacked up on fluoride. Do you know Prozac is 97% sodium fluoride? Do you know Hitler used it to sterilize and dumb down people? Do you know it is toxic waste from nuke power plants and aluminum production? You DO know your government puts it in YOUR water supply and toothpaste? Tell you what, figure out how MINOR structural damage and jet fuel pulverizes tons of concrete and EVERYTHING inside these giant skyscrapers into a fine dust before it can hit the ground, each with 47 welded and riveted massive core columns (approx 2/3 of its footprint!) Spraying sheitloads of human bone fragments atop the many adjacent buildings only to be discovered and reported years later and I will forget all about the bazillion lies, scandals and "coincidences", the complete failure of NORAD. Better stop, too much too list. Get a frikkin' clue retards, this is a cover-up hit piece AND do some homework to discover who owns Popular Mechanics Magazine. Better yet, buy the books of the great scholar David Ray Griffin instead, he easily destroys these brownshirt bootlickers using simple and sound logic.
Book Description
This amazing title unites all four Incredible Cross-Sections books in one volume, enlarged and updated with brand-new illustrations-including the TIE bomber, Imperial shuttle, A-wing, and B-wing-along with revised technical introductions, behind-the-scenes pages, glossary, and index. (c) 2006 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM AUTHOR BIO: Hans Jenssen Hans Jenssen has spent the last nine years in a galaxy far, far away, co-illustrating a total of ten Star Wars books with Richard Chasemore, with whom he has developed a close friendship. They have traveled across three continents, sampled exotic beverages with Boba Fett, and partied with R2-D2. He now lives a quiet life in Devon, England, with his partner and young son. RICHARD CHASEMORE Richard Chasemore has worked as an illustrator and 3-D computer artist in the United States and Europe, most notably on DK's Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections and, Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars series. Lately he has written educational books for budding digital artists. He lives on the south coast of England, where he enjoys sports involving boards and high speeds!
Customer Reviews:
OUTSTANDING REFERENCE TOOL.......2007-09-14
Previously, DK Books has release four volumes in their Star Wars cross-sections series, covering the various Star Wars films. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, they've now combines all four of those volumes, along with new illustrations into the massive Star Wars: The Complete Cross Sections. This coffee table-sized hardcover book packs information on every ship and vehicle used in the six films into 152 full-color pages. John Knoll, the Visual Effects Supervisor for episodes I - III, provides the foreword to the book.
The book is basically an encyclopedia for Star Wars ships and vehicles. The items are shown in a cutaway art, allowing the reader to not only see the outside, but also see the interiors as well. This gives fans a unique viewpoint as you generally didn't get a chance to see inside many of these ships and vehicles in the films themselves. Most of these are given a full two-page spread which include data files about each one. The data files provide information such as design and manufacture, wingspan, speed, crew capacity, armament, dimensions, ship or vehicle type, and other special features.
The book begins with Episode I, The Phantom Menace with each of the first three episodes getting their own chapter while the original three films are combined into the last chapter. In addition to the data files, a host of other information is provided on each vehicle as well. Text keys with map lines are drawn to each, pointing out important features of each vehicle. These are about the next best thing to the actual ships blueprints. The detail is simply amazing! On the Naboo Cruiser for example we see where the fuel tanks and fuel lines are located, along with coolant ducts, deflector shield projectors, sensor arrays and even mundane things such as the crew lounge and locker areas. These allow the reader to get inside these massive vehicles and ships and almost take a virtual tour through them.
Get up close and personal with Jango Boba Fett's heavily armed Slave I ship with its blaster cannons, laser cannons, missile launchers, and mine layers. Other ships included from the episodes I to III include Padme's Starship, ARC -170 Fighter, General Grievous's Wheel Bike, Pod Racers, and Palpatine's Shuttle.
The final chapter dealing with the three original films has certainly the most popular ships for fans including the Millennium Falcon, AT-AT Walker, Jabba's Barge, and Darth Vader's Tie Fighter. Several of the major ships and vehicles get fold out sections that provide four full pages worth of data. Chief among these is the first Death Star. The Slave I makes a second appearance here that includes the modifications made by Jango Fett's son, Boba.
Hats off to DK Books for also profiling the two artists whose brilliant work is on display here, Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore. The detail and effort that went into these drawings is truly phenomenal. This is one of those items that is tailor-made for the hardcore Star Wars fan, a reference tool that can be consulted over and over again.
REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON
5 stars for COMPLETE Cross-sections!!.......2007-08-23
People should get Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections.
Here are three reasons why anyone who likes Star Wars should get this book.
1. Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections includes information about ALL six episodes in one book. It's great to have it all in one volume instead of four separate books (Episodes I, II, III, and the Trilogy).
2. Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections has extra content not included in the separate volumes. The Imperial Shuttle, the RZ-1 A-Wing, and the B-Wing Star Fighter are new material in the combined book.
3. Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections is jam-packed with large full color illustrations and tons of fascinating facts. The pages are crowded, but the information is great.
The Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections book rules the galaxy and any Star Wars fan would just love to have a copy. I checked it out of the library, but now it's on my Christmas wish list!!
My 5 year old loves it!.......2007-08-11
I purchased this for my 5 year old because he loves Star Wars. We have a couple of other Star Wars guides. He loves the cross section book because "it shows all the ships and details and that's cool". He loves finding something small that I would have missed. Great book for all ages.
Not What I Expected But Great Nontheless.......2007-07-05
Don't know why but I was expecting technical drawings of the Star Wars vehicles. Instead I get beautiful drawings of the vehicles and some of the characters which was an unexpected plus. Especially for scale comparison with some of the bigger vehicles. The reason this item dose not get five stars from me is because when reading the book things can get somewhat confusing there is so much info on each page it practically spills out from the sides. I would recommend it to anybody who wants more information on their favorite Star Wars vehicles!
Star wars.......2007-06-09
My son has not put this book away since we bought it. It goes on every car ride with us, and even to school for free time reading. The pictures are beautiful. He absolutely loves it.
Book Description
By virtue of his previous four books on the subject, David Ray Griffin is widely recognized as one of the leading spokespersons of the 9/11 truth movement, which rejects the official conspiracy theory about 9/11. Although this movement was long ignored by the US government and the mainstream media, recent polls have shown that (as Time magazine has acknowledged) the rejection of the official theory has become "a mainstream political phenomenon." It is not surprising, therefore, that the government and the corporately controlled media have shifted tactics. No longer ignoring the 9/11 truth movement, they have released a flurry of stories and reports aimed at debunking it.
In the present book, David Ray Griffin shows that these attempts can themselves be easily debunked. Besides demonstrating the pitiful failure of Debunking 9/11 Myths (published by Popular Mechanics and endorsed by Senator John McCain), Griffin riddles recent reports and stories put out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Time magazine as well as a new book by the chairmen of the 9/11 Commission. He also responds to criticisms of the 9/11 truth movement by left-leaning and Christian publications--which one might have expected to be supportive.
Throughout these critiques, Griffin shows that the charge that is regularly leveled against critics of the official theory-that they employ irrational and unscientific methods to defend conclusions based on faith-actually applies more fully to those who defend the official theory.
This book, by debunking the most prevalent attempts to refute the evidence cited by the 9/11 truth movement, shows that this movement's central claim-that 9/11 was an inside job-remains the only explanation that fits the facts.
Customer Reviews:
Best book on 911 and very READABLE.......2007-10-09
I am stunned by Dr. Griffin's meticulous attention to facts and research. I challenge anyone who thinks the Truth movement is a bunch of 'crackpots' to actually read this book and THEN decide!
I agree with the positive reviews already posted, so no need to add more, other than to say that I especially liked his analogy of a compact car hitting an 18-wheeler and continuing at its original speed and even gaining speed - right! just like what happened when the upper floors crashed into the much greater mass of the lower floors - and continued on with ZERO resistance! C'mon, people, use some common sense! You don't have to be a scientist to see that we've been duped BIG TIME!
I will just say that I was surprised by how very READABLE it is - I was expecting an exhausting, dry list of technical facts, but I am actually having trouble putting it down! Well done!
Not a great book.......2007-10-02
Having read the book in full, I must admit that Griffin does poke several holes and highlights some inconsistencies in the four documents he challenges. However, despite his critiques, the four documents still appear more scientifically and statistically sound than what Griffin offers as an alternative theory.
Too often, Griffin dwells on the semantics of "conspiracy theory" vs. "alternative conspiracy theory", while making far-fetched claims involving "voice-morphing technology", on the extreme end.
As a book, it simply drags. Griffin is too wordy and repetitive with his arguments. He could have put forth the same claims with half the verbiage. Either way, though, most of the claims are indeed bogus.
An Absolutely Undebunkable Rebuttal to the Official Theory Pushers.......2007-10-01
As a philosopher and epistomologist, Dr. Griffin examines all subjects dispassionately and with pure intellect and reason. Here is a fact. It is indeed correct that "conspiracy theorists," in the pejorative sense of the term, do indeed cherry-pick random facts to bolster their case. They also omit data that doesn't fit their case.
Another fact is that a conspiracy is simply an agreement between two or more people in secret to do something illegal and/or immoral. A conspiracy theory is a hypothesis as to who is responsible for the act. The officially historically sanctioned version of what happened is itself a conspiracy theory: The idea that 19 Muslim extremists conspired to attack America, their motive being they hated our freedoms (or, in an another interpretation, out of "blow back" for decades of aggressive U.S. imperial-style foreign policy) is itself a conspiracy theory.
Throughout Griffin's latest excellent volume, he shows how the champions of the official theory are guilty of precisely what they accuse the alternative theorists of doing: cherry-picking, omitting and distorting.
The NORAD tapes likely involve distortion, as their version is corroborated by no one but themselves. All news reports and personal anecdotes from the time run to the contrary of what the tapes allegedly reveal.
Popular Mechanics engages in all of the negative traits. Here is but one example: Omission. They claim that no one could have imagined what would happen if a large jetliner slammed into the building. They omit the crucial words of one of the chief architects of the towers. He said: "There would be a huge fire, and massive damage, and a lot of people would be killed, but in the end, the structure would still be there."
The above is just one of countless omissions and distortions in the Popular Mechanics book. Griffin's latest volume is especially important for balance in libraries and the like, because many major institutions, such as the BBC and the History Channel, not to mention the U.S. Government's own State Department website page, continue to cite Popular Mechanics as the final answer to debunking "9/11 conspiracy theories." This book is the REAL conspiracy theory debunker.
Excellent Read.......2007-09-26
I loved this book. David Ray Griffin has a lot to say and every bit of it is presented cogently and clearly. He sticks to the facts and adheres to the scientific method. In defending himself and other "conspiracy theorists," he presents an excellent case showing that documents presented to the American public as the "official story of 9/11" rely on two main methods to present their cases: cherry picking of evidence that bolsters the official story, and complete omission of evidence that doesn't.
The backers of the official story would like you to believe that people who believe in conspiracy theories are nut cases. But David Ray Griffin points out that the official story itself is a conspiracy theory. Therefore, the only real question is this: Who were the participants in the conspiracy? This book presents a very strong case that participants included top American officials and members of the Big Business elite. But that's only the case presented by the facts. There's also the case presented by a few of the "really good looking facts." Take your pick.
Logical, rational, and undeniable.......2007-09-17
Griffin's book is a devastating critique not only of the government's story regarding the events of 9/11, but also of the official defenders of that story. It it this book that finally convinced me beyond all doubt that the official story isn't only suspicious, but utterly absurd. I would strongly encourage anyone with even a mild interest in the events of 9/11 to read this book. Dr. Griffin cites strong evidence (with mountains of useful and accessible references) and uses basic logic and fundamental physics to dismantle the (as Griffin terms it) "official conspiracy theory". While there still may not be any solid proof about precisely what DID happen on that day, Griffin succeeds spectacularly in proving what did not. I would without any hesitation recommend this book to anyone, especially those who do not understand what reasons there are to question the government's version of events. Griffin's articulate, dispassionate, and intelligent arguments are very difficult to dismiss.
Average customer rating:
- Keep reading. Just keep reading. Trust me.
- Terse, Quite Compelling Novel On 9/11 From Don DeLillo
- Tedious Going and Very Bad
- Very good, despite what many reviewers said.
- "A Clear Day Gone" ... THE Definitive 9/11 Novel (for now)
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Falling Man: A Novel
Don DeLillo
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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DeLillo, Don
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Terrorism
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September 11
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ASIN: 1416546022
Release Date: 2007-05-15 |
Amazon.com
The defining moment of turn-of-the-21st-century America is perfectly portrayed in National Book Award winner Don DeLillo's Falling Man. The book takes its title from the electrifying photograph of the man who jumped or fell from the North Tower on 9/11. It also refers to a performance artist who recreates the picture. The artist straps himself into a harness and in high visibility areas jumps from an elevated structure, such as a railway overpass or a balcony, startling passersby as he hangs in the horrifying pose of the falling man.
Keith Neudecker, a lawyer and survivor of the attack, arrives on his estranged wife Lianne's doorstep, covered with soot and blood, carrying someone else's briefcase. In the days and weeks that follow, moments of connection alternate with complete withdrawl from his wife and young son, Justin. He begins a desultory affair with the owner of the briefcase based only on their shared experience of surviving: "the timeless drift of the long spiral down." Justin uses his binoculars to scan the skies with his friends, looking for "Bill Lawton" (a misunderstood version of bin Laden) and more killing planes. Lianne suddenly sees Islam everywhere: in a postcard from a friend, in a neighbor's music--and is frightened and angered by its ubiquity. She is riveted by the Falling Man. Her mother Nina's response is to break up with her long-time German lover over his ancient politics. In short, the old ways and days are gone forever; a new reality has taken over everyone's consciousness. This new way is being tried on, and it doesn't fit. Keith and Lianne weave into reconciliation. Keith becomes a professional poker player and, when questioned by Lianne about the future of this enterprise, he thinks: "There was one final thing, too self-evident to need saying. She wanted to be safe in the world and he did not."
DeLillo also tells the story of Hammad, one of the young men in flight training on the Gulf Coast, who says: "We are willing to die, they are not. This is our srength, to love death, to feel the claim of armed martyrdom." He also asks: "But does a man have to kill himself in order to accomplish something in the world?" His answer is that he is one of the hijackers on the plane that strikes the North Tower.
At the end of the book, De Lillo takes the reader into the Tower as the plane strikes the building. Through all the terror, fire and smoke, De Lillo's voice is steady as a metronome, recounting exactly what happens to Keith as he sees friends and co-workers maimed and dead, navigates the stairs and, ultimately, is saved. Though several post-9/11 novels have been written, not one of them is as compellingly true, faultlessly conceived, and beautifully written as Don De Lillo's Falling Man. --Valerie Ryan
Book Description
There is September 11 and then there are the days after, and finally the years.
Falling Man is a magnificent, essential novel about the event that defines turn-of-the-century America. It begins in the smoke and ash of the burning towers and tracks the aftermath of this global tremor in the intimate lives of a few people.
First there is Keith, walking out of the rubble into a life that he'd always imagined belonged to everyone but him. Then Lianne, his es-tranged wife, memory-haunted, trying to reconcile two versions of the same shadowy man. And their small son Justin, standing at the window, scanning the sky for more planes.
These are lives choreographed by loss, grief and the enormous force of history.
Brave and brilliant, Falling Man traces the way the events of September 11 have reconfigured our emotional landscape, our memory and our perception of the world. It is cathartic, beautiful, heartbreaking.
Customer Reviews:
Keep reading. Just keep reading. Trust me........2007-10-11
FALLING MAN starts well and then seems (note the use of seems, as opposed to does) to drift and suffer from a lack of purpose. Then you read the last ten pages and everything falls together like the last movement of a symphony in which themes developed over time are restated and developed in a magnificent conclusion.
The story concerns a lawyer who gets out of the World Trade Center alive and the way that his life goes off track. He becomes distant to other people. He gives up his law practice to become a professional poker player.
And it seems as if the author is indulging his whims and just trying to be More Post-Modern than Thou. But this is not the case.
Revelations at the end of the story put things in perspective. A book that had a 2 star rating at 9:45 last night had a 5 star rating fifteen minutes later.
By way of confession here I'll admit that I've read every novel relating to 9-11 that I could get my hands on, both those that deal with it directly (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel) and indirectly (Saturday). Maybe I'm obsessed with the topic. Good question.
Read FALLING MAN and find out for yourself if I'm right or wrong about it
Terse, Quite Compelling Novel On 9/11 From Don DeLillo.......2007-10-06
For better or for worse, a literary cottage industry has arisen in the aftermath of 9/11. This still recent horrific event - which ought to endure within the American psyche for decades, if not centuries - has become either the subject of several critically acclaimed novels, or a firmly entrenched background to the tales being spun by such gifted writers from Jonathan Safran Foer to William Gibson. Now one of the truly great writers of American fiction, Don DeLillo, has chimed in with "Falling Man"; a novel that is remarkable not only for its relative brevity, but also for delving deeply into the psyche of New Yorkers who witnessed the World Trade Center terrorist attack and are still coping with their psychological trauma years later. Quoting from its dust-jacket blurb, "Falling Man" is indeed a work of fiction that is "cathartic, beautiful and heartbreaking". Without question, it also demonstrates that DeLillo is still a worthy literary artist at the height of his creative powers; a keen observer of human nature in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. His latest novel also proves that DeLillo is an elegant storyteller delving into the lives of ordinary people who remain mentally imprisoned by the searing images and painful memories of that fateful, tragic clear blue September morning not so long ago. Without question, for these very reasons, "Falling Man" is one of the most impressive novels published this year.
DeLillo deftly weaves the narratives of three members of a rather unremarkable New York City family, whose lives remain touched forever by what they witnessed on 9/11/01; a dysfunctional American family which was tearing itself apart at the seams long before that September morning. We meet Keith as he stumbles through the grayish ash blizzard of building debris and human remains, soon after the collapse of the first World Trade Center building to fall, his face splattered by glass fragments and blood, pressing northward on foot towards Canal Street. Years later his estranged wife Lianne remains in a psychotherapy support group, reliving the grim memories of that day, recalling Keith's unexpected arrival at the Upper East Side apartment of herself and their young son Justin, whose hobby is to stare out of apartment windows, searching the skies with a pair of binoculars for more airplanes crashing into tall buildings like the World Trade Center towers. But is it really a hobby, or rather a phobia, brought on by witnessing the terrorist attacks from the window of a young friend's apartment not far from the World Trade Center? DeLillo's literary ambitions are so vast, that he takes us to an Afghanistan Al-Qaeda training camp, and to Germany, allowing his audience to reside inside the mind of one of the 9/11 hijackers, right up to the final fateful moments of the terrorist's life. But this is an excursion that deflects from, not enhances, the powerful narratives he's created for his three main protagonists, and one that remains a rather facile effort in trying to explain the psychological motivation of one of the nineteen Al Qaeda hijackers. It is also an effort that makes this figure sympathetic to the reader, as if his blind adherence to Islamofascism is one worthy of pithy; an effort that others, most notably John Updike, have handled far better.
Tedious Going and Very Bad.......2007-09-27
This book was like reading a loosely put together collection of stories of how 9/11 affected a husband, his estranged wife, their child (the kid), and others. The characters are hard to connect with and even harder to keep straight. DeLillo jumps from charcter to character with the ease of a jackhammer and the charcters are not at all interesting. Even the eventual story of the main character's escape from the Twin Towers was anticlimatic. All in all this is a book that tries, and fails miserably, at capturing our thoughts about that fateful day and the reactions we had to it. I found myself struggling to finish this book and would not recommend it to anyone.
Very good, despite what many reviewers said........2007-09-14
If you read any mainstream reviews about this book you got the distinct impression that it was sort of a dud. I could not disagree more.
I often struggle with what I call "period fiction," in which the author tries to encapsulate the feelings/mood of a perticular period/event through fiction. However, this book had me in its first pages. DeLillo does a terrific job of conveying the sort of numb anger that many of us felt along with the "now what" questions that we were left asking.
This is one of those books that you may read and enjoy but I did not truly appreciate how good it was until a few days after I had finished it and allowed my brain to process what I had just read. It was then that I began to think that this was one of the best books I had picked up in a long time.
For me, this book is a must read for anyone but especially if you are in that 18-34 age group, for which 9/11 is likely to be one of the major events of our lives. I suspect this is how many children of the Cold War felt when they read "Underworld." Kudos to Delillo for doing such a great job at capturing the emotion of such an event.
"A Clear Day Gone" ... THE Definitive 9/11 Novel (for now).......2007-09-13
FALLING MAN is an unorthodox yet compelling novel of 9/11 and its immediate aftermath. DeLillo tells the story primarily through the eyes of protagonist Keith, a survivor who walked out of the World Trade Center that fateful morning with minimal injuries but sizable emotional scars. Plot lines follow his strained relationship with his estranged wife, a dalliance with another World Trade Center survivor whose briefcase he retrieves and a growing obsession with poker.
Parallel to this is a depiction of the Islamic "martyrs" who eventually hijacked the planes on their way to presumed Paradise. A recurring motif is a performance artist known as "Falling Man," who at random points throughout New York City pantomimes falls from buildings and structures as the essence of his "art."
If it sounds strange, it is, but oddly compelling nonetheless. The characters' dialogue is odd but weirdly believable.
On this sixth anniversary of 9/11, FALLING MAN prompts us to think of what meaning we invest in that experience. Perhaps there will be many more novels to come about that fateful Tuesday, but DeLillo has staked a claim for now to THE definitive 9/11 story.
Book Description
There are many ways that a potential attacker can intercept information, or learn more about the sender, as the information travels over a network. Silence on the Wire uncovers these silent attacks so that system administrators can defend against them, as well as better understand and monitor their systems.
Silence on the Wire dissects several unique and fascinating security and privacy problems associated with the technologies and protocols used in everyday computing, and shows how to use this knowledge to learn more about others or to better defend systems. By taking an indepth look at modern computing, from hardware on up, the book helps the system administrator to better understand security issues, and to approach networking from a new, more creative perspective. The sys admin can apply this knowledge to network monitoring, policy enforcement, evidence analysis, IDS, honeypots, firewalls, and forensics.
Customer Reviews:
Light Face of the Dark Side.......2007-07-16
The Global Network is not a battle ground. It is a play ground.
This book although it covers security issues is great insight into the mentality that the security geeks can have. For them the security of platforms and networks are faulted and the hackers task is to disclose that.
A Wonderful Treatment of Network Security.......2007-06-12
At a conference I was at some time ago, a fellow mentioned to me that one person he would probably not want to play poker with is Michal Zalewski. I didn't really get his statement at the time, but after reading this book, I can now wholeheartedly understand his reluctance.
Although only 260 pages long, Michal's book covers an incredibly wide range of topics, pinpointing numerous areas in which incredible amounts of information about you and your computer are available, even though it may not seem that way at first blush. From the keyboard, to the processor, to the operating system, to the network wire, Michal points out the many holes from which this information is leaking from. His writing style gives rise to an entertaining narrative where a high-level picture makes the main concept available to everyone, while at the same time providing citations in the footnotes that let you delve into the details at a later point.
Silence on the Wire impressed me in so many ways that it's difficult to list them all here. Michal's understanding of so many areas in computer security is simply astounding. He covers each topic in just enough detail, not bogging down the reader in lots of technical jargon, but also not doing an inordinate amount of 'hand-waving'. His movement through the various components of the computer and the network is very well done; it ties together in a nice progression that the reader can follow easily.
I enjoyed the a nice selection of papers Michal discusses in which many ingenious attacks were described (timing attacks on RSA, SSH password recovery through timing analysis, TEMPEST, etc.). But one thing that truly stood out in this book is Michal's own contribution, which includes his work with p0f, the analysis of various ISN generators, and his work on identifying various web browsers through timing analysis. I was just amazed at how easily Michal pulled these 'fingerprints' out of seemingly random and/or innocuous data sets.
I had actually read about much of the work that Silence on the Wire covers beforehand, but in spite of that I learned a great deal from this book, and I know that many others can too. If you only read one book on network security, make it this one!
super.......2007-03-08
Thanks a lot, we are very happy to have this book in our library!
New look at the (in)security of networked computers.......2007-01-13
I am a student studying information security and I've read many books lately on the subject. Silence on the Wire is truly a unique book, and a nice change from the conventional reading material. Michal is a known expert in his field, and you can find many of his works and research in a simple search. His book focuses on the basic, yet most overlooked computer and network designs that can be attacked. In Silence on the Wire, Michal takes us on a long, treacherous journey of a packet, from when the data is first entered to its final destination. Along the way, we look at flaws in the design of computers and networks and how they are eventually exploited.
I held off reading this book all summer, after trying to read through the second chapter and finally getting frustrated with it. Chapter two is the book's downfall, as it spends entirely too much time getting to "the point" (as Richard Bejtlich puts it). Michal's explanations here were too confusing and will lose almost any reader. I think the section on the Turing Machine can be skipped over, unless you slow down and take notes and draw yourself diagrams of the information. Only then, will you probably understand what it's getting at. I'm happy to say though, reading the rest of the book was fairly easy; anybody with a background in network computing and security will be able to follow along.
Silence on the Wire is a fascinating read and I definitely recommend it to anybody who is interested or responsible for information security. Michal hopes his book will give you a new perspective on security and explore the relationships and interactions between components. I am glad I got to read this book and hope one day to contribute my own research to the topic.
Something to have in mind.......2006-11-10
Maybe not all of the possible threats described are real today, but one really get a glimpse into a world where the major objective is to exploit possibilities not intended to be there. People populating this world think differently than the rest of us, and an explanation of how they think is both scary and enlightening. Michal Zalewski walks us through various scenarios in an easy to understand and an often humorous way.
Amazon.com
In defending your systems against intruders and other meddlers, a little knowledge can be used to make the bad guys--particularly the more casual among them--seek out softer targets. Counter Hack aims to provide its readers with enough knowledge to toughen their Unix and Microsoft Windows systems against attacks in general, and with specific knowledge of the more common sorts of attacks that can be carried out by relatively unskilled "script kiddies." The approach author Ed Skoudis has chosen is effective, in that his readers accumulate the knowledge they need and generally enjoy the process.
The best part of this book may be two chapters, one each for Windows and Unix, that explain the essential security terms, conventions, procedures, and behaviors of each operating system. This is the sort of information that readers need--a Unix person getting into Windows administration for the first time needs an introduction to the Microsoft security scheme, and vice versa. A third chapter explains TCP/IP with focus on security. With that groundwork in place, Skoudis explains how (with emphasis on tools) attackers look for vulnerabilities in systems, gain access, and maintain their access for periods of time without being discovered. You'll probably want to search online resources for more specific information--Skoudis refers to several--but this book by itself will provide you with the vocabulary and foundation knowledge you need to get the details you want. --David Wall
Topics covered: How black-hat hackers work, what tools and techniques they use, and how to assess and improve your systems' defenses. The author explains how Windows, Unix, and TCP/IP can be exploited for nefarious purposes, and details a modus operandi that's typical of the bad guys.
Customer Reviews:
Great book overall but..........2007-09-08
I can't argue with the fact that this is a great book to learn security. It also serves as a fantastic intro to networking with some really good insight into the interworkings of TCP/IP. One thing that is great about this book is the detail that the author goes into on each section. This should be required reading for all new security/network professionals. Its funny but the things that people take for granted that they know (foundational knowledge)are the very things that not many people in the field truly understand at a deep level. This book will help you to not be one of those people.
Only one real gripe - I know typos happen and errors are common in technical books BUT... in a chapter about TCP/IP to misspell the late Jon Postel's name is just unbelievable -- Wow. (p.32)
Excellent book for those interested in internet security.......2007-07-09
This book has done a great job at informing readers of network security. After supplying a little OS and networking background information the author composes the information in a way that an attacker would view it so the reader can get inside the mind of an intruder. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in how attacks are executed.
Execllent!.......2007-01-30
This book does not tell you how to use hacking-tools, but It teachs you how the tools work!
Insightful and Informative.......2006-12-04
As a student studying information technology with goals of having a career in the information systems security field, Mr. Skoudis' book "Counter Hack Reloaded" provides me with an amazing resource that is helping me obtain the knowledge and skills I need to succeed in the Infosec field. His book is insightful and explains the complexity and workings of varius threats and risks to our networks and computer systems in a way that makes them easy to understand. The steps attackers usually take are broken down and analyzed along with ways to secure your systems from such attacks.
The book is broken down into different phases after the few first chapters go over the basics of networking and the major operating systems (Windows and Linux/Unix). Phase One covers Reconnaissance which includes tactics such as social engineering. Phase Two is scanning and the different methods of scanning networks, both wired and wireless. Phase Three covers gaining access to the network through attacks on applications, OSs, DoS attacks, and other network attacks. Phase Four covers maintaining access, which includes information on varius threats such as backdoors, trojans, rootkits, etc. Phase Five reviews covering one's tracks and hiding evidence of network intrusions, etc.
I recommend this book to anyone in my position of currently obtaining an education in any field having to deal with information systems. Even if security is not your main focus, the knowledge this book provides is valuable as a reference and as a way of better understanding the current threats to our organizations and the networks that make them up, both the technical and personnel networks.
Counter Hack this Book.......2006-09-17
Counter Hack
Reloaded
Second Edition
by
Ed Skoudis
with
Tom Liston
Published by Prentice Hall, December 2005
ISBN 0-13-148104-5
This book is an absolute must have for every security professionals bookshelf. If you are new to the arena of Information Systems Security or a CISSP this book leads you down some extremely interesting vulnerability protection paths. Ed Skoudis gives an exhaustive look into the mind and intentions of the "Nasties" out there and how to protect yourself and your network from them.
The chapters are well laid out and each builds on the knowledge from the previous chapter(s). The Table of Contents allows for easy reference back to a specific chapter for later the material is cutting edge and well explained with references to additional material online.
All in all a very insightful book that made me double check all of my firewalls and filesystem protection methods and apply some of the knowledge learned.
Book Description
The Redemption series won Christian Retailing's 2005 Retailer's Choice Award for Best Series!
This touching novel reunites readers with the Baxter family and focuses on the only Baxter son, Luke. He is determined to leave his faith and his past behind and embrace a new, free-thinking future. But what he doesn't realize is that his past holds a secret even he doesn't know. When Luke finds out, his comfortable new life is turned upside down, and he must turn back to his roots.
Download Description
This touching novel reunites readers with the Baxter family and focuses on the only Baxter son, Luke. He is determined to leave his faith and his past behind and embrace a new, free-thinking future. But what he doesn't realize is that his past holds a secret even he doesn't know. When Luke finds out, his comfortable new life is turned upside down, and he must turn back to his roots."
Customer Reviews:
I couldn't put it down!!!.......2007-07-09
This is my 4th Karen Kingsbury book and I cannot get enough. This book was so good I was done reading it in 2 days and I probably would have finished it sooner if not for my kids. Super read, can't wait to get the next one!!!
greatness again...........2007-01-10
Loved it....lives up to what I have come to expect of Karen Kingsbury.
one of my favorite books ever!.......2006-10-24
Return is the 3rd book in Karen Kingsbury's Redemtion series. This book is mainly focused on Luke, the Baxter's only son, straying from God after some traumatic events, including 9/11. He rejected his Faith, his family, and the girl he loved. Instead he turned to a life leading to destruction, and he messed with a false religion--freethinking. "Freethinking meant he could avoid his family if he wanted to. According to freethinking, whatever thought he went with was the right one." "Luke's life was strange and dark and empty and alone." This book is a heart-wrenching story of a family's love and devotion to one another through thick and thin. It makes you feel like you are living life right alongside the Baxter family. Karen Kingsbury does an amazing job of getting the reader involved in the book--you won't be able to set it down!
Modern day prodigal son story.......2006-01-28
Return is the 3rd in the Redemption Series, following Redemption and Remember. Return focuses on the Baxters' son Luke. He becomes "disenchanted" with God and turns 180 degrees from the values of his family. As always, the interactions between the Baxter family members not only make an engaging story, but also teach the reader the importance of trusing God. This is my favorite series of all time, and I do read constantly! It evokes strong emotions in the reader, because there is bound to be someone's behavior or some life situation that really hits home. It is a book you'll never forget! Buy the entire Redemtion Series at once so that you won't have to pause between books. Here they are in order: Redemption, Remember, Return, Rejoice, and Reunion. And even after that there is a spinoff series that promises to be just as rewarding: the Firstborn Series, also involving the Baxter family but with some new characters and situations--outstanding!
Perfect title and theme. Perfect novel..........2005-09-09
I can't believe how true to life the issues are that the author's characters' deal with in her novels. No pain is sidestepped. No pat answers are offered. True healing and forgiveness are experienced. Consequences of sin are suffered. This is real life with a whole lot of hope. The resolutions made sense and weren't easy fixes. I got choked up nearly as often with this book as I did Remember. Also, I read the entire novel in two days (around working my full time job.) Wonderful read. I especially loved the contrast between liberal thinking and true faith. Highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
- Amazing Record of an Important Part of Our History
- Amazing collection of photographs by a very gifted photographer
- A True Memorial
- Excellent Documentary
- Incredible 9-11 Photos!!
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Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
Joel Meyerowitz
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Nine Months at Ground Zero: The Story of the Brotherhood of Workers Who Took on a Job Like No Other
ASIN: 0714846554 |
Book Description
After September 11th, 2001, the Ground Zero site in New York City was classified as a crime scene and only those directly involved in the recovery efforts were allowed inside. The press was also prohibited from the site, but with the help of the Museum of the City of New York and sympathetic city officials, award-winning photographer Joel Meyerowitz managed to obtain unlimited access. By ingenuity and sheer determination, he was the only photographer granted unimpeded right of entry into Ground Zero.
For 9 months, during the day and night, Meyerowitz photographed "the pile," as the World Trade Center came to be known, and the over 800 people a day that were working in it. Influenced by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange's work for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, he knew that if he didn't make a photographic record of the unprecedented recovery efforts, "there would be no history."
Sept. 23. Assembled panorama of the site from the World Financial Center, looking east. (All images copyright Joel Meyerowitz from Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive (Phaidon). |
Sept. 25. The south wall of the South Tower. |
Oct. 11. An FDNY rescue team resting on Liberty Street. |
Nov. 8. Spotters in the South Tower. |
May 1. Ralph and Paul Geidel waiting for a fresh raking field. |
Marking the 5th anniversary of September 11th, Phaidon Press has published this extraordinary new book AFTERMATH: THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ARCHIVE with photographs and text by Joel Meyerowitz, which will feature, for the first time, the vast collection of Meyerowitz's previously unpublished photos from Ground Zero along with the engaging account of his experience in his own words. This historic publication is the only existing photographic record of the monumental recovery efforts post-9/11.
From portraits of the people he met to the accidental beauty of the ruins at dusk, AFTERMATH features 400 breathtaking color photographs, many taken with a large format camera. Bronx-born Meyerowitz brings his trademark sensitivity, intelligence and eye for beauty to these poignant images that will hold an important place in American history.
AFTERMATH brings to life the tireless determination of the scores of individuals who assisted in the clean-up process, including construction workers, police officers, firefighters, welders or "burners," engineers, crane operators and volunteers. Presented on a monumental scale, and interspersed with fascinating stories, the book documents the transformation of the site chronologically from piles of devastation to an empty pit six stories below ground. This landmark book offers current and future generations the opportunity to finally travel inside a forbidden city where thousands were brought together by a common cause.
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"I was taking pictures for everyone who didn't have access to the site," says Meyerowitz in AFTERMATH, "so I decided to work with a large-format wooden view camera. This camera was impossible to hide, but it enabled me to make images of the fullest description, with a sense of deep space. I wanted to communicate what it felt like to be in there as well as what it looked like: to show the pile's incredible intricacy and visceral power.... I could provide a window for everyone else who wanted to be there, too--to help, or to grieve, or simply to try to understand what had happened to our city." |
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The World Trade Center Archive, consisting of thousands of Meyerowitz's images, is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York where it is available for research, exhibition and publication. For the past few years, a small selection of these photographs was featured in an exhibition, "After September 11: Images from Ground Zero," which traveled to more than 200 cities in 60 countries, reaching over 3.5 million people.
Book Description
After September 11th, 2001, the Ground Zero site in New York City was classified as a crime scene and only those directly involved in the recovery efforts were allowed inside. The press was also prohibited from the site, but with the help of the Museum of the City of New York and sympathetic city officials, award-winning photographer Joel Meyerowitz managed to obtain unlimited access. By ingenuity and sheer determination, he was the only photographer granted unimpeded right of entry into Ground Zero.For 9 months, during the day and night, Meyerowitz photographed "the pile," as the World Trade Center came to be known, and the over 800 people a day that were working in it. Influenced by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange's work for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, he knew that if he didn't make a photographic record of the unprecedented recovery efforts, "there would be no history."Sept. 23. Assembled panorama of the site from the World Financial Center, looking east. (All images copyright Joel Meyerowitz from Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive (Phaidon).Sept. 25. The south wall of the South Tower. Oct. 11. An FDNY rescue team resting on Liberty Street.Nov. 8. Spotters in the South Tower. May 1. Ralph and Paul Geidel waiting for a fresh raking field. Marking the 5th anniversary of September 11th, Phaidon Press has published this extraordinary new book AFTERMATH: THE WORLD TRADE CENTER ARCHIVE with photographs and text by Joel Meyerowitz, which will feature, for the first time, the vast collection of Meyerowitz's previously unpublished photos from Ground Zero along with the engaging account of his experience in his own words. This historic publication is the only existing photographic record of the monumental recovery efforts post-9/11.From portraits of the people he met to the accidental beauty of the ruins at dusk, AFTERMATH features 400 breathtaking color photographs, many taken with a large format camera. Bronx-born Meyerowitz brings his trademark sensitivity, intelligence and eye for beauty to these poignant images that will hold an important place in American history.AFTERMATH brings to life the tireless determination of the scores of individuals who assisted in the clean-up process, including construction workers, police officers, firefighters, welders or "burners," engineers, crane operators and volunteers. Presented on a monumental scale, and interspersed with fascinating stories, the book documents the transformation of the site chronologically from piles of devastation to an empty pit six stories below ground. This landmark book offers current and future generations the opportunity to finally travel inside a forbidden city where thousands were brought together by a common cause."I was taking pictures for everyone who didn't have access to the site," says Meyerowitz in AFTERMATH, "so I decided to work with a large-format wooden view camera. This camera was impossible to hide, but it enabled me to make images of the fullest description, with a sense of deep space. I wanted to communicate what it felt like to be in there as well as what it looked like: to show the pile's incredible intricacy and visceral power.... I could provide a window for everyone else who wanted to be there, too--to help, or to grieve, or simply to try to understand what had happened to our city."The World Trade Center Archive, consisting of thousands of Meyerowitz's images, is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York where it is available for research, exhibition and publication. For the past few years, a small selection of these photographs was featured in an exhibition, "After September 11: Images from Ground Zero," which traveled to more than 200 cities in 60 countries, reaching over 3.5 million people.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Record of an Important Part of Our History.......2007-10-08
Meyerowitz his taken a step out of his usual repetoire in making these remarkable photographs. He has provided us with a devastating and incredibly imporant record of all that transpired in the Aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. We have been staurated with images of the event itself; what we see here is the heroic and painstaking recovery work that followed.
Amazing collection of photographs by a very gifted photographer.......2007-07-14
I first saw photographs from this collection at the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg, Austria. Anyone who entered the gallery was immediately struck by a panorama of ground zero on one wall, each emitting an audible gasp, then standing before it for several minutes in silence. Meyerowitz is an extremely gifted photgrapher, and I recommend other of his collections for viewing. Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz, Tuscany: Inside the Light: Inside the Light (Photography). The "Aftermath" collection is the only archive of the activities following 9/11 at ground zero, and it is quite moving. Meyerowitz had access to many vantage points to capture for posterity the many facets of ground zero and this tragic event in our history. Viewing these photos takes time and thought, as Meyerowitz has also included brief descriptions and stories about each photograph. You will be struck by many emotions, sadness, anger, shock, and awe. But, there is an eeriness and a beauty, as well as hope in these photographs, inspired by the photographer's exquisite eye for detail, composition, lines, faces, and light. Photographers, professional and amateur alike, will deeply appreciate and learn from these aspects. Anyone to whom I have shown this book has been as immensely moved as I, from the UPS driver who delivered the package, to my father, a refugee of WWII, who still cannot speak easily of the events of 9/11. This book is highly recommended as an addition for one's library.
A True Memorial.......2007-04-13
Aftermath represents the efforts of Joel Meyerowitz to document the destruction and cleanup of the World Trade Center following 9/11. This is a beefy coffee table book that is large enough to give his photos some real impact. Unlike most photo essays, however, you won't find hundreds of beautiful images. After a couple of pages show what New York's skyline once looked like, you are confronted by image after image of the horrific destruction of these huge landmarks. There are also many instances where we see the people who worked the cleanup site. Many of these are the most moving images as you can imagine the emotions that sometimes overcame these men and women who were there every day for months on end.
In addition to the photos, Mr. Meyerowitz also shares some anecdotes about what he went through to get these photos. He also talks about some of the people he met. I found these stories at least as powerful as his words. Most Americans were obviously distraught by the events of that day, but most of us were also able to start moving on with our lives and slowly put it behind us. But these people were there on the ground confronting the effects for months. Recovering bodies and personal objects, as well as being asked by survivors to put mementos on the pile of rubble as little memorials to their lost loved ones.
This is not the happiest book you can buy. It doesn't have the prettiest photos or the most elegant prose. But it may be the most worthwhile book I've ever purchased. I would urge everyone to buy a copy and read it cover to cover.
Excellent Documentary.......2007-03-28
I have other books on the 9/11 disaster but this is by far the most comprehensive. The photographs are excellent. The price was reasonable for the quality.
Incredible 9-11 Photos!!.......2007-03-04
Of all the books on the aftermath of 9-11, this is absolutely the best ever!! These photographs are stunning and capture all of the remaining structures at Ground Zero. This is the most comprehensive book I have seen to date. I highly recommend it.
Book Description
First and foremost, this is virtually an exclusive story that few media outlets or the American public know about. Hard to believe when you read the below summary, but lucky for us:
In addition to being the vehicle for the author to become a major media force in the national debate on the war, this remarkable memoir will introduce the public to Captain Robert McGovern's inspirational rise as a boy who was one of nine children who rose to become a New Jersey high school football phenom and then a major NFL star as a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New England Patriots. Following this success, McGovern chose to leave football and receive his law degree from Fordham University in order to work in the New York City district attorney's office in the late 90s. Subsequently, he was a witness of the WTC attack on New York, which led to his decision to leave public life and join the U.S. Army as a prosecuting attorney for the military, resulting last year in his conviction (and death penalty sentencing) of the Middle Eastern but American–born Army Sergeant Hasan Akbar, who threw live grenades into the commissary tent of his fellow soldiers fighting the war in Kuwait.
Customer Reviews:
a moron for the ages.......2007-09-23
This simpleton of a jerk-off & his ilk are EXACTLY what is wrong with my country. I cannot f+cking wait to leave this country & never return. Enjoy your fascism.
Autobiography and Apologetic.......2007-09-20
Several reviews I have read have come down hard on the author for his stand on the war in Iraq. But this is his autobiography, the story of his life, and his opinion of the war is just one part of it. It is a well-written account of his childhood, his family, his education and his aspirations, and continues into his adulthood to the present time. He lets us know how he was trained by his parents to be unselfish and give back to the community some form of service, and this was undoubtedly the motivation for joining the Army Reserve, and eventually finding himself on active duty in Iraq.
A good part of his story comes before that. He was competing with his older brothers in athletics, trying to be as good as they had been in high school football, and then in college football. He received an athletic scholarship from Holy Cross, an enormous accomplishment in his eyes, and he was grateful for the opportunity. And then came pro football, four years of it on three different teams. He was pretty good at it, but not outstanding. He simply was not big enough (hefty, bulky) to be a great linebacker. He was thankful for this chance to make the big league, but took the advice of one of his coaches to give it up. From there he decided to study law and with his law degree took a job as an Assistant DA in New York City. Then came 9/11, to which he was an eyewitness. In his role as a US Army Reserve officer he volunteered to help. Immediately following, he applied for active duty, leaving his job as assistant DA, and became a prosecutor for the Judge Advocate General Corps, and then deployed to Afghanistan and later to Iraq. His experiences there were extraordinary because he was involved in the trial of Hasan Akbar, the US Army Sergeant who killed two Army officers and wounded a number of others when he threw hand grenades into the tents of the soldiers.
This is a well-written account of the life of a man who became a soldier in the US Army. Why would anyone find it strange that he has strong opinions in favor of the war in Iraq ? It is his contention that we are there as part of the war on terrorism. The patriotic feeling that he had on 9/11 was something that almost all of us shared at that time. For him it continued; for many of us it disappeared.
Should we still be in Iraq? That is a matter for debate, which has been ongoing for some time now. Captain McGovern feels that we are making a difference, and that is why we are still there.
This book is certainly worth reading, if only to gain some insight from a different perspective.
RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "YOU AND I ARE THE "ALL-AMERICAN'S" THAT CAPTAIN McGOVERN IS TALKING ABOUT!".......2007-07-25
The life story of Captain Robert McGovern, is almost "Forrest Gump" like. Rob is one of nine Irish Catholic children, born to Howard and Terry McGovern in New Jersey. Though born in New Jersey, if I were to describe his morals, character, and upbringing, I would describe it in the highest of terms, that most Americans would consider as "mid-western". One of the many, emotionally uplifting themes in this book, is the absolute, enduring, love, and respect, that Rob, constantly proclaims for his parents. He was raised from the beginning, to have high goals, and his older brothers got football scholarships to Holy Cross, as Rob also did later on, but with less fanfare. Just as importantly, he and his siblings were raised to "service" the community. To give something back, and Rob continued this process in college at Holy Cross and while in the National Football League, with outreach programs. When Rob graduated college, no one gave him a chance of making it in the NFL. But he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, as an undersized, underdog, linebacker, and special team's player. He lasted a few years with numerous teams, making the most of his non-star ability. The way he accomplished this, is with dogged, determination and dedication. To quote Rob: "Being the best at what you do has to be more important to you than partying or chasing girls or hanging out with your buddies. It has to be worth sacrificing the comforts and pleasures of an undirected life and replacing them with long hours of sweat and tears. In football, it also helps to be one tough character." At the end of Rob's short NFL career, he attended law school, and upon graduation, became an assistant D.A. in Manhattan. In keeping with his personal goal, of giving service to his community/country, he also joined the Army Reserves.
Then, on the forever-fateful day, of September 11, 2001, Rob was on the way to work in Manhattan, when he saw the smoke, and the planes, at the World Trade Center. He couldn't get to work, so he went home and put on the TV, and heard an announcement, that military men were needed at "ground-zero" to help look for bodies. Even though he was in the reserves, he donned his uniform, and went to "ground-zero", and helped recover the remains of victims for days. Rob, happened to be there, when President Bush arrived, and shook the Commander In Chief's hand, and was so moved, he decided he wanted to go on active duty and help America fight back. Because Rob was 38 years old, they wouldn't let him go on active duty. He persisted in every way possible, and was finally accepted as a Judge Advocate General. (JAG) He proceeded to go to Afghanistan and Iraq and assisted in "Rules Of Engagement" (ROE) enforcement. From there, he went in to criminal prosecution. He wound up on the successful prosecution team, that convicted Sergeant Hasan Akbar, probably the worst, United States Military criminal, in the last 30-40 years. To refresh your memory, Akbar, was the traitor, who the night before, we were going to launch Operation Iraqi Freedom, attacked his comrades, with grenades and small-arms fire. He wounded more than a dozen troops. Two were dead.
There is much more, to the life story, of a man who loves his country, loves his family, loves God, and has dedicated his life to enforcing freedom throughout the world, but let me conclude my review, by having Rob tell you why he named his book "All American". "You might wonder about the use of "All-American" in the title. First of all, let me say off the bat that I'm not talking about myself here. What is an "All-American" anyway? I've met some real "All-Americans- quiet, unassuming, heroic people who inspire students, protect us from crime, and defend our values. They are "All-American" in every sense of the phrase. I chose this title in part to pay tribute to these "All-American", I've been lucky enough to meet and work with through the years. I also chose it to pay special tribute to the men and women of our armed forces, especially those in the 82nd Airborne Division. That famous unit happens to be called the All-American Division."
Extraordinary.......2007-06-08
An extraordinary account of one good man standing tall for the best of American values.
I wanted to like this book, but..........2007-04-29
I am also a Captain in the Army, so I was excited to come across a written account of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan written by one of my peers. I thought this book would be interesting and relevant to my own experiences in Iraq. However, I was very quickly disappointed by the book's one-sidedness and lack of insight.
One of McGovern's main themes is that the positive stories from Iraq and Afghanistan are seldom reported, while violence and strife always make the nightly news. While there is truth to this, McGovern takes the opposite approach to the extreme. He cites children waving at soldiers and Iraqis voting as proof that US policies in Iraq are working and progress is being made, but he completely ignores any and all evidence to the contrary (worsening violence, Iraqi political ineffectiveness, millions of refugees fleeing the country, a steady decline of electricity and other services, children throwing rocks, etc).
By far, the biggest flaw in this book is that McGovern never addresses or acknowledges the negative impact of having an occupying army living and operating for years within a civilian population. In the effort to catch the terrorists, soldiers kick in doors, round up detainees, seize and destroy private property, create collateral damage and civilian deaths, etc. These are the unavoidable side effects of fighting a war. Add to that the unscrupulous actions of the soldiers at Abu Ghraib and Haditha, and you'll find that the longer we stay, the less popular we become, and the more support the insurgency receives from the local population. A recent poll indicated that over half of Iraqis now support attacks against American soldiers. By ignoring half of the issue, McGovern abandons a reasoned, balanced appraisal in favor of blind ideology and wishful thinking.
I haven't mentioned McGovern's career in the NFL or as an attorney, because the autobiographical aspect of this book is actually rather secondary to his promotion of US policy in executing the War on Terror. In this regard, none of his points are new, original, or insightful. Conservative ideology is haphazardly sprinkled throughout the book whether or not it is relevant to the ongoing story. For example, here is a quote from the NFL portion: "Of course, the hate [Vince] Lombardi was talking about was the football kind, not the hate that drives people to fly airplanes into buildings." By the time you reach the end of the book, it starts to sound like a White House press release from 2003. If you are primarily looking for a good inside account of the NFL, life in Iraq/Afghanistan, or the DA's office, this isn't the right book for you. If you're hells bells behind the war in Iraq and want to read something you're sure to agree with, then you might want to pick this up.
Books:
- The Lord God Made Them All (All Creatures Great & Small)
- The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family
- The Mermaids Singing (A Dr. Tony Hill & Carol Jordan Mystery)
- The Midnight Choir
- The Mother-in-Law Dance: Can Two Women Love the Same Man and Still Get Along?
- The Naming of the Dead (An Inspector Rebus)
- The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities
- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
- Three Vampire Tales: Dracula, Carmilla, and The Vampyre (New Riverside Editions)
- To Kill a Mockingbird
Books Index
Books Home
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- Business Continuity Planning: A Step-by-Step Guide with Planning Forms on CD-ROM, Third Edition
- Estate Planning Simplified
- World Development Report 1998-1999: Knowledge for Development
- Shooting Dr. Jack: A Novel
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq
State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III
America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future
The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11
