The 9/11 Report

The 9/11 Report

By Jacobson and Colon

Hill and Wang

Copyright 2006

pp. 133

The 9/11 Report

Required

     I was very hesitant about reading this book for a couple of reasons, first the graphic novel format and second, the content. While I did find the graphic novel format of this book hard to follow at times, I did like the visual permanence of the text. I often found myself flipping back to another page to review a fact or reread the text for a better understanding. I feel the pictures greatly helped to enhance the telling of the story, especially the timeline. I had three small children at the time of the attacks and did not watch any morning television except cartoons, so I personally did not hear about the attacks until after the second plane had crashed. The timeline helped me put into perspective the order of the actual events.

     I had a particularly hard time when 9/11 occurred, and I chose to focus on my small children, ignoring the constant news updates. While I realize this was probably not the best way of dealing with the events, it helped me at the time. Therefore, when I was reading this report, I had a difficult time following some of the chapters. While I was reading, I did have several concerns about our government officials and agencies. Why during transitions of government officials does there not seem to be any listening going on? Why are aides demoted due to political reasons, even though he or she is the best candidate for the job? Why do our government agencies not communicate with each other?  There appears to be more concern about who has more power than with the best interest of our county.

     I do believe this is an essential book to read. Our world has forever changed due to these horrific events and we must all realize that is our duty as Americans to be well-informed citizens.