Nonfiction Reader Recommendations

The nonfiction book I read is Touching History: the Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies by Lynn Spencer. (about 9/11)

Since Spencer was interested in the facts and studied the government report,
I would recommend the official report for someone who wanted more details and access to the official government report:
The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on…
by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. However is it a very lengthy report. One alternative would be the graphic novel version: The 9/11 report: a graphic adaptation by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon, which got good reviews.

There are of course many books on 9/11, factual accounts, biographies, memoirs, reporter's accounts, survivor accounts, surviving family member accounts, political accounts from many perspectives. etc.
If the reader was interested in reading an account of what happened at the World Trade Center Towers, I would recommend:
In 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, New York Times writers Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn
from Amazon:
In 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, New York Times writers Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn vividly recreate the 102-minute span between the moment Flight 11 hit the first Twin Tower on the morning of September 11, 2001, and the moment the second tower collapsed, all from the perspective of those inside the buildings--the 12,000 who escaped, and the 2,749 who did not. It's becoming easier, years later, to forget the profound, visceral responses the Trade Center attacks evoked in the days and weeks following September 11. Using hundreds of interviews, countless transcripts of radio and phone communications, and exhaustive research, Dwyer and Flynn bring that flood of responses back--from heartbreak to bewilderment to fury. The randomness of death and survival is heartbreaking. One man, in the second tower, survived because he bolted from his desk the moment he heard the first plane hit; another, who stayed at his desk on the 97th floor, called his wife in his final moments to tell her to cancel a surprise trip he had planned. In many cases, the deaths of those who survived the initial attacks but were killed by the collapse of the towers were tragically avoidable. Building code exemptions, communication breakdowns between firefighters and police, and policies put in place by building management to keep everyone inside the towers in emergencies led, the authors argue, to the deaths of hundreds who might otherwise have survived. September 11 is by now both familiar and nearly mythological. Dwyer and Flynn's accomplishment is recounting that day's events in a style that is stirring, thorough, and refreshingly understated. --Erica C. Barnett
(retrieved from Amazon Mon, 25 Aug 2008


Terror in the Skies by Annie Jacobsen
This book should appeal to the some of the same readers as Spencer's book, although the incident Jacobsen's focuses on appears to be called into question. It may be that readers who are conspiracy theorists would be more likely readers but conspiracy theorists/buffs also read Spencer's books. (Of course I wouldn't label the reader as a conpiracy theorist/buff.)
From Amazon.com:
Product Description
Annie Jacobsen’s harrowing first-hand account of her flight with a group of suspected terrorists forces us to ask: Could 9/11 happen again? On June 29, 2004, Jacobsen, traveling with her family on Northwest Airlines flight 327, witnessed what she believed was a terrorist "dry run." The blogosphere quickly made world news of Jacobsen’s article on her terrifying experience, launching her on a year-long investigation. In Terror in the Skies, Jacobsen tells, for the first time, the full story of the events on Northwest 327 and the investigation that followed. What happened on her flight, she discovered, was not an isolated incident, and if our air security does not improve, 9/11 is likely to happen again.
Jacobsen interviewed dozens of flight attendants, pilots, air marshals, FBI agents, government officials, and ordinary passengers—eventually gaining access to confidential government reports and correspondence. She reveals a Department of Homeland Security, especially its Federal Air Marshal Service, mired in bureaucracy and political correctness. Teams of terrorists consistently "probe" security on airline flights, and front-line law enforcement officers and airline personnel are effectively prevented from doing anything about it.

Jacobsen’s persistence earned her the wrath of the Air Marshal Service’s management, which embarked on an unsuccessful campaign to discredit her. Their willingness to ignore even congressional inquiries and federal legislation, in an attempt to preserve ill-conceived policies and cover their mistakes, is one of Jacobsen’s most disturbing discoveries.

From her search for flight 327’s "Syrian Wayne Newton" to her testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Jacobsen’s scrutiny of our air security makes the case for an overhaul of our security services. Many of the federal agents involved in the events of flight 327 have stood firm: nothing happened. But as Jacobsen shows, we can no longer afford to take nothing happened for an answer.

Fiction Recommendations:
If the reader was interested in post-9/11 and how family members dealt with loss:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer has received some rave reviews:
From www.librarything.com
Oskar Schell is a nine-year old inventor of creative solutions and explanations. Among the best described sets the tone for the book, "In bed that night I invented a special drain that would be underneath every pillow in New York, and would connect to the reservoir. Whenever people cried themselves to sleep, the tears would all go to the same place, and in the morning the weatherman could report if the water level of the Reservoir of Tears had gone up or down, and you could know if New York was in heavy boots. And when something really terrible happened--like a nuclear bomb, or at least a biological weapons attack--an extremely loud siren would go off, telling everyone to get to Central Park to put sandbags around the reservoir." In coming to terms with the loss of his father in 9/11, Oskar also takes on the challenge of searching for the lock that will open with a key he has found in his father's belongings. The quest takes him all over New York, with the innovative narrative complete with images, symbols and changes in the rhythm and cadence that add to the impact of the story. a rich, fabulous read even though it rates an entire box of tissues, and may cause heavy boots for a time.
meppinger | Nov 12, 2008 |


Aviation Fiction: Other readers might not want to dwell on 9/11 but perhaps enjoyed Spencer's book mainly because of the insider knowledge on pilots, commercial aviation and air controllers.

One title I'd recommend is The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve. The novel involves a commercial plane crash with loss of life of passengers and crew and investigation of pilot - did he cause the accident and was he a terrorist or why did he cause the crash. Shocking aviation crime should interest the reader as long as reader also interested (perhaps more women than men) in main character's dilemma: the pilot's wife has to face her husband's betrayal - did she know him? and her shock at learning he had another family. So love and betrayal are important part of the novel and I'd talk about this aspect to the reader . . . without revealing the plot and secrets revealed during the novel!

Some mixed reviews for Airframe by Michael Crichton but if reader likes aviation and has read Crichton, this should be a good choice.
LibraryThing review:
After a mysterious airplane accident involving several injuries and even death occurs, Casey Singleton, divorced mother and rising star in the Norton Aircraft company, must head up the investigation of why this happened. In a field that is as complicated as the airframe industry, it can be a nightmare trying to deal with a press that just wants the "video at 11," and Casey is also given the unwelcome task of liaison with the media.

The story is typical Crichton: some technical details, but a relentlessly-paced story with lots of dialog and little character development. The mystery of what happened on Flight 545 and the troubles Casey has with the union over a possible China deal keep you on the edge of your seat. Personally, I would have liked getting to know the characters a little more, which is the main reason I didn't love it. Still, a solid thriller with a pacing that keeps you turning pages late at night. ( )
bell7 | Oct 14, 2008 |


- Perhaps an older, highly regarded author and aviation story:
No Highway
by Nevil Shute