100 Best 9/11 Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Lawrence Wright

5.0

A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright's remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany

Recommended by Audrey Kurth Cronin, Bryan Callen, Lloyd Gardner, and 5 others.

Audrey Kurth Cronin

Reading this one book gives you an excellent grasp of the human story and the context from which al-Qaeda emerged. [source]

Bryan Callen

I love this author. [source]

Lloyd Gardner

Wright looks at the linkage between the Egyptian Jihad and Al-Qaeda. It is a worthwhile book to read to try to understand the whole problem. [source]

2

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Jonathan Safran Foer

4.9

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search

Recommended by Bryan Callen.

Bryan Callen

So here are my three must read books. I've been reading a lot of great books like: Outsmart Your Instincts, The Culture Code, and Antonio Damasio’s The Strange Order, and sometimes when you read a lot of nonfiction it’s very enriching, sometimes you need a novel. I really believe you should take a minute and read something beautiful. Listen, listen to Lolita by Nabokov. But also listen to Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy and listen to Richard Poe narrate that. Those are two of the greatest feats of the english language that I can think of. Then there’s Fortress of Solitude, an amazing book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, these are great novels. Cold Mountain is a beautiful novel, Snow Falling On Cedars, I mean they’ve been around for a while. But goddamnit, get those under your belt. Those are the novels I think you should read. You know Love In The Time Of Cholera it just makes you ache. Kind of like a Hemingway thing, where Hemingway “ahh!”, it’s the same thing, you know. So I don’t know, I’m a fan of all those books. Those are my 3 slash 20 books. [source]

3

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

Garrett M. Graff

4.8

The first comprehensive oral history of September 11, 2001—a panoramic narrative woven from the voices of Americans on the front lines of an unprecedented national trauma.

Over the past eighteen years, monumental literature has been published about 9/11, from Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower, which traced the rise of al-Qaeda, to The 9/11 Commission Report, the government’s definitive factual re

Recommended by Alex Whitcomb, Andrew Feinberg, Joe Walsh, and 2 others.

Alex Whitcomb

@vermontgmg And if you love it, just buy his book already. I did: https://t.co/1lhlFow6BV [source]

Andrew Feinberg

@reagan_values Graff’s 9/11 book is fantastic. [source]

Joe Walsh

“The Only Plane In The Sky: An Oral History of 9/11.” Simply an amazing read. Buy this book. Read this book. Keep this book. Thank you @vermontgmg for writing this book. https://t.co/V4AS3r2lWw [source]

4

102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers

Jim Dwyer, Kevin Flynn

4.7

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

5

Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story

Nora Raleigh Baskin

4.7

From the critically acclaimed author of Anything But Typical comes a touching look at the days leading up to the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and how that day impacted the lives of four middle schoolers.

Ask anyone: September 11, 2001, was serene and lovely, a perfect day — until a plane struck the World Trade Center.

But right now it is a few days earlier, and four kids in different parts of

6

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

Jim DeFede

4.7

7

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Mohsin Hamid

4.5

At a cafe table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful encounter...

Changez is living an immigrant's dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by an elite valuation firm. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his budding romance with elegant,

Recommended by Ahmede Hussain, Amy Waldman, and Daniyal Mueenuddin.

Ahmede Hussain

This is an amazing book, and it’s a shame that it didn’t win the Man Booker Prize in 2007 – in my opinion it was the best of the bunch. I think it’s going to become a modern classic in five or 10 years’ time, if it’s not already regarded as one. This novel speaks for so many peoples’ experiences in the aftermath of 9/11. The prose is very tight and the title is also very clever. [source]

Amy Waldman

You’re right – the protagonist has a completely different profile from the humble one in Harbor. Changez is from a prestigious Pakistani family, but one without a lot of money. He comes to the United States to attend Princeton on a scholarship and then is recruited into the corporate world. The whole novel is a monologue. This character, in a café in Lahore, is talking to an unidentified American, telling his story about the life he led in the United States. How he was enamoured of New York, yet smiled as the Towers fell and grew even more embittered toward America in the wake of the attacks. The structure is original and well executed. [source]

Daniyal Mueenuddin

Well, it’s an odd kind of book. I think what’s especially useful about it is the way in which it describes the transformation in this man’s thinking. The protagonist is somebody who had been living in New York and been a banker and he gradually turns into, as the title says, a reluctant fundamentalist. This is something that I have seen among my friends in Pakistan. People who I have always thought of as very, very Westernised. They went to school abroad and certainly didn’t have the habits of religious types. But they are increasingly angry with the West and sympathetic to an anti-Western agenda and propaganda and very receptive to all kind of thoughts. These are really rational people who will now tell me straight out that September 11 was actually perpetrated by the Israelis and had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda. To me their theories seem absolutely loony and yet these guys have come out with something radically different. [source]

8

Fall and Rise: The story of 9/11

Mitchell Zuckoff

4.5

Years in the making, this spellbinding, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting narrative is an unforgettable portrait of 9/11.

This is a 9/11 book like no other. Masterfully weaving together multiple strands of the events in New York; at the Pentagon; and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Fall and Rise is a mesmerizing, minute-by-minute account of that terrible day.

In the days and months after 9/11, M

9

14 Cows for America

Carmen Agra Deedy, Thomas Gonzalez, Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah

4.5

In June of 2002, a ceremony begins in a village in western Kenya. Hundreds of Maasai surround an American diplomat to bestow a gift on the American people. The gift is as unsought and unexpected as it is extraordinary. A mere nine months have passed since the September 11 attacks, and hearts are raw. Tears flow freely as these legendary warriors offer their gift to a grieving people half a world a

10

Eleven

Tom Rogers

4.5

Alex Douglas always wanted to be a hero. But nothing heroic ever happened to Alex. Nothing, that is, until his eleventh birthday. When Alex rescues a stray dog as a birthday gift to himself, he doesn't think his life can get much better. Radar, his new dog, pretty much feels the same way. But this day has bigger things in store for both of them. This is a story about bullies and heroes. About trag

11

Towers Falling

Jewell Parker Rhodes

4.5

From award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, a powerful novel set fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks.

When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Deja can't help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen

12

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Mordicai Gerstein

4.4

From a highly-respected picture book author/illustrator comes a lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.

13

All We Have Left

Wendy Mills

4.4

A haunting and heart-wrenching story of two girls, two time periods, and the one event that changed their lives—and the world—forever.

Now:
Sixteen-year-old Jesse is used to living with the echoes of the past. Her older brother died in the September 11th attacks, and her dad has filled their home with anger and grief. When Jesse gets caught up with the wrong crowd, one momentary hate-fueled decision

14

Report from Ground Zero

Dennis Smith

4.4

The tragic events of September 11, 2001, forever altered the American landscape, both figuratively and literally. Immediately after the jets struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Dennis Smith, a former firefighter, reported to Manhattan’s Ladder Co. 16 to volunteer in the rescue efforts. In the weeks that followed, Smith was present on the front lines, attending to the wounded, sifting

15

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust

Michael Hingson

4.4

Faith. Trust. Triumph.

“I’m sorry,” the doctor said. “He is permanently and totally blind. There is nothing we can do for him.”

George and Sarah Hingson looked at each other, devastated. Their six-month-old son, Michael was a happy, strawberry blond baby boy, healthy and normal in every way except one. When the Hingsons switched on a light or made silly faces, Michael did not react. Ever. “My best s

16

The Submission

Amy Waldman

4.4

Ten years after 9/11, a dazzling, kaleidoscopic novel reimagines its aftermath and wonders what would happen if a Muslim-American was blindly chosen to plan the World Trade Center Memorial.

Claire Harwell hasn't settled into grief; events haven't let her. Cool, eloquent, raising two fatherless children, Claire has emerged as the most visible of the widows who became a potent political force in the

17

Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey

Maira Kalman

4.4

The John J. Harvey fireboat was the largest, fastest, shiniest fireboatof its time, but by 1995, the city didn't need old fireboats anymore. So the Harvey retired, until a group of friends decided to save it from the scrap heap. Then, one sunny September day in 2001, something so horrible happened that the whole world shook. And a call came from the fire department, asking if the Harvey could batt

18

Falling Man

Don DeLillo

4.4

There is September 11 and then there are the days after, and finally the years.

Falling Man is a magnificent, essential novel about the event that defines turn-of-the-century America. It begins in the smoke and ash of the burning towers and tracks the aftermath of this global tremor in the intimate lives of a few people.

First there is Keith, walking out of the rubble into a life that he'd always im

19

Let's Roll!: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage

Lisa Beamer, Ken Abraham

4.4

2003 ECPA Gold Medallion Award winner!
The best-seller that has brought comfort and hope to millions in the wake of 9/11 is now available in softcover! Let's Roll!—the moving, behind-the-scenes story of United Flight 93 hero Todd Beamer and his widow, Lisa—is so much more than a tribute. A message of character, courage, and undeniable faith in the face of horrifying tragedy, it encourages anyone wh

20

The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks

4.3

Nearly three thousand people died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In Lower Manhattan, on a field in Pennsylvania, and along the banks of the Potomoc, the United States suffered the single largest loss of life from an enemy attack on its soil.

In November 2002 the United States Congress and President George W. Bush established by law the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon

Recommended by Gretchen Peters and Peter Taylor.

Gretchen Peters

It looks like this huge dense government report with the US Government seal on the front and it’s 550 pages long. But the first chapter especially is a real page-turner. [source]

Peter Taylor

It reads like a novel or a thriller. It has a unity and a style and accessibility that is, I think, probably unique in any government report. [source]

21

One Tuesday Morning (9/11, #1)

Karen Kingsbury

4.3

I’m a firefighter, God, so I know I’ve been in some tough places before. But this . . . this not knowing the people I love . . . this is the hardest thing I can imagine. The last thing Jake Bryan knew was the roar of the World Trade Center collapsing on top of him and his fellow firefighters. The man in the hospital bed remembers nothing. Not rushing with his teammates up the stairway of the south

22

A Fall of Marigolds

Susan Meissner

4.3

A beautiful scarf, passed down through the generations, connects two women who learn that the weight of the world is made bearable by the love we give away....

September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mi

23

The Memory of Things

Gae Polisner

4.3

On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first Twin Tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California, and unable to reach his f

24

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

Steve Coll

4.3

The news-breaking book that has sent shockwaves through the Bush White House, Ghost Wars is the most accurate and revealing account yet of the CIA's secret involvement in al-Qaeda's evolution. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005.

Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll has spent years reporting from the Middle East, accessed previously classified government files and interviewed senior US officials and f

25

Homer's Odyssey

Gwen Cooper

4.3

Once in nine lives, something extraordinary happens...

The last thing Gwen Cooper wanted was another cat. She already had two, not to mention a phenomenally underpaying job and a recently broken heart. Then Gwen’s veterinarian called with a story about a three-week-old eyeless kitten who’d been abandoned. It was love at first sight.

Everyone warned that Homer would always be an "underachiever," nev

26

Dear John

Nicholas Sparks

4.3

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who has captured his heart.

But 9/11 changes everything. John feel

27

Zeitoun

Dave Eggers

4.3

The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he tra

Recommended by Tom Piazza.

Tom Piazza

I think Dave’s book is quite remarkable. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a real-life hero – a local businessman who in the aftermath of Katrina paddled from house to house in a canoe, offering help to his neighbours. For his trouble, he was arrested as a suspected terrorist. It is an extraordinary, Kafkaesque tale of how a man, because of his ethnic background, can get caught up in a hellish scenario in which he is held prisoner and nobody knows where he is. His wife didn’t even know what had happened to him. [source]

28

Against All Enemies

Richard A Clarke

4.3

"The [Bush] administration has squandered the opportunity to eliminate al Qaeda....A new al Qaeda has emerged and is growing stronger, in part because of our own actions and inactions. It is in many ways a tougher opponent than the original threat we faced before September 11, and we are not doing what is necessary to make America safe from that threat."

No one has more authority to make that cla

Recommended by Yosri Fouda.

Yosri Fouda

Richard Clarke was the man who ruled America on 9/11 when the rulers were all trying to hide underground. [source]

29

The Red Bandanna: A Life. A Choice. A Legacy.

Tom Rinaldi

4.3

The inspirational story of Welles Crowther, whose decision, determination and sacrifice in the terror of 9/11 have inspired millions, and whose short life offers a lasting lesson on character, calling, and courage--in how we live, and in the legacy we choose to leave behind

When Welles Crowther was a young boy in Nyack, NY, his father gave him a red handkerchief to keep in his back pocket, in cas

30

Among the Heroes

Jere Longman

4.3

Of the four horrific hijackings on September 11, Flight 93 resonates as one of epic resistance.At a time when the United States appeared defenseless against an unfamiliar foe, the gallant passengers and crew of Flight 93 provided for many Americans a measure of victory in the midst of unthinkable defeat. Together, they seemingly accomplished what all the security guards and soldiers, military pilo

31

Firehouse

David Halberstam

4.3

One of America's most distinguished reporters and historians offers the deeply moving personal story of Engine 40, Ladder 35 -- located on the West Side of Manhattan near Lincoln Center -- and the absolute sacrifice its firefighters made on September 11, 2001.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, two rigs carrying thirteen men set out from this firehouse: twelve of them would never return.

Firehou

32

The Woman Who Wasn't There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception

Robin Gaby Fisher, Angelo J Guglielmo Jr.

4.3

“The Woman Who Wasn’t There is a riveting real-life mystery, a probe into the inner depths of humanity. This is a page-turner for every American” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis).

Tania Head’s astonishing account of her experience on September 11, 2001, was a tale of loss and recovery, of courage and sorrow, of horror and inspiration. It transformed her into one of the great victims and heroes of that

Recommended by Marina Amaral.

Marina Amaral

Have you ever heard the story of Tania Head, the woman who fooled everyone for years posing as a 9-11 survivor? Her story is sickening and intriguing. I've just finished reading the book (and there's also a great documentary on Amazon). Highly recommended. https://t.co/NQIxhTowMg [source]

Cover unavailable

33

Saturday

Ian McEwan

4.3

From the pen of a master — the #1 bestselling, Booker Prize–winning author of Atonement — comes an astonishing novel that captures the fine balance of happiness and the unforeseen threats that can destroy it. A brilliant, thrilling page-turner that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Saturday is a masterful novel set within a single day in February 2003. Henry Perowne is a contented man —

Recommended by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore.

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

McEwan spent many months shadowing neurosurgeons at the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square. [source]

34

Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11

Lynn Spencer

4.2

A moment to moment chronicle of the drama that unfolded in N. American skies on 9/11 as the FAA, the military & thousands of commercial pilots called on all of their training & courage to improvise a response to the first attacks on American soil since Pearl Harbor & contend with a new kind of aerial war.
Foreword
Preface
Prelude: Skies Severe Clear
American 11, do you hear me?
No ordinary hijacking
An

35

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden

Mark Owen, Kevin Maurer

4.2

For the first time anywhere, the first-person account of the planning and execution of the Bin Laden raid from a Navy Seal who confronted the terrorist mastermind and witnessed his final moment

From the streets of Iraq to the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips in the Indian Ocean, and from the mountaintops of Afghanistan to the third floor of Osama Bin Laden's compound, operator Mark Owen of the U.

36

In the Shadow of No Towers

Art Spiegelman

4.2

Catastrophic, world-altering events like the September 11 attacks on the United States place the millions of us who experience them on the "fault line where world history and personal history collide." Most of us, however, cannot document that intersection with the force, compression, and poignancy expressed in Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers. As in his Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus, car

37

Love Is the Higher Law

David Levithan

4.2

First there is a Before, and then there is an After. . . .

The lives of three teens—Claire, Jasper, and Peter—are altered forever on September 11, 2001. Claire, a high school junior, has to get to her younger brother in his classroom. Jasper, a college sophomore from Brooklyn, wakes to his parents’ frantic calls from Korea, wondering if he’s okay. Peter, a classmate of Claire’s, has to make his way

38

America Is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fell

Don Brown

4.2

One of School Library Journal's Best Nonfiction Books of 2011
One of Horn Book's Best Nonfiction Books of 2011

On the ten year anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, a straightforward and sensitive book for a generation of readers too young to remember that terrible day.

The events of September 11, 2001 changed the world forever. In the fourth installment of the Actual Times series, Don Brown narra

39

Seven and a Half of Tons of Steel

Janet Nolan, Thomas Gonzalez

4.2

There is a ship, a navy ship. It is called the USS New York. It is big like other navy ships, and it sails like other navy ships, but there is something special about the USS New York. Following the events of September 11, 2001, the governor of New York gave the Navy a steel beam that was once inside one of the World Trade Towers. The beam was driven from New York to a foundry in Louisiana. Metal

40

Beyond Tuesday Morning (9/11, #2)

Karen Kingsbury

4.2

The hope-filled sequel to the bestselling One Tuesday Morning In this new novel by Karen Kingsbury, three years have passed since the terrorist attacks on New York City. Jamie Bryan, widow of a firefighter who lost his life on that terrible day, has found meaning in her season of loss by volunteering at St. Paul’s, the memorial chapel across the street from where the Twin Towers once stood. Here s

41

The Little Chapel that Stood

A. B. Curtiss

4.2

42

The Usual Rules

Joyce Maynard

4.2

It's a Tuesday morning in Brooklyn--a perfect September day. Wendy is heading to school, eager to make plans with her best friend, worried about how she looks, mad at her mother for not letting her visit her father in California, impatient with her little brother and with the almost too-loving concern of her jazz musician stepfather. She's out the door to catch the bus. An hour later comes the new

43

Let the Great World Spin

Colum McCann

4.2

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • Colum McCann’s beloved novel inspired by Philippe Petit’s daring high-wire stunt, which is also depicted in the film The Walk starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt

In the dawning light of a late-summer morning, the people of lower Manhattan stand hushed, staring up in disbelief at the Twin Towers. It is August 1974, and a mysterious tightrope walker is running, dancing, leaping

Recommended by Esi Edugyan.

Esi Edugyan

I have read it a few times now, and I’m still trying to puzzle out how he fit those strands together so beautifully. It is a miracle of a novel. [source]

44

Just a Drop of Water

Kerry O'Malley Cerra

4.2

Ever since he was little, Jake Green has longed to be a soldier and a hero like his grandpa, who died serving his country. Right now, though, he just wants to outsmart—and outrun—the rival cross country team, the Palmetto Bugs. But then the tragedy of September 11 happens. It’s quickly discovered that one of the hijackers lived nearby, making Jake’s Florida town an FBI hot spot. Two days later, th

45

Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner

Judy Melinek MD, T.J. Mitchell

4.2

The fearless memoir of a young forensic pathologist's rookie season as a NYC medical examiner, and the cases, hair-raising and heartbreaking and impossibly complex, that shaped her as both a physician and a mother.

Just two months before the September 11 terrorist attacks, Dr. Judy Melinek began her training as a New York City forensic pathologist. With her husband T.J. and their toddler Daniel hol

46

Last Man Down: A Firefighter's Story of Survival and Escape from the World Trade Center

Richard Picciotto, Daniel Paisner

4.2

On September 11th 2001, Battalion Commander Richard Pitch Picciotto lead seven companies of fire fighters up the B stairway to Tower 1 of the World Trade Centre. Pitch and his men were on the 17th floor racing upward when the world seemed to explode around them. Out of radio communication with the command centre and with no time to reflect Pitch ordered the evacuation of Tower 1. Firefighters stag

47

LIFE One Nation: America Remembers September 11, 2001

Editors of Life Magazine

4.2

During our nations most trying times, it has been LIFE that has provided the images that help us understand, remember, and in the process, renew. Now the editors of LIFE have assembled a moving, brilliantly illustrated account of tragedy and triumph. This is about firemen going in amidst the rubble, but it is also about a Frenchman in Paris holding up a sign that says, We are all Americans. This i

48

The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions About the Bush Administration & 9/11

David Ray Griffin, Richard Falk

4.2

Taking to heart the idea that those who benefit from a crime ought to be investigated, here the eminent theologian David Ray Griffin sifts thru the evidence about the attacks of 9/11-- stories from the mainstream press, reports from abroad, the work of other researchers & the contradictory words of members of the Bush administration themselves--& finds that, taken together, they cast serious doubt

49

A Widow's Walk: A Memoir of 9/11

Marian Fontana

4.2

On September 11, I dropped my son off at his second full day of kindergarten. The sky was so blue it looked as if it had been ironed. I crossed the street, ordered coffee, and sat to wait for my husband to meet me. It was our eighth wedding anniversary and Dave and I were about to begin a new chapter in our seventeen years together. Sipping coffee, I watched as a line of thick black smoke crept a

Recommended by Amy Waldman.

Amy Waldman

The reason why I have trouble with some of the fiction about 9/11 is a lot of it seems to be about people very peripherally affected: New Yorkers of a certain class whose lives were interrupted but who readjusted. Marian Fontana is not one of those people. Her life was completely rewritten. She writes, with great eloquence, about the very human wake of 9/11, the difficulty of balancing public and private grief when you lose someone, and the challenge of mourning while caring for a toddler. [source]

50

The Forever War

Dexter Filkins

4.2

From the front lines of the battle against Islamic fundamentalism, a searing, unforgettable book that captures the human essence of the greatest conflict of our time.

Through the eyes of Dexter Filkins, the prizewinning New York Times correspondent whose work was hailed by David Halberstam as “reporting of the highest quality imaginable,” we witness the remarkable chain of events that began with th

Recommended by Kanan Makiya.

Kanan Makiya

Iraq is a country with a particularly violent history of formation. In this book you capture a flavour of some of the human complexity that history left behind. [source]

51

Shooting Kabul

N. H. Senzai

4.2

In the summer of 2001, twelve-year-old Fadi's parents make the difficult decision to illegally leave Afghanistan and move the family to the United States. When their underground transport arrives at the rendezvous point, chaos ensues, and Fadi is left dragging his younger sister Mariam through the crush of people. But Mariam accidentally lets go of his hand and becomes lost in the crowd, just as F

52

Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays

David Foster Wallace

4.2

Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a funny bone? What is John Updike's deal, anyway? And what happens when adult video starlets meet their fans in person?

David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in essays that are also enthralling narrative adventures. Whether covering the three-ring circus of John McCain's 2000 presidential race, plunging into the wars between dictionary wr

Recommended by Emma Watson.

Cover unavailable

53

The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals

Jane Mayer

4.1

In the days immediately following September 11th, the most powerful people in the country were panic-stricken. The radical decisions about how to combat terrorists and strengthen national security were made in a state of utter chaos and fear, but the key players, Vice President Dick Cheney and his powerful, secretive adviser David Addington, used the crisis to further a long held agenda to enhance

Recommended by Peter Taylor.

Peter Taylor

Because it is a remarkable account of a remarkable period. I was covering Northern Ireland in the late 1970s when there were allegations of abuse – the IRA called it torture, although I didn’t believe it was torture. But there were allegations of IRA suspects and a few Loyalist suspects being beaten up by police officers during interrogation. I investigated those allegations, decided they were basically true and wrote a book about it called Beating the Terrorists? I think that is probably a pretty definitive account of what was going on in that particular period of the history of the Northern Ireland conflict. When I was covering Al-Qaeda in the 10 years since 9/11, I never really came to terms with CIA black sites, with extraordinary rendition, and in particular with enhanced interrogation techniques. [source]

54

When You Were Older

Catherine Ryan Hyde

4.1

I was doing my best to get out the door. And then the phone rang.

I almost let it go.

New York, September 11th 2001
Russell Ammiano is rushing to work when he gets a phone call that saves his life. As the city he loves is hit by unimaginable tragedy, Russell must turn his back and hurry home to Kansas.

Kansas, September 14th 2001
Ben Ammiano is mentally disabled, and a creature of habit. Any change t

55

I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 (I Survived, #6)

Lauren Tarshis, Scott Dawson

4.1

On the day that shocks the world, one boy just wants to find his family. A powerful addition to the gripping I Survived series.
The only thing Lucas loves more than football is his Uncle Benny, his dad's best friend at the fire department where they both work. Benny taught Lucas everything about football. So when Lucas's parents decide the sport is too dangerous and he needs to quit, Lucas has to t

56

Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11

Damon DiMarco, Thomas Kean

4.1

Damon DiMarco's Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11 eternally preserves a monumental tragedy in American history through the voices of the people who were in Lower Manhattan and elsewhere in New York City on that fateful day.

The stories DiMarco has collected come from a diverse group of human beings: individuals who managed to escape from the Towers; the bereaved of 9/11; the policemen, firemen

57

Netherland

Joseph O'Neill

4.1

In a New York City made phantasmagorical by the events of 9/11, Hans--a banker originally from the Netherlands--finds himself marooned among the strange occupants of the Chelsea Hotel after his English wife and son return to London. Alone and untethered, feeling lost in the country he had come to regard as home, Hans stumbles upon the vibrant New York subculture of cricket, where he revisits his l

Recommended by Barack Obama.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

As a devoted reader, the president has been linked to a lengthy list of novels and poetry collections over the years — he admits he enjoys a thriller. [source]

Cover unavailable

58

Talons of Power (Wings of Fire, Book 9)

Tui T. Sutherland

4.1

For every villain, there is a hero ...
Turtle isn’t one of the heroes he reads about in stories. If he were, he’d use his animus powers to help Pyrrhia -- instead of keeping his abilities a secret, even from his own sister. Now that Darkstalker, the sinister and impossibly old dragon from Pyrrhia’s most notorious legends, has returned, Turtle knows his own role is simple: hide. And stay hidden.
The

59

The Eleventh Day: 9/11 - The Ultimate Account

Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan

4.1

Writing with access to thousands of recently released official documents, new interviews & perspectives coming from a decade of research & reflection, Anthony Summers & Robbyn Swan deliver the 1st panoramic, authoritative look at 9/11.
For many Americans, 9/11/2001, is the darkest date in the nation's history. What exactly happened? Could it have been prevented? How & why did so much acrimony & ba

60

Hope and Other Punchlines

Julie Buxbaum

4.1

Sometimes looking to the past helps you find your future.

Abbi Hope Goldstein is like every other teenager, with a few smallish exceptions: her famous alter ego, Baby Hope, is the subject of internet memes, she has asthma, and sometimes people spontaneously burst into tears when they recognize her. Abbi has lived almost her entire life in the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11. On that

61

Saved by the Boats: The Heroic Sea Evacuation of September 11

Julie Gassman, Steve Moors

4.1

September 11, 2001 was a black day in U.S. history. Amid the chaos, sea captains and crews raced by boat to the tragic Manhattan scene. Nearly 500,000 people on Manhattan Island were rescued that day in what would later be called the largest sea evacuation in history. In this rarely told story of heroism, we come to understand that in our darkest hours, people shine brightly as a beacon of hope.

62

Where Did the Towers Go?: Evidence of Directed Free-Energy Technology on 9/11

Judy Wood, Eric Larsen

4.1

63

Angel in the Rubble

Genelle Guzman-McMillan

4.1

A heart-breaking, gripping, authentic, life-affirming true story for our times from the last survivor to be pulled out alive from under the wreckage of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre.

64

Somewhere Among

Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu and Sonia Chaghatzbanian

4.1

A beautiful and haunting debut novel in verse about an American-Japanese girl struggling with the loneliness of being caught between two worlds when the tragedy of 9/11 strikes an ocean away.

Eleven-year-old Ema has always been of two worlds—her father’s Japanese heritage and her mother’s life in America. She’s spent summers in California for as long as she can remember, but this year she and her m

65

The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America

Susan Faludi

4.1

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of Backlash--an unflinching dissection of the mind of America after 9/11

In this most original examination of America's post-9/11 culture, Susan Faludi shines a light on the country's psychological response to the attacks on that terrible day. Turning her acute observational powers on the media, popular culture, and political life, F

Recommended by Maria Sveland.

Maria Sveland

This is the book she wrote about 9/11 and how terrorism started a backlash against women – a reversion to mythical roles. I think she is the most important female writer working now. She has written so many important books. I really admire her. In this book she looks at what happened in America – how suddenly there was a feeling that women should go back to housekeeping and childcare instead of working. There was a new gap between men and women, where men should be like John Wayne and women should stay at home. She’s done a huge amount of research into the 9/11 attacks and what happened afterwards. [source]

Cover unavailable

66

The Lost Continent (Wings of Fire, #11)

Tui T. Sutherland

4.1

The #1 New York Times bestselling series continues with a thrilling revelation -- brand-new tribes of dragons!
Blue the SilkWing is content. Life in his Hive is safe; he loves his family; he has enough to eat. And Pantala has been at peace for as long as he can remember -- SilkWings and HiveWings live and work together in harmony, and because they stay vigilant, no one has seen a dangerous LeafWing

67

On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, and 9/11: A Story of Loss and Renewal

Tom Barbash

4.1

On the morning of September 11, 2001, nearly 700 of Cantor Fitzgerald's 1,000 New York employees were at their desks on the top floors of One World Trade Center when a hijacked passenger plane struck eight floors below. None survived.

On Top of the World tells the story not only of that tragic day but also of the complicated and emotionally charged events that followed. It is an intimate, often har

68

The New Pearl Harbor Revisited: 9/11, the Cover-up & the Expose

David Ray Griffin

4.1

69

The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions

David Ray Griffin

4.1

The 9/11 Commission's Report, by popular reckoning, has made an impression with its heft, its footnotes, its portrayal of the confusion of that sobering day, its detail, its narrative finesse. Yet under the magnifying glass of David Ray Griffin, eminent theologian & author of The New Pearl Harbor, the report appears much shabbier. In fact, there are holes in the places where detail ought to be thi

70

Magic Tree House: #9-12 (Collection)

Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca

4.1

The Magic Tree House adventures continue in books 9—12. Morgan the magical librarian of Camelot challenges Jack and Annie to discover the answers to four riddles as they travel under the sea to the Wild West, the African plains, and the frozen Arctic. If they succeed, they will become Master Librarians!

Books in this set include Magic Tree House Books #9—12:

Dolphins at Daybreak>/i>(#9)

Ghost Town a

71

Flight 93: The Story, the Aftermath, and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11

Tom McMillan, Governor Tom Ridge

4.1

United Airlines Flight 93, which took off from Newark Airport the morning of September 11th, 2001, is perhaps the most famous flight in modern American history: We know of the passenger uprising, but there’s so much more to the story besides its harrowing and oft-told climax. Amazingly, the definitive account of this seminal event has yet to be written.
The book offers the most complete account of

72

I Am Pilgrim

Terry Hayes

4.1

A breakneck race against time...and an implacable enemy. An anonymous young woman murdered in a run-down hotel, all identifying characteristics dissolved by acid. A father publicly beheaded in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square. A notorious Syrian biotech expert found eyeless in a Damascus junkyard. Smoldering human remains on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan. A flawless plot

Recommended by Cat Williams-Treloar.

Cat Williams-Treloar

A close second favourite is "I am Pilgrim" by Terry Hayes. I was gifted this book from a close friend who was living in the Middle East. I was blown away by the intricacies, empathy and human angle of conflict. I hadn't walked in someone else's shoes like that for a very long time. [source]

73

A Tale for the Time Being

Ruth Ozeki

4.1

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao plans to document the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in a ways she can scarcely imagine.

Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a r

74

We All Fall Down (We All Fall Down #1)

Eric Walters

4.1

Today is September 10, 2001, and Will, a grade nine student, is spending the day at his father’s workplace tomorrow. As part of a school assignment, all the students in his class will be going with their parents tomorrow, but Will isn’t excited about it – he’d rather sleep in and do nothing with his friends. His father doesn’t even have an exciting job like his best friend James’s father, who is a

75

The Girl He Used to Know

Tracey Garvis Graves

4.1

What if you had a second chance at first love?

Annika Rose likes being alone.
She feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way. She just can't read people. She prefers the quiet solitude of books or playing chess to being around others. Apart from Jonathan. She liked being around him, but she hasn't seen him for ten years. Until now that is. And she's not sure he'

76

American Widow

Alissa Torres, Sungyoon Choi

4.1

On September 10, 2001, Eddie Torres started his dream job at Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The next morning, he said goodbye to his 7½-months-pregnant wife, Alissa, and headed out the door.

In an instant, Alissa's world was thrown into chaos. Forced to deal with unimaginable challenges, Alissa suddenly found herself cast into the role of 9/11 widow, tossed into a s

77

What We Saw: The Events of September 11, 2001--In Words, Pictures, and Video

Dan Rather, CBS News

4.1

78

A Very Large Expanse of Sea

Tahereh Mafi

4.0

It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.

Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments - even the physical violence - she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears

79

Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden--from 9/11 to Abbottabad

Peter L. Bergen

4.0

From the author of the New York Times bestselling Holy War, Inc., this is the definitive account of the decade-long manhunt that killed the world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.

Al Qaeda expert and CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen paints a multidimensional picture of the hunt for bin Laden over the past decade, including the operation that killed him. Other key elements of the book wi

80

Forever

Pete Hamill

4.0

This widely acclaimed bestseller is the magical, epic tale of an extraordinary man who arrives in New York in 1740 and remains . . . forever.

Through the eyes of Cormac O'Connor -- granted immortality as long as he never leaves the island of Manhattan -- we watch New York grow from a tiny settlement on the tip of an untamed wilderness to the thriving metropolis of today. And through Cormac's remar

81

Notebook Doodles Go Girl!: Coloring & Activity Book

Jess Volinski

4.0

Notebook Doodles Go Girl! isn't "just another" kid coloring book--it's designed specifically for the design-savvy TWEEN who thinks kids books are too juvenile and mom's adult coloring books are too, well...adult! Inside this book, youthful readers will discover 30 interactive art activities that are just waiting to be filled with color. They will also find a coloring art lesson, 20 inspiring color

82

The 9/11 Report

Sid Jacobson, Ernie Colon

4.0

The 9/11 Report for Every American
On December 5, 2005, the 9/11 Commission issued its final report card on the government’s fulfillment of the recommendations issued in July 2004: one A, twelve Bs, nine Cs, twelve Ds, three Fs, and four incompletes. Here is stunning evidence that Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón, with more than sixty years of experience in the comic-book industry between them, were ri

83

When God Was a Rabbit

Sarah Winman

4.0

When God was a Rabbit is an incredibly exciting debut from an extraordinary new voice in fiction.

Spanning four decades, from 1968 onwards, this is the story of a fabulous but flawed family and the slew of ordinary and extraordinary incidents that shape their everyday lives. It is a story about childhood and growing up, loss of innocence, eccentricity, familial ties and friendships, love and life.

84

Adventure Girls!: Crafts and Activities for Curious, Creative, Courageous Girls

Nicole Duggan

4.0

The world is yours. Create and explore!

Girls are built for adventure. This one-of-a-kind book is packed with activities and crafts for girls that encourage independence, inspire imagination, and reward the brave. Girls will explore everything from stargazing and animal tracking to making a pinhole camera and building a shadow theater.

Adventure Girls! takes girls into the world of empowerment, cr

85

FORTNITE (Official): How to Draw

Epic Games

4.0

Draw your favorite Outfits, vehicles, weapons, and more with Epic Games' first official how to draw book, including tips to make your sketches as epic as your in-game achievements and featuring the authentic Fortnite holographic seal.

Learn how to draw 35 of the game's most popular icons-including Outfits, weapons, building materials, and vehicles. In easy-to-follow stages, you'll go step-by-step

86

Perfectly Logical!: Challenging Fun Brain Teasers and Logic Puzzles for Smart Kids

Jenn Larson

4.0

87

Faces of Ground Zero: Portraits of the Heroes of September 11, 2001

Editors of Life Magazine, Joe McNally, Rudolph Giuliani

4.0

LIFE Magazine photographer Joe McNally presents 150 photographs taken with his one-of-a-kind camera, a 12-foot by 12-foot high Polaroid which takes pictures 40 inches wide by 80 inches tall - larger than life-size. The series presents the (mostly) anonymous heroes of Ground Zero.

Cover unavailable

88

Pattern Recognition (Blue Ant, #1)

William Gibson

4.0

Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet. An entire subculture of people is obsessed with these bits of footage, and anybody who can create that kind of brand loyalty would be a gold mine for Cayce's client. But when

Recommended by Seth Godin.

Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

Novels: The Windup Girl and Pattern Recognition are chock full of images and ideas that will stick with you for months. [source]

89

Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics & Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory

David Ray Griffin

4.0

By virtue of his previous four books on the subject, David Ray Griffin is widely recognized as one of the leading spokespersons of the 9/11 truth movement, which rejects the official conspiracy theory about 9/11. Although this movement was long ignored by the US government and the mainstream media, recent polls have shown that the rejection of the official theory has become a mainstream political

90

Never Forget: An Oral History of September 11

Mitchell Fink

4.0

"The real voices of 9/11 are here, and they will echo down through history as a haunting reminder of loss and hope, courage and heroism."

-- Tom Brokaw

On September 11, 2001, waves of shock rippled through the country as the United States came under terrorist attack. Never Forget collects the unbelievably moving stories of survivors, rescue workers, volunteers, family members, and friends whose love

91

I Am Confident, Brave & Beautiful: A Coloring Book for Girls

Hopscotch Girls

4.0

He took me in when I had nowhere else to go. He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work.

I have to stop this. It can’t happen.

My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Onl

92

The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11

Ron Suskind

4.0

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Suskind takes you deep inside America's real battles with violent, unrelenting terrorists -- a game of kill-or-be-killed, from the Oval Office to the streets of Karachi.

You may think you know what the "war on terror" is.

But to know it truly, you must read this book.

Suskind has written a riveting work of narrative nonfiction, filled

93

Coloring Books For Girls: Cute Animals: Relaxing Colouring Book for Girls, Cute Horses, Birds, Owls, Elephants, Dogs, Cats, Turtles, Bears, Rabbits, Ages 4-8, 9-12, 13-19

Art Therapy Coloring

4.0

94

Unmeasured Strength

Lauren Manning

4.0

A survivor's awe-inspiring story of how she overcame tragedy and re-created herself as a wife, mother, and woman

She was a hardworking business woman, had a loving husband and an infant son, and a confidence born of intelligence and beauty. But on 9/11, good fortune was no match for catastrophe. When a wall of flame at the World Trade Center burned more than 80 percent of her body, Lauren Manning b

95

Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11

David Friend

4.0

'Watching the World Change' is an altogether fresh look at 9/11 through the photographs and the photographers who brought the disaster home to us.

96

Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee's Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory

David Ray Griffin

4.0

Former Chicago and Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, who in 2009 was appointed by President Barack Obama to direct an important executive branch office, had in 2008 co-authored an article containing a plan for the government to prevent the spread of anti-government conspiracy theories, in which he advocated the use of anonymous government agents to engage in cognitive infiltration of these grou

97

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

Ottessa Moshfegh

4.0

This is a novel about a young woman's efforts to duck the ills of the world by embarking on an extended hibernation with the help of one of the worst psychiatrists in the annals of literature and the battery of medicines she prescribes.

Our narrator should be happy, shouldn't she? She's young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, works an easy job at a hip art gallery, lives in an apartment on

Recommended by Ben Collins, Claire Diaz Ortiz, and Lauren Mechling.

Ben Collins

Favorite book of the decade. https://t.co/CRcfp9f6Sq [source]

Claire Diaz Ortiz

@racheld great book [source]

Lauren Mechling

The friendship in it is very sweet, actually: it’s about two women, one of whom doesn’t have a name, and her best friend, Reva. They’re both brilliant comic characters, but Reva really lived on with me. Ottessa Moshfegh has this ability to say so much with little spiky details that linger. [source]

98

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why

Amanda Ripley

4.0

It lurks in the corner of our imagination, almost beyond our ability to see it: the possibility that a tear in the fabric of life could open up without warning, upending a house, a skyscraper, or a civilization.

Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-secon

99

The Emperor's Children

Claire Messud

4.0

From a writer “of near-miraculous perfection” (The New York Times Book Review) and “a literary intelligence far surpassing most other writers of her generation” (San Francisco Chronicle), The Emperor’s Children is a dazzling, masterful novel about the intersections in the lives of three friends, now on the cusp of their thirties, making their way—and not—in New York City.

There is beautiful, sophi

100

That Day in September

Artie Van Why

4.0

We all have our stories to tell of where we were the morning of September 11, 2001. This is one of them. In "That Day In September" Artie Van Why gives an eyewitness account of that fateful morning. From the moment he heard "a loud boom" in his office across from the World Trade Center, to stepping out onto the street, Artie vividly transports the reader back to the day that changed our lives and