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 collection of photographs by a very gifted photographer
- A True Memorial
- Excellent Documentary
- Incredible 9-11 Photos!!
- Laraine
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Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
Joel Meyerowitz
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
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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 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.
Laraine.......2007-01-18
I purchased this book as a Christmas present and the gentleman I gave it to was extremely excited about receiving it. Your service in getting the book to me was terrific.
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.
Book Description
From sources inside the Pentagon and the CIA, Bill Gertz tracks the path of terrorists and terrorism in the United States. He uncovers information that could have prevented 9/11.
Customer Reviews:
Reads like a novel - Well done........2007-09-10
From the opening to the very end, this author writes in a novel-like style that makes this book so very readable.
There is no doubt that the author lays 9/11 at the feet of Bill Clinton - and, a LOT of the blame belongs there. Even more than I thought before reading this.
I do think that much of it lies in the bureaucracy that the FBI, CIA, and military intelligence had to deal with. And will the views of some bureaucrats.
Gertz does a great job of drilling down into some of these organizations and peeling the scab off of some of the intelligence wounds. As I read it, I kept thinking this guy must have INCREDIBLE access to sources and/or his research is just impeccable.
Bottom line - very well written and an easy read. Thank you!
Government Bungling - Again!.......2005-12-24
Gertz begins by relating how, prior to 9/11, the CIA failed to help an Afghan leader trying to rally forces against the pro bin Laden Taliban. As a result, he was captured and executed.
Lack of Coordination: In '95, Philippine police investigating a fire and explosion learned the details of plans to blow up 11 airliners over the Pacific, as well as to fly a plane into CIA headquarters. The individual involved also admitted having attended several U.S. flight schools. This information was not combined with Phoenix FBI findings that a number of Middle-East men with a hatred of America - one had bin Laden photo on his wall. another made calls to a Palestinian terrorist, still another was asking about airport security, and they had a "fatwah" that commericial airplanes were legitimate targets. Nor was it combined with the Minneapolis' finding that Moussaoui was similarly trying to learn to fly large jets, nor a like finding in Oklahoma City. The CIA did track two 9/11 terrorists to the U.S. (who had taken U.S. flight training) - but failed to even notify the FBI. Worse yet, when Minneapolis FBI agents were frustrated in their efforts to have Moussaoui's computer searched (refused because "no crime had been committed") and tried to notify the CIA - they were reprimanded.
The CIA attempted to prosecute Robert Baer (one of its top operatives) for supposedly trying to assassinate Sadam Hussein, per Iranian intelligence. It then claimed credit for stopping several Millenium attacks (actually accomplished via alert Custom's official), and for "thwarting" terrorist attacks after simply nabbing individuals entering with false documents. Also determined that a small boat attack against a U.S. warship was not possible, prior to the U.S.S. Cole bombing.
Lack of Capable Staff: In the early 1990s, the CIA had nobody in Iraq. Subsequent intelligence buildup involved adding staff attached to embassies who largely stayed inside and filed reports. Prior "housecleanings" had moved away from rewarding staff for recruiting spies, and instead focused on diversity, and avoiding recruitment of those with prior criminal or terrorist backgrounds. Clinton administration further weakened efforts by refocusing counter-intelligence on antii-abortion bombings - despite the FBI believing that Islamic terrorism was a much greater problem.
Sudan offered intelligence on bin Laden, and even to arrest him. Clinton administration did not follow-up, and the offer evaporated upon the erroneous bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant.
Former CIA Director Woolsey: Prior to 9/11, several times each year some crazy person would get into a cockpit, and the call would go out to strengthen the doors. NOTHING HAPPENED! (Was the ONE simple action that likely prevented 9/11.)
A little right biased.......2005-09-09
This was a informative book that outlined what Gertz thought was the reason Sept 11th happened. Though these were problems left over from countless decades of neglect to the intellgence community Gertz seems to protray this as the cause of failure. It is a combination af manyy things and to point your finger at one aspect of the pie is ludicris. The book does make a good point on how politics get in the way of policy. "It is what you do and not what you say, if your not part of the future than get out of the way." Stop pissing around and playing favorites and get the job done!
Excellent reminder of how 9.11 was a complete failure for .......2005-05-12
both the CIA and FBI. Mr. Gertz, the excellent correspondent for the excellent (meaning not anti-Bush/republican NY Times/Wash. Post/CNN/CBS/ABC,etc.) Washington Times does an excellent job in explaining how 9.11 could have been prevented. Examples include the lack of adequately trained translators, CIA apprehension in "penetrating" al-Qaeda, and the 1970 era of anti-CIA political machinatiions that decimated the US intelligence. Also, Mr. Gertz details the lack of attention paid to the intelligence community during eight years of Bill/Hillary/Madeline/fat Al Gore/Sandy stolen documents Berger/et al. Binny struck in 93, 95, 96, 98, and 2000 (and many aborted/thwarted attacks) and all we got from that administration was some cruise missiles and an exploded milk factory in Sudan (while cowardly running from Somalia). This all led to the tragedy of 9.11 (and now the madman Kim Jong-il.)
Mr. Gertz does offer many solutions to the problems with many quote from senior intelligence officials (thank you, James Woolsey).
Thank you for the great work Mr. Gertz.
"Breakdown" Wears Blinders.......2005-03-04
"Breakdown: How America's Intelligence Failures Led to September 11" by Bill Gertz provides an operational history of America's spy community.
While his credentials and writing ability are beyond reproach, Gertz fails miserably by simplistically concluding that politics ruined our intelligence gathering system. Without mentioning the bloody, destabilizing covert actions that compelled legislative intervention, Gertz blames congressional panels "packed with liberal Democrats who assumed that U. S. intelligence agencies posed a threat to American democracy and engaged in wide criminal activity."
To agree with Gertz, one must ignore scores of corporate-friendly coups supported by the CIA in the last half century. For a more complete examination of intelligence misdeeds, read "Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World" by Jonathan Kwitny.
By taking a partisan stance to draw a political conclusion, Gertz fails to put the blame where it belongs; on the hubris ridden, bureaucratic Boys Club that the intelligence service has become. Sycophancy and conformity cross party lines, and smother the creative thinkers in our nation's intelligence community.
Book Description
In this sequel to the best-selling One Tuesday Morning, to widow Jamie Bryan it is still September 12, 2001. What will move her from living in the past to living the life God has given her today?
Customer Reviews:
Beyond Tuesday Morning.......2007-06-15
Great. A must if you have read One Tuesday morning.
Great Christian fiction!.......2007-03-09
Karen Kingsbury did it again. Another fantastic story. Another, I can't put this book down until I finish it. I loved it! Great Christian fiction!
Guiltless Pleasure.......2006-12-15
By: Jeffrey W. Bennett author of the Christian Novel "Under the Lontar Palm".
What can I say, I love a great story that has a great ending. Okay, for a guy, this story provides great role models. Karen Kingsbury demonstrate the great things that can happen when men take the lead to keep Christ in the forefront of their families. We all can benefit from heroes and we never know where we will find them. I'd say they can be found inside the pages of Beyond Tuesday Morning within the characters of Clay, Eric and Jake.
Great Sequel, but the First Was Better.......2006-08-12
I fell in love with the characters and story of One Tuesday Morning and I was completely thrilled to find out that Karen Kingsbury was writing a sequel. I tried not to hype myself up about it to much because sequels are never as good as the originals, however I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Beyond Tuesday Morning was also a very good and touching story. Even though I have read One Tuesday Morning ummm...4? times now, I have read Beyond Tuesday Morning twice and I can't wait for a possible 3rd installment in the series!
Excellent sequel.......2006-01-15
After reading ONE TUESDAY MORNING, I was glad to see that Ms. Kingsley had finished the story with a sequel. She did a great job and I would highly recommend both books as Kingsley is one of the better Christian writers out there. I only had one question and it bothers me but not enough to give the book 4 stars. I find it very hard to believe that Clay, during his first tour of St. Paul's, wouldn't have mentioned to Jamie that his brother had been in the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks. It's a small thing but his silence doesn't seem believeable. Still, the story would have come to a grinding halt if he did, so there you go.
Book Description
This book has the color photos, diagrams, and the analysis to show that the World Trade Center towers and Building 7 were demolished with explosives that were placed in the buildings in preparation for the 9-11 attack.
This book is being used by people around the world to support the accusation that the US Government was the primary conspirator in the 9-11 attack.
For two examples, David Ray Griffin references it in his book "The New Pearl Harbor", and Andreas von Bulow, a retired German government official, is referencing it in his book published in Germany.
If you believe Osama bin Laden attacked us without our government's assistance, why not find the flaws in this book, put these accusations to rest, and help restore America's credibility?
If you already believe the attack was conducted by the U.S. government, this book will help you educate your fellow citizens on the unbelievable corruption in our world.
Customer Reviews:
Very eye opening! These questions need to be answered........2007-06-01
If you believe the line about how the towers fell due to heat, fire, impact...you need to read this book. Warning: When you present people you know with the hardcore evidence that this book presents, you will know first hand what "willfully ignorant" means. People don't want to know the truth! As the title of the book says, it's "painfull" to accept the truth sometimes.
The Author Hits It Out of the Park--Video is Spectacular.......2007-03-03
This is one of the best 9-11 books (with its own video) and I am persuaded by this author and others that 9-11 has not been properly investigated, and that there has been a major cover-up. The video is very powerful, very detailed, very thoughtfully narrated, and carries this book and this author to the very top of the list of reasoned and thus authoritative contributions.
Unlike the other 9/11 books I have reviewed, this book, which is letterhead size, is a brilliantly compelling collection of color photographs, color diagrams, thoughtful calculations, and plain text in two columns. The book and the DVD represent, in my opinion, the single best personal effort, and the single most credible case, to the effect that 9-11 was a huge scam on the American public.
The book, and the DVD, are *exhaustive*. There is no better word.
I especially like the author's discussion of the Oklahoma City bombing as a preview of a diversion (the truck bomb versus two airplanes) combined with controlled demolitions. Unexploded bombs are reported to have been found at the Federal Building, with news clippings. The author also covers the destruction of a wedding hall in Israel, and the downing of an Egyptian airplane, as rehearsals for 9-11.
I personally believe that the WTC were brought down by controlled demolitions planted by order of Larry Silverstein, but I am not certain if his action was done in partnership with Rudy Guliani and Dick Cheney, or on his own. The author does not mention the aspestos problem facing Larry Silverstein, for that I recommend viewing the DVD "Loose Change" as well as "9/11 The Press for Truth."
I also believe that the evidence strongly suggests that the Pentagon was hit by a missile fired by the US, and that there has been a massive cover-up.
I am relatively certain that 9-11 was allowed to happen, and that the majority of those who died--over 80%--died by order of Larry Silverstein, with or without the explicit protective consent of Dick Cheney.
I am quite certain that the 9-11 Commission was a deliberate cover-up, and that Controlled Demolition, all of the WTC security people, the insurance executives, and key Pentagon officials have not been properly investigated.
One day these monsters will be held to account. I have to say, on the basis of all that I have read, viewed, and thought, that it is not Bin Laden that has brought down the Republic, but rather Dick Cheney. Our most fearsome enemies are domestic, not foreign.
Bottom line: the political leadership of America can not be trusted and are almost certainly guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors (see my lists on holding Cheney accountable, and on impeachment guides for citizens).
For those skeptics that continue to believe their government, see the points made in my reivew of the below superb revisionist history:
Someone Would Have Talked: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Conspiracy to Mislead History
compelling arguments.......2006-11-19
I am not a conspiracy theory person, in fact I've always laughed at them.
But reading this book certainly has made me question a lot of things!!!
Read it with an open mind. And then decide if the arguments hold water or not.
Steel frame buildings don't collapse due to fire alone.......2006-11-14
OK, wake up America! How did the towers free fall to the ground? What mass of energy was so strong as to pulverize the reinforced concrete to dust? Why very quickly destroy evidence by immediately shipping off all steel to China for re-cycling? Building 7 looked exactly like an everyday controlled demolition. You have to be a blind man not to see that. Why was it so, so very hot at the base of the collapsed towers for so long after? Have you never seen a magic trick before?
Overly Opinionated.......2006-10-19
I'll admit that the official story of the events on September 11 are suspect. But that's all I will conclude. The way the story unfolds in the media and the explanations for it all appear to be hiding some evidence. Why? I don't know, and frankly, after reading the author's very slanted view of events, am even less interested to find out. I was interested in reading the facts and evidence that exist, but his whole book was one big conspiracy theory strung together by edited quotes and simplified facts. And his summary about not fighting the Axis of Good was just over the top. Maybe the truth would only hurt us more than we know. Call me naive and ignorant, but I would rather live my life with a "half full" mentality. I enjoy my life and the choices I am able to make in America and since I have not the power to change the unfortunate events of Sept 11, I'll continue to live my humble life and not waste any more time worrying, fearing, and doubting the catastrophic events of that day. What will that accomplish? What I will continue to do is pay respect and remember the 2,000+ lives that were lost - people I didn't know - but sons, daughters, wives, husbands, friends, moms, etc.
Book Description
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist and bestselling author of
From Beirut to Jerusalem and
The Lexus and the Olive Tree comes this smart, penetrating, brilliantly informed book that is indispensable for understanding today’s radically new world and America’s complex place in it.
Thomas L. Freidman received his third Pulitzer Prize in 2002 “for his clarity of vision, based on extensive reporting, in commenting on the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat.” In
Longitudes and Attitudes he gives us all of the columns he has published about the most momentous news story of our time, as well as a diary of his private experiences and reflections during his post–September 11 travels. Updated for this new paperback edition, with over two years’ worth of Friedman’s columns and an expanded version of his diary,
Longitudes and Attitudes is a broadly influential work from our most trusted observer of the international scene.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-05-07
Perfect book for those that want to learn about the issues going on in the Middle East. Easy to understand for those not that familiar with current world issues. Very informative and I would highly recommend.
An insightful look at a new world..........2007-01-29
In Longitudes and Attitudes, Friedman pulls writings from his column at the New York Times that describes his position on what he calls, "the super-story." There are two important components to this book that will stick with me: the first is his belief that globalization has paved the way for an individual to influence the masses, and the second is that even in "friendly" nations, there are fundamental, cultural and religious differences that influence a negative perception of the United States... and we need to pay attention to this.
Friedman substantiates his insightful conjectures by traveling the world and tapping into each individual society. He asks tough questions and receives harsh ridicule. This type of substantive journalism is what makes his writing so multi-dimensional... It's not merely his opinion, but the opinions of citizens around the world... and they offer a clear understanding.
There is a pile of information to absorb, so take your time with it (I read about ten to fifteen pages at a time). You'll get some history, you'll get some opinions, and most importantly, you might get a new perspective.
Have fun,
David Tobias
Redondo Beach, CA
Interesting Insight.......2006-09-08
I was not familiar with Thomas Friedman's New York Times columns. This book contains a sampling of his columns. The book mainly portrays the difference in the Arab vs. the culture of the West. The book opens with the shock of the events of 9/11, considered a tragedy by the West and a cause for celebration for many places in the Arab and Muslim world.
The author goes onto explain the Arab world's rage against America is the result of the idea that America represents, globalization , modernity, plurality. Muslim populations in the middle east are generally ruled by oppressive regimes that are failing their populace, providing a limited world vision, while censoring information. The author made an interesting observation, India has the second largest Muslim population of any country in the world, but the Muslim rage in not present, as the author notes, chanting "death to America" is not the favored occupation of its populace. The reason, India is a democracy, the people are concerned with bettering themselves through government.
And so it goes, The author's main point is that when the Middle East can be democratized, and the poverty alleviated it will be ready to join the modern world.
I really believe Tom Freidman is right on target with the ideas within this book.
An important book.......2006-08-04
Friedman's writing is consistently thoughtful, and this book is no exception. I appreciate deeply the care with which this book has been prepared. It belongs in every thinking person's library.
Thomas L. Friedman was born a ramblin' man.......2006-08-01
Thomas Friedman's "Longitudes and Attitudes" is a very readable book based on a collection of columns he wrote for the New York Times just before the attacks of 9/11 and for the year following those attacks. The last quarter of the book contains a kind of diary in which he attempts to put into context where he was in the world when he wrote these columns and how he was personally feeling at the time.
It is a very personal collection, often invoking the image of his children's future. Friedman's primary mission, as he relates it in meetings with educated people across the Middle East, is his search for the rationale of the terrorists, why they killed, and how they were radicalized. He frequently relates how depressed he got when talking to educated Middle Easterners who unflinchingly believed in conspiracy theories of the highest order. The most common canard he constantly ran across was that four thousand Jews were notified on the morning of 9/11 not to go to the World Trade Towers. Another astonishing "fact" he constantly confronted from academics, clerics and the media in the Middle East was that there is no proof that Muslims were the 9/11 hijackers in the first place. In general, Friedman relates, most Muslims in the Middle East also believe that the attack was a plot by the CIA (or Jews) to discredit Muslims and that all the American media is run by Jews.
Throughout the book, Friedman does not shy away from the fact that he is Jewish. He is balanced and critical of both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - decrying the brutality of the Israelis and Palestinians and he especially singles out the stubbornness of Arafat in that Arab leader's failure to accept the Clinton peace plan, which would have given Palestinians a state encompassing 95% of what they asked for and could have stanched the bloodshed.
Friedman relates his amazement that the Middle East is bombarded by an incessant 24-hour-a-day attack in the Arab media upon Israel and the United States, particularly via TV programs that run through the night simply playing martial music and showing images of Israeli brutality against Palestinians - which is always portrayed as one-sided.
He is unabashedly and constantly critical of the Saudi Arabia regime, from which, we are frequently reminded, was home to 15 of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers. Friedman seems particularly upset that Saudi Arabia did not apologize for the involvement of its nationals in the attack against the US and has refused to cooperate with the FBI in their investigation. He also makes it abundantly clear that Saudi Arabia, along with Iran, seem to be in a race to provide money to Islamic madras's across the globe that teach virulent intolerance and hatred against America and Israel.
Friedman doesn't simpy rail against the world as he sees it, he does prescribe some remedies for what he refers to as an ongoing "Clash of Civilizations," a term he borrows from Samuel Huntington. If we don't address the tumult we find ourselves in and Usama bin Laden "wins," Friedman warns us that, "The war of civilizations will be coming to a theater near to you."
First and foremost, he calls upon Arab nations to forge a new future for their citizens by letting go of the past and looking to the future. Too often Arab nations and leaders deflect true change by blaming all their troubles on someone else... their problems are America's fault, or Bush's fault, or Israel's fault and so on ad infinitum. True leaders in the Middle East should create plans for the future, not just laying blame for present and past real and perceived slights. Arab leaders should come up with plans for educating their children, making governments more responsive and creating jobs for the exploding number of young people in the Middle East. Friedman goads Arab leaders by saying things such as, while other emerging nations "make microchips, you are making potato chips," and that the GDP of Spain is greater than that of all 22 Arab states combined.
Friedman could be called a liberal hawk. He firmly believes in globalization, with a caveat that the Internet can be "an open sewer." He also believes that the concept of engaging and talking with your enemy is the only way that problems can truly be resolved. An example: The U.S. and Israel engaged Arafat and came up with a plan that gave the Palestinians a state encompassing 95% of what they wanted. This pleased Friedman the liberal. Arafat torched the olive branch that was extended to him and Friedman the hawk reminds us that Arafat had many maps that did not even show modern Israel on them. Friedman the hawk also applauded the fall of Saddam from a humanitarian viewpoint (reminding us that Saddam killed more Muslims in the 20th century than any other individual) and asked his readers to "give the CIA a break," and "give war a chance."
One of the most important ideas this book relates is that, unlike Christianity and the Jewish faith, Islam never went though Enlightenment or a Reformation. What this means is that Islam never separated church and state the way that the West has done and therefore Islam has not been able to move its society and culture forward because of the constant influence of clerics who can't effectively run a modern nation.
Lastly, the last quarter of the book that was written in a diary format was primarily a rehash of ideas spelled out earlier in the book - merely reformatted to fit the geographic contours of where and when Friedman wrote his columns. This part of the book added little new information and seemed that it was almost an afterthought... an awkward attempt to tie together all the canned columns.
Book Description
On the morning of September 11, 2001, two hijacked airplanes destroyed New York's World Trade Center Towers. Thus began the extraordinary story of a great city coping with the worst disaster in its history. As shock and amazement gave way to grief for the victims and their families, New Yorkers reached deep inside themselves to discover a sense of civic nobility, exemplified by the heroism of firefighters, police, and rescue units.
In this new book from Abrams, the editors of New York magazine provide a visual record of the city in the week after the attack, through the images of several superb photographers and the words of prominent New Yorkers, including Mayor Giuliani. The book begins with the attack itself, documenting the panic and chaos it caused, and goes on to chronicle the rescue efforts by firefighters, police, and construction workers at Ground Zero and the attempts of the city's leaders to maintain morale. Color photos record a vast emotional upheaval of grief, rage, and patriotism, and display the many memorials created by private citizens, at hospitals, parks, firehouses, and in the streets.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the September 11th Fund, which has been created by the United Way and the New York Community Trust to respond to the immediate and long-term needs of the victims, their families, and the communities affected by the events of September 11.
Customer Reviews:
Magnific photos........2002-03-14
Very good book. I would recommend to anybody interested about the tragedy of september 11, 2001. The money raised from the sale of this book goes to the September 11 Fund. Help the families of New York...
An American Tragedy 9.11.01.......2002-02-06
This book grabs you.
I had watched the events take place on television at work, with my coworkers, one could look out the window and see the smoke in the distance. Being a New Yorker everyone I know has either lost someone or knows someone who did.
I had seen the book in a store before Christmas, but it was too close to 9/11 to buy it. Since that time it has been sold out everywhere.
If you want to see hell on earth in book form this is it. But more importantly, buy it and keep it so that we never forget 9/11/2001 or let it happen again.
rewview not purchased.......2002-01-31
I have never received this book and I was actually ordering a different book when I ordered. I wanted to order the 9/11 book by LIFE magazine, not this one. Like I said; I wouldn't be able to critique this anyway because I never received it.
Please let me know how to delete this order and re-order the one by LIFE magazine instead.
Thank you
Nora Bartman
Rivoting!!.......2001-12-12
As I leafed through the pages of this keepsake book, goosebumps appeared on my skin as well as tears. It brings back the horific day in clear view.
I'm ordering three more for my childrens hope chests.
A superb photohraphic account of that terrible day..........2001-12-03
This superb pictorial remembrance of the events of September 11 comes to us from the editors of New York magazine. Rather than focusing on all of the events of that day, this book simply focuses on the attacks on the World Trade Center. What results is a wonderful photographic record, with an emphasis not on the attacks themselves, but rather on the post-attack heroism and recovery efforts.
If you are looking for a book that will anger you and yet still manage to raise your spirits, get this book. The strength of the American people and the savagery of the Islamic terrorists is well displayed in this work.
Average customer rating:
- A little dry, but important
- Mirror, Mirror On The Wall...
- The Emperor's Nakedness Finally Exposed
- Mafia Transvestite Mayor Sir Rudy Knight of the British Empire
- Well documented, fast read, distressing but not surprising
|
Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11
Wayne Barrett , and
Dan Collins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
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Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Guiliani
-
Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission (Vintage)
-
America's Mayor, America's President?: The Strange Career of Rudy Giuliani
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The Full Rudy: The Man, the Myth, the Mania
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Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War
ASIN: 0060536608
Release Date: 2006-08-22 |
Book Description
"Grand Illusion" is the definitive report on 9/11 in New York –– the true story of what happened that day and how the city fought to recover afterwards.
"Grand Illusion" is the definitive report on 9/11 in New York –– the true story of what happened that day and how the city fought to recover afterwards. It also traces the comeback trail of a city that has never faced a fiercer fire or stiffer wind, discovering survivors who rebuild neighborhoods, heroes who rescue economies.
Beyond the historical account, the book centers on the first clear–eyed evaluation of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's role before, during, and after the disaster. While the pictures of a soot–covered Giuliani making his way through the streets became very much a part of his personal mythology, they were also a symbol of one of his greatest failures. A more sensibly located emergency command post would have kept him behind the scenes, but it would have given the city a functioning, state–of–the–art operations center that might have averted some of the calamitous decisions made that day. And the failures weren't limited to iconography. The mayor's performance, though marked by personal courage and grace under fire, followed two terms in office pursuing an utterly wrongheaded approach to the city's security against terrorism.
Grand Illusion will serve as an indispensible corrective to the rough draft of history rushed out in the wake of 9/11. Turning the mythology on its head, it reveals how Giuliani, far from being the savior of the day, was directly responsible for many of the city's inabilities to cope with the crisis. It also demonstrates how Giuliani has himself revised history, inaccurately casting himself as prescient terror hawk when in fact he ignored repeated warnings, too distracted by pet projects and turf wars to attend to vital precautions.
While this book provides an unflinching portrayal of what happened on and after September 11, it will not leave readers hopeless. Instead, it will serve as the first authoritive history – reassessing and recounting the victims, the villains, and the heroes – of the pivotal day in our recent history.
Customer Reviews:
A little dry, but important.......2007-09-03
I've been following Rudy for some time now, especially since talking with New Yorkers who despise the guy (some of whom voted for him once or more!) I read little bits of "America's Mayor," here and there, saw "Guiliani Time" when it was still at the theatres, etc. One thing I realized about Rudy is that, face it, 9/11 made him as much as it made bin Laden (of whom few would have known if he hadn't been responsible for that terrible crime).
To be perfectly honest, though, the book is a little dry. It covers important material, i.e., what Rudy--whose presidential race depends completely on the perception of Rudy's "leadership" after the 9/11 disaster--really did related to that event.
It covers the 1993 "warning" of the World Trade Center disaster, and what Rudy DIDN'T learn from, or respond to that; Rudy's relationships with companies that could have improved the communication between New York's police and fire departments; Rudy's cronyism; Rudy's ruling by intimidation. There's a lot there, and it's all quite well documented, unfortunately for Rudy.
For some bizarre reason, it seems to get more interesting as you proceed into the text. So if you start, get tired and wonder, Can I keep going with this detail?, you'll find yourself being more fascinated in the second half of the book. I did anyway.
Then, in the final chapter, the authors essentially ask questions. They do give Rudy some credit for degrees of "leadership" after 9/11. But they suggest that, based on all the information compiled throughout the book, he could have done much, much more, and many lives could have been saved.
If you're mesmerized by Rudy's alleged leadership capacity, and think he might therefore make a great president, you should read this really. It may bust your bubble, but it'll challenge you as to your admiration for a politician of limited moral capacity in addition to all those despicable traits I've already mentioned.
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall..........2007-08-21
Grand Illusion is a biographical sketch of a man who would be President of the United States.
What additionally complicates the work is that the man is Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City on September 11, 2001. As such, he will forever be remembered by television viewers as 'the man who walked the world through the immediate aftermath of 9/11.'
Had he been mayor somewhere else, or if there had been no terrorist attack, or even if television had not yet been invented, the fact that he is presently running for President of the United States would be the story.
Wayne Barrett and Dan Collins, the journalists that fielded the information gathered, with the help of a host of volunteers, paid, freelance and the committed, into the report of the person of Mr. Giuliani are to be commended for their work.
Should they make money from the endeavor, as some have suggested was their primary goal, they will have earned it. Lest they become famous for their efforts, such notoriety will bestow on them as much tragedy as triumph.
Approbation is deserving because they willingly submitted themselves to the labrynthian wastes known as modern American politics extrapolated through the horror of monstrosity terrorized and brought near in the genius that is television.
Merely a few chapters into 'Grand Illusion' this reader was already counting the pages till the end, because he knew the story was going to get worse, and he didn't want to discover the degree.
Interpretation is honed by individual constraints. Perspective appears according to one's position. And from outside the loop, no that is misleading, from another galaxy unacquainted with the loop, from the other side of the outer rings of Narnia, the book begins to read like another report of insanity come to order.
Giuliani is indeed, like most of us on the planet, laboring under many illusions, not all of them Grand. Sadness at the tale, however, is exponentially increased as one begins to perceive that Giuliani is only a host among peers. And then the cloud darkens as the reader inescapably begins to realize the disease goes outward not inward.
The unfortunate 19 were proclaiming that 'God is Great' {Allah Akbar} as they plunged their magnificent missiles into history.
The President of the United States has been castigated because he didn't stand up and scream in a room filled with children upon being told the World Trade Centers had been attacked. Had it been a Hollywood movie, he would have done.
In fact, if some unemployed someone had a camera, they would have made a movie about 9/ll showing how stupid Americans are, and missed Giuliani's uncoached march around the devastation that beautiful autumn morning turned nightmare.
In a Nightline report in the early spring of 2001 many leaders in America were noted suggesting that a terrorist attack in this country was not a matter of 'if' but 'when.'
That is also the present line of thought for the future as this review is being entered. What can be seen in the mirror, besides one's own reflection.
So the work of Mr. Barrett and Mr. Collins, et al, is invaluable. Not for historical purposes only. While there is yet time, perhaps Americans can begin to come together.
And the manual sits before us. Read and learn. Do the good and avoid the other.
Giuliani is reported in the book to even have taken a stab at linking with Jesus. Now that's not a bad idea from any direction. Jesus always reveals not only hypocrisy, but also truth.
This book goes beyone the study of one man's life. It is a slice of the meanderings of American society as it sifts for reality.
Before 9/11, no one could have imagined it, and couldn't believe anyone who suggested it, though there were many. Giuliani's efforts at mustering a preparedness plan fell short because there was no reality to fall back on.
Giuliani's consideration of Jesus bridges the troubled waters. Unlike the rest of us and Mr. Giuliani, Jesus truly can and shall handle the future.
And that is no grand illusion.
TL Farley,
author,
When Now Becomes Too Late {prophecy}
Distant Reaches {adventure}
The Emperor's Nakedness Finally Exposed.......2007-05-06
This book does an excellent job of examining how Giuliani, now running as the President of 9/11, and an expert on Homeland Security, dealt with the challenge of preparing New York City to cope with another terrorist attack, after the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. The authors' conclusion, heavily sourced and thoroughly argued, is that Giuliani failed to do much of anything to make the city safer. Despite all that was learned about the city's inadequate response in '93, Giuliani failed to get the firefighters new walkie-talkies, so they could communicate with the police, failed to establish a chain of command in the event of an emergency, and, most inexplicably, built, at great expense, his Emergency Command Post at the Trade Center itself, across the street from the '93 attack, rendering it useless on 9/11. These and a host of other mistakes almost certainly led to significant loss of life on 9/11, and seriously undermine Giuliani's claim to be the man we should trust with the nation's security. This is surely a must-read for journalists, and for anyone who wants to understand the events of that horrible day, and the character of this man who is running for President.
Mafia Transvestite Mayor Sir Rudy Knight of the British Empire.......2007-03-17
Good book. Gets some of the basic facts out to the public, which is essential to writing history. Buy this book for your library. Sandbagged more than a little on the 9/11scam, but that's okay, since others have done that job very well.
The radio repeaters at WTC were intentionally switched off, which was no accident. The 9/11 911 tapes were not censored for anyone's "privacy", but to conceal evidence of pre-planted bombs, especially WTC 7, and to reduce the chance of lynching Queen Rudy and Queen Bush. Destroying the evidence of Thermate by shipping the steel to Communist China, and burying the bodyparts in Fresh Kills Landfill, can only be explained by the fact that Giuliani, Silverstein and Bush are the terrorist bombers. Giuliani was not a bumbling opportunist on 9/11, but a willing perpetraitor, who has been rewarded by knighthood with Bush's trillionaire 19th cousin, the German Queen of England and Babylon.
Rudy is a stalking horse Manchurian candidate, to distract the media mafia from reporting on Congressman Dr Ron Paul MD.
Collins of course is one of the top 13 Illuminati crime families, so perhaps there's a little controlled opposition going on with publication and co-writing of this book. Judging his bio, he should know all about Rudy's mob ties and 9/11 Truth, since his corporations let the Truth slip out.
I'm glad this book wasn't printed upside down and backwards, like Professor Barrett's previous book, which was still excellent, if you can find a copy. That book is what permanently removed Mob Queen Rudia from the political process, resulting in his potential choice as Bush Jr's top spook at CIA secret police in charge of kidnapping, torture, planting WMDs (as Barrett points on in his latest book, since Rudy now works for Saddam's WMD law firm), and of course terror bombings:
"The father he celebrated so often was a pathological predator. His extended family harbored a junkie, a crooked cop and a murky mob wing. He dissolved his first marriage with a lie so he could appear Catholic when he remarried. The very personal jewelry his first wife found in her bedroom wasn't hers...."
-Wayne Barrett, "Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Guiliani", chapter: "All in the Family: Crooks, Cops and a Junkie"
And in related news:
"Mayor Giuliani -- a former federal prosecutor who won notice for 'pursuing' the Mafia -- had relatives linked to organized crime, including a mobbed-up cousin who was gunned down by FBI agents in 1977, a new book says. Lewis D'Avanzo, a son of the mayor's uncle and a guest at Giuliani's first wedding in 1968, was a 'ruthless and widely feared mob associate' who headed a massive stolen car ring, according to FBI documents and interviews detailed in Rudy! An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Giuliani, by Village Voice senior editor Wayne Barrett. Due in stores next week, the book sketches a largely unflattering portrait of the clan, depicting his father, Harold, as a hothead and the 'muscle' behind a brother-in-law's loansharking operation, run out of a Brooklyn bar. Along with cracking heads, it says the mayor's father served time in state prison for a stickup, rarely held an on-the-books job and once was a gunman in a mob shootout in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. According to the book, Giuliani's cousin Lewis D'Avanzo was known as "Steve the Blond" and listed as armed and dangerous in FBI bulletins. His criminal record included a 10-year federal sentence for the armed hijacking of a truck loaded with $240,000 worth of mercury. The book alleges that he was suspected of taking part in several murders. D'Avanzo was gunned down by the FBI in October 1977, when he tried to run down an agent after being stopped on a warrant that accused him and two associates of transporting 100 stolen luxury cars. Quoting an unnamed friend of D'Avanzo, the book describes a 1962 shootout pitting a local mobster against the mayor's father and Leo D'Avanzo, Lewis D'Avanzo's father. The book says Leo was later sanctioned by mob bosses for shooting at a Mafia member. Leo D'Avanzo, who was known in family circles as a black sheep, ran loansharking and gambling operations out of a Brooklyn bar where Giuliani's father worked as a bartender. In his role as debt collector, his father 'broke legs, smashed kneecaps, crunched noses.' Joan Ellen D'Avanzo, a cousin who at one time lived with Giuliani when he was a youngster, became a drug addict who was beaten to death in 1973 at age 34. Her cause of death was listed as undetermined, but several family members said she was murdered."
-Michael R. Blood, New York Daily News, "Rudy's Kin Tied to Mob", July 06, 2000
"America's Mayor' Rudy Giuliani will lead the day with his presentation 'Leadership in Difficult Times', followed by the amazing story of Captain Dennis Fitch and the crew of United Airlines Flight 232. Mike Zafirovski of Motorola, Inc. speaks about Personal Security & Public Safety Technology.' John Fulton's 25 years in the intelligence community has contributed to his recognition as an expert in risk & threat response analysis, scenario gaming, and strategic planning. He is on staff for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), currently serving as Chief of the Strategic War Gaming Division of the National Reconnaissance Office, and as a member of U.S. Joint Forces Command's Project Alpha - a prestigious "think tank" for advanced concepts related to such issues as homeland security. He formerly served as the mission director for our nation's satellite imagery program as well as replacing Army Astronaut Same Gemar as the Director of the National Security Space Master Plan for the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Space Communities under the auspices of the Deputy UnderSecretary of Defense (Space). His counter-terrorism and homeland security responsibilities include advising the Director Central Intelligence Staff for Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshall's Office, and collaboration with the National Security Council."
-National Law Enforcement and Security Institute, Homeland Security: America's Leadership Challenge, September 2002
Well documented, fast read, distressing but not surprising.......2007-03-11
There are so many lessons to be drawn from the events of September 11th. This book does a good job of outlining some of them. The "heckuva job Brownie" school of leadership was not limited to FEMA. Hacks, political supporters and hangers-on were rewarded with appointments to positions of power in emergency services. This might have gone unnoticed except for a disaster which called for competence at the time and begged scrutiny after the fact. The failure to play by the rules throughout the history of the WTC, intersecting with greed and politics as usual - in skirting safety regulations and rewarding hapless coat-holders - is the story here. Rudy is a pedestrian leader and a consumate huckster. Shame on us for being fooled.
The authors do a good job of presenting technical info regarding radio communications snafus that were avoidable and centered in sweetheart deals. They also do a good job of capturing the essence of many of the players in this tragedy who were just not up to the tasks thrust upon them. Little in their histories suggest that they would have been.
Now that Rudy wants to be president, partisans will cry that this is an ad hominem attack...but the truth is an absolute defense and Rudy simply can't mount it. Read this for the facts. The ample footnotes give the reader an opportunity to test skepticism.
Amazon.com
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
Book Description
At 8:46 am on September 11, 2001, 14,000 people were inside the twin towers. Over the next 102 minutes, each would become part of a drama for the ages. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with rescuers and survivors, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts, New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn tell the story of September 11 from the inside looking out, weaving together the stories of ordinary men and women into an epic account of struggle, determination, and grace. Hailed immediately upon its hardcover publication as the definitive account of that terrible morning, 102 Minutes now contains a new Afterword that incorporates powerful firsthand material, including tapes and documents, that Dwyer and Flynn recently obtained after more than three years of litigation with the city of New York. Eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and translated into a dozen languages, 102 Minutes is a gripping narrative that is also investigative reporting of the first rankin a class by itself, according to Readers Digest. Dwyer and Flynn reveal the decisions, both good and bad, that proved to be the difference between life and death on a day that changed America forever.
Customer Reviews:
Making it real.......2007-09-20
I have never been to New York. Watching the ongoing events of 9/11 had a very surrealistic overtone. It was real, yet it wasn't. This book is the first of the several that I have read, that really "put you there". Reading the description of a person actually standing on the street, trying to comprehend what they were witnessing, really brought it home for me. It includes a diagram of the building (including where the planes hit) that helps the reader to realize how many people were "without hope" from the very onset of the strike.
If you only read one book about the events of 9/11, this is the book.
An American Tragedy.......2007-09-17
As a native New Yorker who in childhood watched the Twin Towers rise to dominate the skyline, I was like many other people who considered the buildings two soulless gray monoliths. We called them the boxes the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building came in. And certainly, in their singular dual angularity, they lacked either the graceful Art Deco aestheticism of the Chrysler Building or the reassuring solidity of the Empire State Building. Many were the times I wished the architect, Minoru Yamasaki, had had even a smidgen of artistic creativity. The unrelieved gray bulk of the towers (charitably described by New York Times reporters/authors Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn as being a very Wall Street apropos "pinstripe") was broken only at top and bottom by stylized gothic windows and by the exterior banding of the sky lobbies. I set one of my (early and unpublished) novels in the North Tower as a symbol of the single-minded preoccupations of the Me Decade. In white, the buildings might have seemed carved in alabaster, or perhaps an enclosed rooftop arboretum might have added charm---who can say? But as the years passed, the Towers took on personalities of their own as the World Trade Center complex grew and throve, and like all real New Yorkers I developed an affection for these sentinels who seemed to anchor Manhattan Island to the sky like some kind of bizarre hydrofoil afloat at the juncture of the harbor and the rivers.
And like all real New Yorkers I was stunned by the news of their destruction. I remember just where I was---I had driven a friend to attend Traffic School in Fort Lauderdale. She was dutifully taking a written test when another friend called me on my cell:
"The World Trade Center was attacked."
"That's old news."
"What are you talking about?"
"What are YOU talking about? It happened in 1993."
"No. Not that. I mean this morning."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"
"Go find a television."
And I did, and stood there horrified, watching as the Towers---where my friends and relatives worked---dissolved into dust. Staggering outside, I approached a stranger who hadn't heard the news. Although I don't remember his exact words I'm still angry at his comments about the rich brats who deserved what they got, leavened with a little antisemitism. To this day, I wonder where that idiot has gotten himself to. No place good, I'll wager.
The nightmare of the news---the planes flying smack into the Towers, the Towers burning and then collapsing in upon themselves, the dust storm that blanketed my hometown, the sight of rescue workers DIGGING WITH THEIR BARE HANDS in a fruitless attempt to find survivors---all have left their mark upon me. It has only been recently---and it is now six years later---that I can watch programs and read books about that awful day. And I cry.
102 MINUTES is Dwyer's and Flynn's incredibly well done recounting of the destruction of the Towers on that bright late summer morning. Strictly a story of small heroisms amid the larger tragedy, Dwyer and Flynn place us eeriely INSIDE the Towers during the fateful hour and a half and some between the first attack and the ultimate destruction of the WTC. Dwyer and Flynn have obviously listened to thousands of man-hours of recorded 911 calls, read tens of thousands of pages of transcripts, and interviewed scores of people connected with Nine Eleven and the Towers in general in order to present us with this memoir and memoriam. It would be tempting to say that 102 MINUTES is definitive, but given the tens of thousands of stories that make up that day, no one book may ever be definitive.
In the midst of the "untold story of the fight to survive inside the Twin Towers" Dwyer and Flynn also find time to take the authorities to well-deserved task: We discover that the Rockefellers (the political and economic midwives of the WTC in the 1960s) managed to force extensive liberalizations of the building codes through the New York Legislature just before ground was broken. Thus the Towers rose with untested architectural modifications to the steel infrastructure, fewer and non-fireproofed stairwells, and other Code-beating changes that made these most modern buildings completed in 1974 less capable of withstanding structural trauma than the Empire State Building, completed in 1933 (and remember, it was hit by a plane in 1945). All in the name of maximizing rentable floor space, protections that might have saved lives were simply deemed unneccessary. Instead, the builders relied on "Titanic Syndrome"---they're the biggest, they'll withstand anything thrown at them. Truly, no buildings in the world could withstand being struck by jets flying at 550 MPH, but perhaps they needn't have collapsed so utterly.
Dwyer and Flynn do not spare the New York City bureaucracies---The agelong enmities and service rivalries between The Finest and The Bravest hampered effective action. This takes nothing away from the actions of individual First Responders, but the lack of coordination between NYPD, FDNY, EMS and PAPD (the independent Port Authority Police Department who had first jurisdiction within the WTC) undoubtedly cost lives. People were variously told to evacuate, to stay put, some sent back inside, and many given no direction at all. Communications breakdowns meant that occupants, police, fire, and other authorities all essentially had no idea what was going on, even after the South Tower collapsed suddenly. The lack of communications can be put down to the moribund Mayor's Committee (established in 1993) that was to have overseen interservice activity---but "America's Mayor" Guiliani disregarded its existence, much as he has continued to slight the needs of the injured and ill among The Finest and The Bravest who lived through that day.
Little (but enough) is mentioned of the planes, the hijackers, Osama Bin Laden, The Pentagon or Shanksville. This is very much a "local" history of the event, and is very much spiced with the spirit of the Big Apple.
New York is a city that has grieved, but Dwyer and Flynn leave us with the realization that New York, New Yorkers, Americans---and indeed all people of spirit---will endure. The world changed ineradicably on September 11, 2001 (just as it did on December 7, 1941), but it is still a world where life goes on.
An essential read.
Harrowing, Tragic, and an Indictment of the Port Authority.......2007-09-15
Poor design. Complacency. Poor communications. These are elements in the 9/11 tragedy at the World Trade Center that caused or contributed to thousands of deaths. Read 102 MINUTES to see how these factors affected ordinary people, heroic or trying to survive, who were caught in this nightmare.
But for readers like me, who work in office towers built in the 1970's, the fire-safety issues raised in 102 MINUTES are also disturbing. Just for the record, I work in a 40 story glass tower with 10 elevators in the core of building and only two fire stairs, which are positioned directly behind the elevators.
For me, the lessons of 102 MINUTES include: 1)Your fire safety director doesn't know what's going on so question the announcements made over the PA system. 2) Find a stairwell and go down through the fire zone to safety; don't wait... there is no roof top rescue. 3) If the building experiences a trauma, such airplane impact, it may lose water pressure. This is bad news, since office towers are designed to put out fires through their sprinkler systems. In a tower fire, firefighters are on rescue missions only. 4) Smoke hoods and executive parachutes are not silly ideas.
102 Horrible Minutes.......2007-08-24
102 minutes. Hard as that may be to believe, that's all the time that elapsed between the moment that Flight 11 struck the first Twin Tower and the instant that the second tower collapsed. I expect that all of us, at some time or another, have imagined ourselves trapped in one of those buildings and wondered what our struggle for survival would have required of us. We will never forget those horrible images of people falling or jumping from the upper floors of the Towers, nor the pictures and stories of the heroes who were everywhere that day.
At times I found 102 Minutes, by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, to be painful reading. The book took me much longer to finish than I anticipated because I could only read it for a few minutes at a time before having to put it down for something less depressing. In actual fact, I read the book over a period of several months, finally finishing it last night.
Through hundreds of survivor interviews and countless hours reading transcripts of telephone and radio conversations, the authors were able to recreate much of what happened in the Twin Towers on the morning of September 11, 2001. Much of what went on in the buildings was truly inspirational, with countless heroes to be found selflessly helping those too injured or physically impaired to get themselves down those dozens of flights of stairs that had to be negotiated if they were to survive.
But those 102 minutes were also filled with heartbreaking stories of the hundreds of people who were trapped in offices above the points of impact of the two crashes. Those people never had a chance of survival because their only exits to the lower floors, stairways and elevators, had already been destroyed. There was so much smoke, and the buildings so soon showed signs of being unstable, that roof top helicopter rescues were also impossible. Phone calls for help quickly changed to last messages to loved ones when the trapped realized that they were going to die.
Some of what Dwyer and Flynn learned while researching 102 Minutes will also anger the reader because, while it is true that some 12,000 of the almost 15,000 people in the buildings managed to escape, more should have gotten out alive than did. The combination of sheer chaos, poor communication systems, and building code exemptions taken over the years unnecessarily claimed hundreds of lives. Even after the first tower had collapsed, most fire fighters and policemen in the second tower had no idea that the first tower was gone or that the tower in which many of them were resting for a final attempt to reach its upper floors was in danger of an imminent collapse itself. Some 200 of them are believed to have died together that way when the second tower fell. And despite the communication problems exposed by the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, New York policemen and fire fighters still found it near impossible to communicate with each other, further limiting the chance that they and many of the tower office workers would survive the day.
But most disheartening of all is the fact that there were simply not enough stairways in either building to effectively evacuate the many thousands of people who worked in them each day. Real estate and office space is at a premium in New York and the Port Authority was able to get building code exemptions that allowed the Twin Towers to be constructed with fewer exits than they should have contained. Fewer stairways meant more office space to rent, and that's the trade off that was chosen. The fact that many of the existing stairway sections were so damaged or destroyed in the initial crashes meant that many of the survivors never had a chance.
While this is not an easy book to read, it has much to offer to those who manage it. There are many lessons to be learned from what happened on September 11, 2001 and 102 Minutes is a clear presentation of those lessons. Let's all hope that those in authority will be better prepared if something like this horror ever happens again.
102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive inside the Twin Towers.......2007-06-08
This is an excellent book. I bought while traveling and very difficult to put down once you start it. The accounts put the disaster in a real perspective. I would recommend this book to everyone except to the youngest readers.
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