An award-winning author tells the stories of the audacious American politicians, military commanders, and business executives who took it upon themselves to depose monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers of other countries with disastrous long-term consequences.
By National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States
The eagerly awaited release of The 9/11 Commission Report has caused an avalanche of press coverage, but nearly all of the media commentary has omitted one important attribute of this instant bestseller: its readability. For once, our government has produced a report designed for the public that it purports to serve. By comparison, the Starr Commission Report was a confusing hodgepodge cobbled together for lawyer clones, and the Warren Commission Report resembled a hastily constructed mountain of data. By contrast, The 9/11 Commission Report is a model of narrative clarity. Reading it, one gains a better sense of every stage and dimension of these truly terrifying events; from the rise of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda to the collapse of the World Trade Center and its aftermath. Like a full-throttled detective story thrust into real life, it renders the near misses and muffed opportunities that enabled the plot to reach fruition. With sensationalizing or overgeneralizing, the report s authors have given us a document that illuminates the planning and possible countermeasures to these terrible acts. Every American should read this book: After all, we are its target audience and its sponsors. R. N. Wilson
