The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama bin Laden

Anthony Summers · Robbyn Swan

Jul 2011 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE
 
For most living Americans, September 11, 2001, is the darkest date in the nation’s history. But what exactly happened on 9/11? Could it have been prevented? And what remains unresolved? Here is the first panoramic, authoritative account of that tragic day—from the first brutal actions of the hijackers to our government’s flawed response; from the untruths told afterward by U.S. officials to the “elephant in the room” of the 9/11 Commission’s report—the clues that point to foreign involvement. New York Times bestselling authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan write with access to thousands of recently released official documents, raw transcripts, fresh interviews, and the perspective that can come only from a decade of research and evaluation. Riveting, revelatory, and thoroughly sourced, The Eleventh Day is updated for this edition—with new reporting on a development that the former cochairman of Congress’s 9/11 probe calls the most important in years.
 
This is the essential one-volume work, required reading for us all.
 
“Essential.”—The Wall Street Journal
 
“Meticulous, comprehensive . . . an extraordinary synthesis.”—John Farmer, 9/11 Commission senior counsel
 
“This wide-angle look . . . examines the personalities behind the terror plot, U.S. intelligence blunders, the toxic environmental impact on first responders, the march to war, [and] gray areas in the 9/11 Commission Report.”—The Washington Post
 
“The best available general account of 9/11—soberly written, judiciously weighed, meticulously sourced.”—The Sunday Times

Ratings and reviews

The elapsed decade is an appropriate period to soberly reflect on the events leading up to the eleventh of September 2001. With emotions in check, Summers and Swan attempt to illustrate snippets from both sides of this event. Following the Saudi royal family, Osama bin Laden and his adherents through to the myriad of agencies, individuals and the administration that make up, the somehow functional United States of America. The book begins with the very human story of a group of people who by the end of the day will share the common fate of becoming victims to something much larger and out of sight of most citizens. Not tempted by patriotic jingoism, the book, through competent and seemingly exhaustive research builds a story based on interactions, memos and eye witness accounts from both sides of the confrontation. This “factual” approach allows the reader (for the most) to draw their own interpretation of the shadowy world of Realpolitik. Occasionally the book indulges those that in hindsight should have been listened too with more intent. On the whole, The Eleventh Day is a worthy contribution to a story that one has the suspicion is yet far from told in it’s entirety.

This book sets the borders of 'believability' and 'acceptability' for you. Do you want someone else to tell you what to believe, accept or dare to question about the official narrative behind 911 then buy this book. But I won't and neither should you. Further: Don't buy (pun intended) into this work based on the misconception that 911 was done by boxcutter hijackers. Nothing is further from the truth. Watch "Anatomy of a Great Deception" by David Hooper. Rest assured. He puts it in a very friendly and interesting way.

About the author

Anthony Summers is the award-winning author of seven bestselling nonfiction books. Originally a journalist, he covered events in the United States and the conflicts in Vietnam and the Middle East for the BBC’s flagship current affairs program.
 
Robbyn Swan, his co-author and wife, has partnered with Summers on three previous books—including biographies of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and President Richard Nixon. They have been consultants on documentaries for PBS, the History Channel, CNN, and the BBC.